La Martiniana

Description

Soprano 1, Soprano 2, Alto, Piano — La Martiniana comes from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca (pronounced wah-HAH-kah). The song is closely associated with Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a holiday traditionally celebrated on the first day of November. In Mexican culture, Dia de los Muertos traditionally takes on a joyous tone, rather than a somber tone. In this manner, the text of this song portrays a mother asking her daughter not to cry over her grave, but instead to sing happy songs. The joyous nature of the piece should be emphasized.Use a tempo that is not too slow. The feel should be fast enough to conduct in one beat per measure, but slow enough to switch over to three beats per measure during tempo alterations. The listener should come away feeling the lilt of the song.All phrases in the vocal parts should be arched, regardless of the length. The peak of each phrase should occur on beat one of the last word of the phrase. Tenutos in the vocal part are to be sung in the traditional way, giving the note its full value and leaning into the note. The tempo should not slow down during a tenuto, but it should almost feel like it wants to.The left hand of the piano is basically imitating a guitar, with a bass note on beat one, and chords on beats two and three. In these phrases, beat one should have the most emphasis, with beats two and three much lighter. The right hand of the piano plays melody and it performs fills. It often imitates two violins. The right hand can be prominent when the voices are not singing, or when the vocal parts are simply holding out long notes. In this way, the left hand will come in and out of prominence.A guitar could be used as an accompaniment; however, F minor is not a good guitar key. But with a capo on the first fret, chords can be used in the key of E minor, a better key for guitar.Niña, cuando you mueraNo llores sobre mi tumba.Cántame un lindo son, ¡Ay, mamá!Cántame “La Sandunga.”xa0“Lucero de la Mañana”La flor de todos los sones.Canta “La Martiniana”, ¡Ay, mama!Que rompe los corazones.xa0No me llores, no.xa0 No me llores, no.Porque si lloras yo peno.En cambio, si tú me cantas,You siempre vivo, y nunca muero.xa0Si queres que no te olvide,Si queres que te recuerde,Canta “La Martiniana”, ¡Ay, mama!Musica que no muere.xa0No me llores, no.xa0 No me llores, no.Porque si lloras yo peno.En cambio, si tú me cantas,You siempre vivo, y nunca muero.xa0Child, when I dieDon’t cry over my grave.Sing me a pretty son, oh, mom!Sing me, “La Sandunga.” “Morning Star”,The blossom of all sounds.Sing me “La Martiniana, oh, mom!That breaks the hearts. Don’t cry to me, no.xa0 Don’t cry to me, no.Because if you cry, I grieve.Instead, if you sing to meI always live, and never die. If you want me to not forget you,If you want me to remember you,Sing, “La Martiniana”, oh mom!Music that never dies. Don’t cry to me, no.xa0 Don’t cry to me, no.Because if you cry, I grieve.Instead, if you sing to meI always live, and never die. La Martiniana is closely associated with Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). However, in Mexican culture, it can take on a joyful tone, rather than a somber one. Davison's SSA arrangement is joyous! With a left hand imitative of guitar and accessible vocals, Davison captures the spirit of this cultural celebration to a tee. Highly recommend.

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