Soneto de la Noche - Salt Lake Vocal Artists

The Salt Lake Vocal Artists perform "Soneto de la Noche" by Morten Lauridsen, with text from Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's 89th sonnet "Cien Sonetos de Amor" in la Iglesia Catolica Central, Puerto Madryn, Patagonia Argentina, under the direction of Dr. Brady Allred. This church served as one of the venues for the 9th World Symposium on Choral Music at which the Vocal Artists were invited to perform.
Argentina Tour: July 28-August 13, 2011
*Note: This performance includes a few very minor language related alterations to the original score as well as an Argentine specific accent. This was done only in an effort to help enable the flow of the poetry and to connect as closely as possible with the audiences in Argentina, whilst maintaining the utmost respect for Lauridsen's amazing work.

[@hannahgibson2152]

i’ve listened to this song hundreds of times and still can never get over it. this performance of it is truly spectacular. their expression of this text is so genuine and really moves me; it leaves me in tears and with my lip trembling. thank you

[@alyceloeser638]

My father, who is not in any other ways a really romantic person shared this video in honor of he and my mother's 36th wedding anniversary. The tender beauty, gentle ache and the subtle triumph of Neruda's words are all realized in this arrangement- and I am moved to tears by what a perfect summation it is of my parent's quiet years together. To love that goes on- even after death, and to "the gentle softness that changed my destiny."

[@ajjonesehc]

I love that they used the argentine specific accent. This is the only recording I've heard with this.

[@josephcook9985]

Alan Jones, thank you for noticing! I was in this choir. We performed throughout Argentina on this tour, which culminated in a performance at the World Symposium on Choral Music in Puerto Madryn. We even tried to adjust our Spanish specific to the region in which we were performing.

[@CliffordKing]

Supremely exquisite choral singing. This group sings so EXPRESSIVELY. It's as if they are all singing a solo, as one. Remarkable interpretation and performance. What a gift!

[@punchion]

This just proves that the human voice is a beautiful instrument in itself....

[@michaelbuck929]

I was most fortunate to meet Morten Lauridsen at one of his concerts last summer. During intermission, I shared with him that his music was like a "cathedral of light" to me. He was most graciously delighted to hear this. Whoever listens to this music becomes family in sacred song. Such a beautiful complement of lyric and sound. Morten conspired with some wonderful spirit!

[@gloriakummer6802]

Every time I hear this, I cry for my dear friends, Joseph and Vanessa. Thank you for my other friend, Joseph from the choir singing this for connecting the heavens with music. It's like the sound of heaven is coming out of the mouths for those who cannot speak above.

[@ronjohnson7826]

I will forever be influenced by the choral direction I received from Dr. Allred when I was a student of his at Duquense Univeristy in Pittsburgh.....I close my eyes and listen.....I hear his heavenly direction.....Dr. Allred, I am forever in your debt. Thank you, sir. I so miss singing with and learning from you. Bravo, sir....bravo!

[@benjamintarasewicz5581]

Morton Lauridsen is truly SPELLBINDING… What a composer!!!!!! This song is so uplifting, it almost makes me cry 😅🎶

[@jayson6633]

I hope to sing this to a special someone one day❤️

[@tainishiuchi]

I always had a hard time memorizing this piece, except for the last 60+ measures when bass II just hums on the same note. This was such an amazing rendition and I love how the music seems to force the ensemble to express themselves in motions, I had a choir director express a desire for us to be like that, didn't know why till now! Favorite performance of my favorite choral piece!

[@Perly53]

I've listened to your version probably 100 times and I can't get enough of it. Beautifully done.

[@annasurentomusic]

Ricky P. Me too

[@sgkindred]

I come back to this video every couple months...I'm probably around 100x by now. It speaks to me.

[@Perly53]

I'm back again today, three years later from my earlier post. Still get goose bumps listening to your wonderful choir. Best wishes.

[@kris10espo]

There are no words to describe how exquisite this is. Bravo.

[@whisperFM]

My college choir just recently performed this and the rest of Lauridsen's Nocturnes. I can honestly say that this is the best performance I've watched on KZbin. The voices blend so well together, and I actually enjoy some of the artistic liberties the director took in interpreting the score. Truly a unique and impeccable performance!

[@maunavrrt4046]

Esta canción siempre me deja lágrimas! Morten Lauridsen es un genio de la música.

[@kris10espo]

I'm surprised all of them have dry eyes. If it were me singing this piece, I'd be crying the whole time from the beauty of the music and the text.

[@TheMiddleTimes]

I feel the same! And Pablo Neruda - geez I love him!

[@MonzaMan08]

There must one really bitter person going around youtube disliking every good thing on it. This person is probably incapable of feeling joy or love. I hear the soul of every singer in that group when I play this video. There is more to this group than just good choral technique.

[@brandonbeierle8515]

“…first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.” Matthew 7:5 Why judge? Pray for them, then continue on enjoying this divine music.

[@tilliemarielle6956]

Just cry...and listen...And bravo for the choice of Neruda's text, so....wonderful...!! And thank you for the amazing sound of latino choirs I love !

[@pitardeno]

This is one of the best performaces I have heard of this piece.

[@rcmiller510]

I've listened to a number of recordings and your interpretation is the best to my ears.

[@rcmiller510]

OK, ONE of the best. Skylark just kills it.

[@NathanielByers]

Singing this song with my college choir!

[@santajeffclaus]

stunning performance! For those who grieve past present and future.

[@ehhorvath13]

Absolutely gorgeous. I'm so glad I found this recording. My choir at a music camp in high school was trying to learn this, but didn't have enough time. Forever, the first two lines are imprinted in my mind and heart. So lovely to hear the whole thing sung so beautifully!

[@jecarrillog]

Sublime... Que viva el gran Neruda

[@MsCrownless]

as a chilean woman I feel very proud... =) and impressed with the artists and Lauridsen... Lord!... how amazing music is!

[@abcdukan]

Bellisimo!! y la sonoridad que le añade una iglesia, lo hace más bello aún... felicidades!!!

[@loytron]

So beautiful and moving. I keep coming back to this, and I choke up every time. Thanks for this.

[@edwink75]

Cuando yo muera quiero tus manos en mis ojos: quiero la luz y el trigo de tus manos amadas pasar una vez más sobre mí su frescura: sentir la suavidad que cambió mi destino. Quiero que vivas mientras yo, dormido, te espero, quiero que tus oídos sigan oyendo el viento, que huelas el aroma del mar que amamos juntos y que sigas pisando la arena que pisamos. Quiero que lo que amo siga vivo y a ti te amé y canté sobre todas las cosas, por eso sigue tú floreciendo, florida, para que alcances todo lo que mi amor te ordena, para que se pasee mi sombra por tu pelo, para que así conozcan la razón de mi canto.

[@nestortapella1365]

0scherzos

[@alfredoastorga827]

Woooooowww Que Belleza de PIEZA el coro IMPECABLE, SUBLIME

[@SempreGumby]

What a blend! Thank you.

[@carmenalmecija2459]

Perfecto. Una maravillosa obra y una maravillosa interpretación. Gracias por compartirla.

[@carlosmartinez9597]

Amo esta canción!!!!

[@angelchavez4997]

Soneto LXXXIX Cuando yo muera quiero tus manos en mis ojos: quiero la luz y el trigo de tus manos amadas pasar una vez más sobre mí su frescura: sentir la suavidad que cambió mi destino. Quiero que vivas mientras yo, dormido, te espero, quiero que tus oídos sigan oyendo el viento, que huelas el aroma del mar que amamos juntos y que sigas pisando la arena que pisamos. Quiero que lo que amo siga vivo y a ti te amé y canté sobre todas las cosas, por eso sigue tú floreciendo, florida, para que alcances todo lo que mi amor te ordena, para que se pasee mi sombra por tu pelo, para que así conozcan la razón de mi canto.

[@epilepsyboi929]

When I die I want your hands on my eyes: I want the light and the wheat of your beloved hands to pass their freshness over me one more time to feel the smoothness that changed my destiny. I want you to live while I wait for you, asleep, I want for your ears to go on hearing the wind, for you to smell the sea that we loved together and for you to go on walking the sand where we walked. I want for what I love to go on living and as for you I loved you and sang you above everything, for that, go on flowering, flowery one, so that you reach all that my love orders for you, so that my shadow passes through your hair, so that they know by this the reason for my song. and Cuando yo muera quiero tus manos en mis ojos: quiero la luz y el trigo de tus manos amadas pasar una vez más sobre mí su frescura: sentir la suavidad que cambió mi destino. Quiero que vivas mientras yo, dormido, te espero, quiero que tus oídos sigan oyendo el viento, que huelas el aroma del mar que amamos juntos y que sigas pisando la arena que pisamos. Quiero que lo que amo siga vivo y a ti te amé y canté sobre todas las cosas, por eso sigue tú floreciendo, florida, para que alcances todo lo que mi amor te ordena, para que se pasee mi sombra por tu pelo, para que así conozcan la razón de mi canto.

[@josephcook9985]

Thank you for sharing this. I often prefer the word-for-word translations because they can provide shades of meaning that we don't have in English.

[@rhog11]

So beautiful and heartfelt! Thank you all!

[@nanette5936]

amazing! I am performing this song with my high school and I keep referencing this video. truly amazing

[@dpmartin78]

The interpretation is, as ever, beautiful, and also the adaptation of the Argentinian accent (although Neruda was from Chile). There's still a recurrent mistake due to a printing error in the score: it should say 'Cuando yo muera' and not 'cuando yo muero' unless Lauridsen himself wanted to change it.

[@preciousjewelamor]

He wrote “muero” in the piece and it pains me SO MUCH 😭 some phrases ignore the way it’s supposed to be said. In the piece, Lauridsen wrote “oídos” as “oí-dos” instead of “o-í-dos”, and made the “y a ti te amé y canté” in equal subdivisions (disregarding the emphasis in the phrase). I consulted with a Chilean about the phrasing of the sonnet, and it’s kinda sad that Lauridsen ignored sentence stresses in the Spanish language.

[@Kaikena]

Wonderful music. Beautiful poetry. Marvelous and touching performance.

[@adkamink]

What a beautiful song! Tears in my eyes! Great music! Greetings from Holland

[@orionrmz]

I moved to tears. Beautifull!!!!

[@lorrainebowen]

Heavenly and beautiful! Thank you...

[@bb8319]

What an absolutely sublime composition... transcendent.

[@aliciar.m.912]

Preciosa composición vocal. Gracias. Un saludo cordial desde Madrid España.

[@merzi6]

Never heard something like that before... AMAZING! Just breathtaking! Thank you so much for posting it! Fantastic, powerful choir performance!

[@Kerguelen1]

breathtaking.....

[@somecallmetim46]

Andale, ¡que ustedes sigan cantando por muchos más años!

[@sawasawawaD]

what a beautiful song.

[@ignaciodiorio8943]

amazing job. BRAVO!

[@hugogabriel6838]

Excelente versión! Orgulloso que se ejecutara en mi Argentina!

[@ddchil41]

Very very beautiful!!!

[@jtinsfo]

Breathtaking artistry.

[@nestoryanez6834]

I love this song ❤

[@1LegintheGrave]

what beauty! don't understand the idiots who disliked it. This was eery, sad, beautiful, and perfect. great job!

[@CaliforniaEarthcare]

Lady at 6:32 with hand over her heart. She was obviously moved.

[@JMountainPlace]

Yes, I was very moved. The music, the space, and my dear friends singing together with no audience. It was an experience I will never forget.

[@4musicnever2old]

Beautifull. You and this beautifull song touched my heart...

[@lllowes]

I'm a fan of your group now! Great job, guys!

[@malcsinger90]

Stunning and beautiful. Thank you for this.

[@gcwposs]

Absolutely magnificent... thank you.

[@moricogoliath5010]

Extremely beautiful! ❤️

[@l8rpaw]

So beautiful

[@AmazinglyAstounding]

Stunningly beautiful! Thank you, VERY much, S.L.V.A! And what a resonant location! (Although I do wonder what that is I hear in the background at about 5:34-5:37--It sounds like strings.)

[@michael052075]

love it!!!!

[@radiosigi]

so wonderfull!!

[@ulpain]

Thanks for sharing!

[@viator14]

beautiful!!!

[@ElliottvonWendt]

This is perfect.

[@marian444]

Wonderful!!!

[@SenakuAruno]

Amazing...

[@rickybains1656]

Love the basses!

[@anitaflup]

This is wonderful 😍😍😍

[@elainevivi]

so nostalgic for my choir days rn ):

[@CrowMadame]

oh yeah......absolutely. me too

[@ldhallini]

beautiful

[@erc3456]

Gracias. La partitura de Lauridsen tiene una nota al pie de pagina sobre el cambio de muera a muero, del todo irrelevante, puesto que en castellano nosotros no utilizamos "cuando yo muero, etc, etc". Aparentemente (aunque no explicito), se hizo para facilitar la pronunciacion a no hispanoparlantes, pero aun asi, carece de razon logica (gramaticalmente) para el cambio.

[@miguelastor1]

Debería reeditarse con la corrección del texto. Gracias por hacer la observación.

[@erc3456]

This version by the Salt Lake Vocal Artists is one of the best I have ever heard for this fantastic arrangement. However, as a native Spanish speaker, it was quite surprising to me that even though singing in Argentina, they still missed the original text by Neruda: cuando yo MUERA is the correct way to say it (and sing it) every single time it appears on the text (independently of any side notes added by Lauridsen). Also, the way they pronounced "huelas" sounded awkward.

[@TheAlexandro111]

so cute , thx , kiss of BRASIL

[@melkor486]

Tal como mencionas, el poema dice "Cuando yo muera" Sin embargo, la partitura original dice "cuando yo muero", puede que sea error de la editora o del mismo compositor.

[@coralvenezuela1569]

There is an evident mistake with the lyrics, in spanish is imposible say "cuando yo muero" in this verbal time. All the spanish editions of Neruda's says "cuando yo muera", in subjunctive time. I hope english-speakers can understand the point. and with a gesture of humility someday a revised edition of this beautiful work is done.

[@margotmusdir5998]

+Coral Venezuela - Thank you for this comment. It is absolutely correct, and I am currently working on gathering the evidence in order to convince the composer and his editors to change it to "muera". So far I have been in contact with the him and also the translator on whose work he based this piece, and am now talking to Neruda experts in Chile to get the hard evidence.

[@miguelastor1]

+Margot MusDir Great. I hope you can have success in your attempt. This is a beautiful work, sadly with a mistake. Once I wrote respectfully to the composer about this, and he kindly argued that it was the former intention of Neruda, according to some researchers but this is imposible. I am glad to know that there is somebody who understand the point in the english language world.

[@margotmusdir5998]

+Miguel Astor - Thank you for your support! I love a good linguistic treasure-hunt. My understanding of the problem comes from my Spanish and Chilean friends, who are musicians that I work with. As a musician myself, I always want my performances to be true to the original authors wherever possible, so I also wrote to the composer and received the same reply as you. I wonder how many other people have written to him? He told me that his source was a bilingual edition of Neruda's "Cien Sonetos de Amor" edited and translated into English by Stephen Tapscott. I have seen a copy of the Tapscott edition and yes it says "muero". So I wrote to Tapscott. He says that his source for the text was a publisher in Barcelona named Carmen Balcells, who unfortunately died a few years ago, so I cannot write to her! But I am looking for an early copy of the Barcelona edition (published by Seix Barral). Basically I am trying to find out where and when was the first time that the error appeared, so I can go to that source and get a correction all the way up the line to today. Meanwhile, my friend at Socieded Chilena de Derecho de Autor is going to meet with the librarian at Fundacion Pablo Neruda in Chile, to explain the problem to him and hopefully to get a photo or a PDF of the original publication. Even better would be to find the poem in Neruda's own handwriting! Wouldn't that be exciting!

[@miguelastor1]

+Margot MusDir Truly I hope you have success in your efforts, I encourage you. As there are many people pointing the fact, at least this has to generate a doubt in editors (and, why not?, the composer too) about the wrong use of "muero" word, specially if a critical new edition is published in the future.

[@margotmusdir5998]

+Miguel Astor Thank you, yes I agree, and that is what I am trying to achieve. May I ask where you are writing from? I see from your KZbin channel that you are a composer. Are you also a singer or conductor? In what country/city?

[@nanlowrey]

I really like your performance of this piece. Other ensembles take the middle section too quickly, in my opinion. I can't find your recording on Itunes, is it available through amazon or elsewhere?

[@sekayi7805]

yuy

[@donaldfry1520]

Lovely, but I would pay attention to spreading the vowels too much especially in the crescendos (eh). It loses tone and in the soft tones tends to flatten. However that is nitpicking. Just a beautiful sound with the choir.

[@angyadorno]

muy lindo el coro.. felicidades! pero esta mas facil leer el ingles que entender el español.. (lo mismo diran de nuestro ingles jaja )

[@colinng7654]

C’mon KZbin and your parent Google - couldn’t you - for once in your goddamn lives - put profit aside for a nanosecond? Why would you show loud, distasteful ads about dieting - screaming loud right after a song that is meant to provide solace to someone who has just lost the love of their life? This is why I hate you. And that is why I hate algorithmic ads. No taste, no decency, whatsoever. Is *nothing* sacred to you?