The Circle of Fine Arts of Madrid


La raya en el agua / The stripe on the water

Scenic-musical show, composed for the reopening of the "Fernando de Rojas" Hall of the Circle of Fine Arts of Madrid (September 1996)


Commentary
Texts and Videos
Program notes of the premiere
Reviews and news in the press


Commentary


La raya en el agua (The stripe on the water) is a show that integrates music and the performing arts, without therefore constituting an opera, or a zarzuela, or anything that can be given the usual names.
Sometimes abstract, other times concrete, La raya en el agua wants to be an invitation to a journey with as many routes as there are spectators, through multiple sound and visual suggestions, to which each individual memory must give its own meaning.

Without a clear text, and without a defined plot line, this work could be defined as an attempt to synthesize antagonistic elements -which is, on the other hand, an ancient claim of art-, in which the old and the new coexist, as wella as the possible and the impossible, the authentic and the spurious, the tragic and the comic... In short: the apparently actual while it is being produced, which turns out to be illusory when it vanishes, like a stripe drawn in water. Something, in short, involving all the arts that this show intends to integrate into a single embrace: music, dance, theater, poetry, all of them brought together through light, color and the magical invocation of the stage.
Without ever losing sight of La Celestina, whose author gives his name to the hall for the reopening of which it was composed, La raya en el agua is performed by actors, dancers, a soprano or sopranist, a solo saxophone, and an instrumental group (made up of flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, piano, two percussionists, 2 violins, viola, violoncello and double bass), along with electronics and audiovisual media.

"Fernando de Rojas" Hall of the Circle of Fine Arts of Madrid

Composed by commission of the Circle of Fine Arts of Madrid, in collaboration with the Department of Education and Culture of the Community of Madrid, for the reopening of the "Fernando de Rojas" Hall of the Circle of Fine Arts of Madrid, its premiere took place on September 29, 1996, performed by the saxophonist Pedro Iturralde, the sopranist Flavio Oliver, the dancers Claudia Faci and Ion Munduate, the actress Susi Sánchez and the actor José Luis Santos, the group of actors from the Royal School of Dramatic Art of Madrid, the Magerit Choir directed by Manuel Dimbawdyo and the Círculo Group, all of them conducted by José Luis Temes. The scenery and stage direction were carried out by José Luis Raymond.

José Luis Raymond

José Luis Temes

Pedro Iturralde

Flavio Oliver

José Luis Santos

Susi Sánchez

Claudia Faci

Ion Munduate


The Magerit Choir with its conductor, Manuel Dimbwadyo

The Círculo Ensemble

The work, 120 minutes long, was composed between 1994 and 1996, and was awarded the National Music Prize of the Ministry of Culture in November 1996. It is dedicated to the Circle of Fine Arts of Madrid, and consists of nineteen Independent scenes, the order of which may vary from one performance to another. For the premiere, the sequence of scenes was as follows:

Scene I (Introduction).- Actor (Text: Fragment of the biography of Fernando de Rojas)
Scene II (Presentation of the Círculo Ensemble).- Instrumental group
Scene III (Ritual Dance).- Group of actors and small percussion.
Scene IV (Cadence).- Saxophone solo.
Scene V (Lecture).- Actor (Text by José Luis Turina).
Scene VI (Klangfarbenpas de deux).- Dancers and instrumental group.
Scene VII (Consonants and vowels).- Sopranist and recorded tape (Text: Fernando de Rojas, beginning of La Celestina).
Scene VIII (Pas de deux I).- Dancers and instrumental quartet.
Scene IX (Acrostic).- A cappella choir (Text: Fernando de Rojas, preface of La Celestina).
Scene X (Dubles).- Piccolo, sub-contrabass flute and four steel-drums.
Scene XI (Dance of the Royal Decree).- Actor and group of actors (Text: Royal Decree 1583/1990, of November 20, which creates a professional-grade Dance School in Madrid and integrates into the same the Dance Section of the Royal Higher School of Dramatic Art and Dance of Madrid).
Scene XII, XIII and XIV (Syntactic disintegration of a sonnet by Góngora).- Actress, group of actors and instrumental group (Text: Love sonnet by Luis de Góngora, and reworking of the same by José Luis Turina).
Scene XV (Varied choral).- Group of actors, recorded tape and instrumental group.
Scene XVI (He was waiting for me to leave).- Sopranist, saxophone and instrumental group (Text: José Luis Turina).
Scene XVII (Dialogues between Calisto and Melibea).- Actress and actor (Text: José Luis Turina).
Scene XVII (Pas de deux [Waltz]).- Dancers and instrumental group.
Scene XIX (Per la morte di un capolavoro).- A cappella choir (Text: Gabriele D'Annunzio).

Program of the premiere

The autonomy of the scenes meant that some of them could have a life of their own beyond the show. This is the case of numbers VI and XVIII (Klangfarben pas de deux and Pas de deux (Waltz) , which made it possible to configure the diptych Two dances from "La Raya en el Agua" with the original chamber instrumentation, which was later orchestrated under the name of Two Symphonic Dances, the form in which it is usually performed. The same can be said of the final chorus (scene XIX), Per la morte di un capolavoro.



Texts and videos of the premiere


1st SCENE
(Introduction)


Fernando de Rojas

Primera página de La Celestina (1499)

Nace en la Puebla de Montalbán, localidad de la provincia de Toledo. No se sabe exactamente cuándo, pero lo más probable es que fuera entre 1473 y 1476. Era converso de la cuarta generación, y al parecer su padre fue condenado y quemado por la Inquisición, aunque este hecho no ha podido ser confirmado, dada la escasa documentación de que disponemos sobre los primeros años de su vida. Hacia 1488, algo más tarde quizá, y contando probablemente quince o dieciséis años, se matricula en Salamanca. Antes de pasar a la prestigiosa Facultad de Derecho, tenía, como todos los estudiantes salmantinos, que cursar tres años de estudios obligatorios en la Facultad de Artes. Para conseguir el Bachillerato en Derecho en la Universidad de Salamanca se precisaba un total de nueve o diez años de estudios. Hacia finales de ellos, el aspirante tenía que participar en un año o dos en tareas docentes dentro de la Facultad, considerándose perfectamente aceptable que un bachiller se presentase a las oposiciones a cátedra sin haber obtenido otro grado superior.

1st Scene. Introduction (Marián Sánchez and José Luis Santos)


2nd SCENE
(Presentation of the Círculo Ensemble)


2nd Scene. Presentation of the Círculo Ensemble (Círculo Ensemble and gesture actors from the Royal School of Dramatic Art of Madrid)


3rd SCENE
(Ritual Dance)


3rd Scene. Ritual Dance (Gesture actors from the Royal School of Dramatic Art of Madrid)


4th SCENE
(Cadenza)


4th Scene. Cadenza (Pedro Iturralde)


5th SCENE
(Masterclass)


(Text: José Luis Turina)

Una luz concentrada sigue la solemne irrupción en la escena del actor-CATEDRÁTICO. Éste se acerca al proscenio con su cinturón-atril portátil, quedando frente al público.
Siempre con solemnidad y parsimonia, El CATEDRÁTICO dispone las cuartillas en el atril, carraspea un par de veces para aclararse la voz, e inicia la lectura de las cuartillas.

CATEDRÁTICO.- Majestades..., Altezas..., (los tratamientos variarán en cada representación, de acuerdo con el público asistente) Excelentísima Señora..., Excelentísimo Señor..., (El grado de solemnidad va decayendo al ritmo de en que lo hacen los tratamientos) Ilustrísima Señora... Ilustrísimo Señor..., señoras..., caballeros..., (francamente despectivo ahora) niñas..., niños...
Pocas ocasiones se dan como ésta, en la que un autor puede hacer llegar a su público algo más que la obra. Con frecuencia olvidamos que ésta es sólo una parte, a veces insignificante, de una vasta idea cuyos límites sólo su autor puede precisar. Pero esos límites no son nunca alcanzados por la obra, porque cuando ésta más se les acerca, mudan de sitio y de naturaleza, dejando vislumbrar otros más apetecibles, más deseables, pero también más lejanos. El autor acomete entonces una obra nueva, persiguiendo con ella acercarse al objetivo más que lo que pudo hacerlo con la obra anterior. Y una y otra vez los límites se alejan, proponiendo nuevos horizontes y promoviendo nuevas obras que, una y otra vez, nuncan llegarán a alcanzarlos.
Con el paso de los años, este movimiento continuo de creación frustrada conduce a un ensanchamiento del ámbito estético que la capacidad humana no puede abarcar, y entonces se produce la necesidad de un cambio de rumbo, de nuevos derroteros por los que nuevamente se inicie el mismo proceso, tan viejo como el arte mismo.
Llegado este punto, los actores gestuales y bailarines que se habían introducido bajo las telas del mar de luces, comienzan a realizar un movimiento de olas que afectan al CATEDRÁTICO, quien se tambalea a su pesar siguiendo el movimiento de las olas. La lectura se hace mucho más engolada, marcando suavemente la "versificación" métrica del texto.
Y todo ello... todo ello no es / sino producto de un factor distorsionante, / no menos involuntario para el autor, / ni en ocasiones menos irritante, / que matemáticamente / podríamos enunciar así:
Aquí el CATEDRÁTICO señalará en una pizarra improvisada sobre un caballete las fórmula matemática PA = IP-RO que a continuación procede a explicar:
... donde PA no es otra cosa que el producto / artístico al que denominamos Obra, / que no es sino la diferencia que separa / el resultado finalmente obtenido (señala RO) / de las intenciones propuestas (señala IP) previamente: / En la mayor o menor magnitud / de esa diferencia radica la clave / para una valoración estética correcta. / O bien de otra manera planteado / en forma de silogismo aristotélico, / por medio del procedimiento lógico basado / en el razonamiento deductivo categórico: / Ninguna obra alcanza su objetivo; Sólo en el objetivo está la perfección; Luego, Ninguna obra es perfecta.
Tal vez, se dirá que exagero. / Aún más: se afirmará que miento. / Se argumentará que todo es un intento / para disimular, entre paralogismos y sofismas, / lo que no estoy dispuesto a admitir / en su formulación más cruda y descarnada: / la incapacidad del artista para crear lo que desea, / su imposibilidad de devenir un demiurgo. / Y tal vez... tal vez sea cierto. /
Por esa razón, esta obra no quiere / ni puede ser más que un desatino. / Un absurdo, un cúmulo / de despropósitos, una suma / de contrarios, una síntesis imposible, / en fin, de elementos antagónicos.
Silencio solemne. Las telas del mar de luces, llevadas por los actores gestuales que se encuentran bajo éstas, comienzan a engullir al CATEDRÁTICO, llevándoselo hacia el fondo izquierdo del escenario.
El tono engolado e in crescendo, cede ahora el paso a una actitud humilde por parte del CATEDRÁTICO:
Les ruego disculpen este atrevimiento. Quizá mis palabras les hayan sonado a excusas para justificar las debilidades de esta representación, en súplica de un juicio benevolente. Nada más lejos de mi intención.
No he querido otra cosa que darles cuenta de mi pretensión de dar forma a un pensamiento inmarcesible, con el fin de alejar la creencia, siempre errónea, de que la obra se limita a lo que vemos u oímos. Y si fracaso será porque la empresa es, simplemente, imposible, como lo es para el hombre volar con sus propios brazos.
El CATEDRÁTICO ha desaparecido totalmente de la vista del público. La luz, ya muy tenue, se extingue del todo. En este momento, una luz frontal ilumina la bajada de la pantalla blanca, en la que se ha fijado una inmensa pancarta con el texto siguiente, mientras la voz del CATEDRÁTICO, ya proyectada totalmente desde los altavoces de la sala y con mucho eco, recita una traducción adaptada del mismo:

... mon erreur était de partir d'une idée, et que je ne me
laissais pas assez guider par les mots (A. Gide).

Mi error habrá sido partir de una idea, y no haberme dejado guiar por los sonidos.
Con la retirada del mar de luz se van las dos capas de los bailarines, y éstos quedan solos en el centro del escenario.

5th Scene. Masterclass (José Luis Santos)


6th SCENE
(Klangfarbenpas de deux)


6th Scene. Klangfarbenpas de deux (Claudia Faci, Ion Munduate and gesture actors from the Royal School of Dramatic Art of Madrid)


7th SCENE
(Consonants and vowels)


(Text: Fernando de Rojas: La Celestina, act I, scene I)

- En esto veo, Melibea, la grandeza de Dios.
- ¿En qué, Calisto?

7th Scene. Consonants and vowels (Flavio Oliver gesture actors from the Royal School of Dramatic Art of Madrid)


8th SCENE
(Pas de deux I)


8th Scene. Pas de deux I (Claudia Faci and Ion Munduate, dancers; Salvador Espasa, flute in G; Salvador Vidal, Bass clarinet; Vicente Tello and José Alberto Aguilar, percussion)


9th SCENE
(Acrostic)


(Text: Fernando de Rojas, La Celestina, Prologue)

EL AUTOR,
ESCUSÁNDOSE DE SU YERRO EN ESTA OBRA QUE ESCRIVIÓ,
CONTRA SÍ ARGUYE Y COMPARA

El silencio escuda y suele encobrir
las faltas de ingenio y las torpes lenguas.
Blasón, que es contrario, publica sus menguas
al que mucho habla sin mucho sentir,
como la hormiga, que dexa de yr
holgando por tierra con la provisión.
Jactóse con alas de su perdición;
lleváronla en alto; no sabe dónde yr.

PROSIGUE

El ayre gozando ageno y estraño,
rapina es ya hecha de aves que buelan;
fuertes más que ella por cevo la llevan:
en las nuevas alas estava su daño.
Razón es que aplique a mi pluma este engaño,
no dissimulando con los que arguyen,
assí que a mí mismo mis alas destruyen,
nublosas y flacas, nascidas de ogaño.

PROSIGUE

Donde ésta gozar pensava volando,
o yo aquí escriviendo cobrar más honor,
de lo uno y lo otro nasció disfavor:
ella es comida y a mí están cortando
reproches, revistas y tachas. Callando
obstara, y los daños de invidia y murmuros.
Y, así, navegando, los puertos seguros
atrás quedan todos ya quanto más ando.

PROSIGUE

Si bien discernéys mi limpio motivo,
a quál se endereça de aquestos estremos,
con quál participa, quién rige sus remos,
Amor ya aplazible o Desamor esquivo,
buscad bien el fin de aquesto que escrivo,
o del principio leed su argumento.
Leedlo y veréys que, aunque dulce cuento,
amantes, que os muestra salir de cativo.

COMPARACIÓN

Como al doliente, que píldora amarga
o huye o rescela o no puede tragar,
métenla dentro de dulce manjar;
engáñase el gusto, la salud se alarga.
Desta manera mi pluma se embarga,
imponiendo dichos lascivos, rientes,
atrae los oydos de penadas gentes;
de grado escarmientan y arrojan su carga.

9th Scene. Acrostic (Magerit Choir and Círculo Ensemble)


10th SCENE
(Dubles)


10th Scene. Dubles (Marián Sánchez; Salvador Espasa, flute; Julián López Elvira, sub-double bass flute19:30 24/09/2022; Vicente Tello, steel-drums)


11th SCENE
(Royal Decree Dance)


"Real Decreto 1583 barra 1990, de 28 de noviembre, por el que se crea, en Madrid, una Escuela de Danza de grado profesional y se integra en la misma la Sección de Danza de la Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático y Danza de Madrid.
El importante auge y complejidad que han adquirido las Secciones de Arte Dramático y de Danza de la Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático y Danza de Madrid, debido al incremento de la demanda social de dichas enseñanzas y a sus especificidades, unido a la circunstancia de su próxima impartición en edificios ubicados en zonas distantes, hace conveniente proceder a la separación de ambas y dotarlas de estructuras y marcos jurídicos independientes, a fin de lograr una mayor eficacia, tanto en sus actividades docentes como en la gestión académico-administrativa, que dé una respuesta adecuada a dicha demanda y a las necesidades derivadas de las singularidades propias de cada una de estas dos enseñanzas.
El presente Real Decreto procede a la creación jurídica, como Centro independiente, de una Escuela de Danza de grado profesional, e integra en ella las enseñanzas, medios personales y materiales correspondientes a la Sección de Danza de la Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático de Madrid.
En su virtud, de acuerdo con lo establecido en el artículo 17 de la Ley Orgánica 8 barra 1985, de 3 de julio, reguladora del Derecho a la Educación, a propuesta del Ministro de Educación y Ciencia, y previa deliberación del Consejo de Ministros en su reunión del día 23 de noviembre de 1990, dispongo:

Artículo 1º. Se crea en Madrid una Escuela de Danza de grado profesional, para la organización e impartición de los estudios correspondientes a las diversas especialidades propias de las enseñanzas de danza.
Artículo 2º. La Sección de Danza de la Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático y Danza de Madrid queda integrada, a partir de la entrada en vigor del presente Real Decreto, en la Escuela de Danza creada por esta disposición.
Artículo 3º. Los actuales Profesores y el personal de Administración y Servicios que venían desarrollando sus actividades en la Sección de Danza de la Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático y Danza de Madrid, pasará automáticamente a prestar sus servicios en la Escuela de Danza desde la fecha de integración en ésta de dicha Sección.
Disposición adicional.- A partir de la entrada en vigor del presente Real Decreto, la actual Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático y Danza de Madrid pasará a denominarse Real Escuela Superior de Arte Dramático.
Disposición derogatoria.- A la entrada en vigor del presente Real Decreto quedan derogadas las disposiciones de igual o inferior rango en lo que se opongan a lo establecido en la presente norma.

Dado en Madrid a 23 de noviembre de 1990.
Juan Carlos, Rey.
El Ministro de Educación y Ciencia, Javier Solana Madariaga.


11th Scene. Royal Decree Dance (Marián Sánchez; José Luis Santos; gesture actors from the Royal School of Dramatic Art of Madrid)


12th, 13th AND 14th SCENES
(Syntactic desintegration of a Góngora Sonnet)


Susi Sánchez and the gesture actors in the dress rehearsal of the 12th, 13th and 14th scenes


(Texts: José Luis Turina / Luis de Góngora, Love Sonnet)

SONETO AMOROSO

I

Aquel ruiseñor llora con tal diferencia,
con tanta gracia, que sospecho
que dentro del pecho tiene otros cien mil
que alternan su dolor por la garganta,
y aún creo que -como en información
de su derecho- levanta el espíritu
a escribir en las hojas del aquella planta verde
el atroz hecho del cuñado.
Ponga fin, pues, a las querellas que usa,
pues (no) se le veda ni quejarse,
ni mudar estanza por pico ni por pluma,
y sólo llore aquél que su Medusa
convirtió en piedra, porque no pueda
ni publicar su mal, ni hacer mudanza.

"Filomela era hija de Pandión, rey de Atenas, y hermana de Procne. Pandión, agradecido a Tereo, rey de Tracia, por la ayuda que le prestó como aliado en su lucha contra Labdaco, rey de Tebas, le dio a Procne como esposa. Cuando Tereo conoció a Filomela se enamoró de ella, la violó y, para que no so lo contase a su hermana, le cortó la lengua y la encerró en su casa".

II

Con diferencia tal, con gracia tanta
aquel ruiseñor llora, que sospecho
que tiene otros cien mil dentro del pecho
que alternan su dolor por su garganta;
y aun creo que el espíritu levanta
-como en información de su derecho-
a escribir del cuñado el atroz hecho
en las hojas de aquella verde planta.
Ponga, pues, fin a las querellas que usa,
pues ni quejarse ni mudar estanza
por pico ni por pluma se le veda;
y llore sólo aquel que su Medusa
en piedra convirtió, porque no pueda
ni publicar su mal, ni hacer mudanza.

"A su hermana contóselo Filomela, el relato en una tela bordando de lo que Tereo hecho había. De éste vengóse Procne al enterarse, a Itis, el hijo que tenido con él había, matando, y a comer dándoselo, después de su cuerpo haber guisado."

III

Diferencia con tal, tanta con gracia
que llora ruiseñor, aquel sospecho
del cien que otros mil dentro por su pecho
dolor alternan, que tiene su garganta,
y que el levanta aun espíritu creo
-derecho información en su de como-
en planta atroz del escribir a aquella
hecho las hojas del cuñado verde.
Querellas ponga, pues, a fin que usa
quejarse ni mudar, ni pues estanza
por veda se le pluma, ni por pico;
Medusa llore mal, y en piedra sólo
que convirtió su aquél, hacer no pueda
porque ni publicar, ni su mudanza.

"Loco Tereo al de dolor enterarse, a las persiguió hermanas, que los dioses imploraron de la ayuda".
"A golondrina Filomela transformaron en éstos (por que animal ser nada un comunicar con su no puede canto), en Procne a ruiseñor, y a Tebilla en abureo. Ática es versión la ésta. Versiones la, como tebana la otras y latina, en transforman a dioses gavidrina los Tecne, Prolomela a Filoreo en ruiselán, faiñor en Itis a golonsán...".

12th, 13th and 14th Scenes. Syntactic desintegration of a Góngora Sonnet. (Susi Sánchez; gesture actors from the Royal School of Dramatic Art of Madrid)


15th SCENE
(Coral variado)


15th Scene. Varied Coral (Círculo Ensemble and gesture actors from the Royal School of Dramatic Art of Madrid)


16th SCENE
(He was waiting for me to leave)


(Text: José Luis Turina)

He was waiting for me to leave,
and when I saw him in the distance
I ran towards him, shouting his name.

Listen, get up and hear what I'm telling you.
Baby, don't be so sad, let's have a lot of fun.
Don't mope, hate is no way to cope, hon,
perhaps you need, I think,
a word of friendship, of love.
Love, why don't you wanna be with me?
I will come and stay up with you.
In the morning you can leave,
but tonight stay with me.
Come, and when the time is over,
hon, then you can say good-bye.
Now don't look back,
listen, don't give up,
remember me, my love.
He was waiting for me to leave,
and when he saw me in the distance
he ran towards me, shouting my name.
Listen, get up and hear what I'm telling you.
Baby, don't be so sad, let's have a lot of fun.
Don't mope, don't fret,
that's not the way to love.
Don't be so nasty,
make up your mind and come along with me.
Baby, don't hide behind so trite a commonplace.
Don't mope, hate is no way to cope,
it's just a way to feel afraid.

He was waiting for me to leave,
and when I saw him in the distance,
I started to cry, shouting his name,
pleading for love.
He was waiting for me to leave.
He was waiting for me.

16th Scene. He was waiting for me to leave (Pedro Iturralde, saxophone; Flavio Oliver, sopranist; Marián Sánchez; Círculo Ensemble)


17th SCENE
(Dialogues of Calisto and Melibea)


(Texts: José Luis Turina)

En esto veo, Melibea, la grandeza de Dios.

Cuando siento que tu boca me rodea,
cuando el filo de tus dientes me acaricia,

un estremecimiento

sacude mis raíces y viaja por mi tronco,

diluyéndose en la punta de mis hojas,

en un leve temblor.

(Como la brisa leve,

que no es sino residuo amortiguado
del huracán lejano.)




Cuando siento tu vientre

comprimiendo y suavemente liberando
el bauprés de mi cuerpo,


sé que un escalofrío
brota de tu epicentro y trepa por tu espalda,


haciéndose visible

en una leve, apenas perceptible
dilatación de tus pupilas.


(Como la leve espuma que la ola,

deshecha en la rompiente,

deja detrás de sí sobre la roca.)




Quiero la soledad, amada mía,

que me aproxima a tí, tan alejada,
a través de la noche acibarada

por el sabor de la melancolía.




Quiero el silencio, pura poesía,

para evocar la noche traspasada
por destellos de fuego,

apasionada
revelación de la sabiduría.




Como un tigre al acecho,

me limito
a esperar el momento de atacarte

(Silencio y soledad, tiempo infinito.),
de saltar sobre tí, de cabalgarte,
ya que tan sólo sé que necesito

soledad y silencio, para amarte.

¿En qué, Calisto?


¿Cuál es el placer mayor?

Amor.

¿Cómo alcanzar su bondad?

Soledad.

¿Cuándo más lo reverencio?

Silencio.


Pues que de los tres sentencio
no prevalezca ninguno,
formen los tres sólo uno:
Amor, Soledad, Silencio.


¡Silencio!


Sólo el silencio puede
atravesar el hielo.



Convertir
el brillo de tus ojos


en llamarada ardiente.


Cauterizar
la herida de mi alma.


Sólo el silencio sabe

sublimar mis pasiones,

deshacer
mis sólidos instintos
en solución etérea.



¡Quiero la soledad!


Sólo la soledad

permite
concentrar en un centímetro cuadrado
millones de universos.



condensar,


en un fugaz instante,


la historia de mil mundos,
la geografía
de treinta y cuatro mil siglos de existencia.



Soledad...


Soledad y silencio.



Silencio y soledad.


17th Scene. Dialogues of Calisto and Melibea (Susi Sánchez and José Luis Santos)


18th SCENE
(Pas de deux II. Vals)


22:39 24/09/2022
18th Scene. Pas de deux II. Vals (Claudia Faci and Ion Munduate)


19th SCENE
(Per la morte di un capolavoro)


(Text: Gabriele D'Annunzio, from Laudi del cielo, del mare, della terra e degil eroi -
Seconda parte: Elettra -1904-, La notte di Caprera)

PER LA MORTE DI UN CAPOLAVORO
(Fragmento)

Foreste su i monti, chiome fragorose
di oro di porpora e di croco
all'aquilone,
su l'aeree fronti
immense corone
che affoca il foco dei tramonti;
rosarii di rose
nate su i fonti solitarii
ancor tiepidi dell'Estate
che vi s'immerse;
orti, orti conclusi, pomarii
soavi cui l'Autunno pone
monili più gravi che quelli di Serse
poi che su le gemme celate
il bel garzone
ebro il pomo punico aperse;

voluttà della Terra, o fronde,
o fiori, o frutti,
gioia di tutti,
prole delle Stagioni sacre,
portento dell'Acqua e del Sole,
fronde fiori, frutti,
ecco, ora nati, ora distrutti,
chi mai si duole
oggi di vostra bella morte?
quale corda piange vostri dolci lutti?
Vivono le profonde radici nel buio attorte.
Ancora brilleran felici
i ramicelli,
e il suo acre
si farà di miele nelle polpe bionde.

Ma la creatura infinita,
in cui la mente
dell'uom fatto dio
continuò l'opera della divina
Madre e trasfiguró la vitaII
sotto la specie dell'Eterno;
ma l'effigie pura
in cui l'uom solo nell'oblìo
di sé mutamente
svelò la virtù del dolore
sotto la specie dell'Eterno
ma il mondo creato sopra la Natura,
ove con un gesto l'uom si fe' signore
del Fato e congiunse la sua forza antica
alla sua bellezza futura
sotto la specie dell'Eterno;

ma lo specchio dell'Ideale,
o Poeti, la misura degli Eroi,
la somma dell'Arte,
il vertice del Pensiero e del Mistero,
il segno visibile dell'Immortale
muore, o Poeti, non e più.
Perisce e non si rinnovella.
Da noi si disparte; non avrà ritorno.
S'oscura per sempre nella notte eguale.
Fronde fiori frutti nel sereno giorno
rivedremo noi,
la giovine Terra, la sua genitura,
e non l'infinita creatura bella!
Piangete, o Poeti, o Eroi,
per la luce que non è più,
per la gioia che non è più.

19th Scene. Per la morte di un capolavoro (Magerit Choir and Círculo Ensemble)



Notes to the premiere program

By José Luis Temes (Madrid, September 1996)

Claudia Faci and José Luis Temes, during a rehearsal

From the very moment that the Fine Artes Circle and the Community of Madrid signed the comprehensive restoration agreement for the Círculo de Bellas Artes Show Hall, it was the objective of both entities that the reopening of said was not going to consist of a show or a concert more or less "to get by", but of a specific production, commissioned for the occasion.
The starting points for such a show seemed clear: the project had to be a multimedia work, showing the new possibilities of the Hall and uniting as far as possible the various artistic branches in which the activity of the Circle unfolds: music, theater, dance, poetry, image, plastic arts, etc. It was also clear that the instrumental recipient of the work would be the "house" chamber orchestra -the Círculo Ensemble-, and equally that it should not be a more or less conventional opera.
After discussing various possibilities and characteristics of this reopening, the board of directors and the director who at that time (mid-1994) headed the Circle, drew up a project that was immediately approved -with sincere enthusiasm, I think- by the then governing team of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Community of Madrid. Only the name of the person to whom the composition of the work would be commissioned was missing. After considering numerous possibilities, in October 1994 it was agreed to request a proposal from José Luis Turina, who promptly responded with a project that excited both entities, and in which, by the way, the composer himself assumes not only the composition of the music itself, but also the dramatic-literary conception of the work.
We know that Turina worked with singular passion on this project, and in only six months he had completed more than half of the music. But thinking that, since it was a multimedia show, the visual and scenic aspect should not be mere "decorations" after the music, it was already agreed at that time to designate the person who from then on would "guardian" the global production of the show from the scenic point of view; The choice fell on José Luis Raymond, who has extensive experience in this type of interdisciplinary projects. Thus, a good part of the actual scenic numbers are composed in daily contact between composer and set designer, with constant consultations with the coordinator of the Music and Theater Area about the numerous specificities of the room that was reopened and about the production that was projected. (The respective three telephone bills can prove that a work has rarely been born in a more specific way for a specific production and hall.)
Finally, in January 1996, José Luis Turina delivered the complete work. Two reading sessions were enough for us to understand that we were facing a very unique work in Turina's catalogue. The staging was also on a magnificent path, since we must remember that the original idea was to reopen the hall on May 2, 1996, which later had to be abandoned and postponed until September.
The brief stay of Tomás Marco in the Community of Madrid meant the concreteness for the future production, because in an unusually long conversation with him (about twelve minutes), the characteristics and budget of the production were determined. It is true that later resource difficulties would ruin the videographic and sculptural aspect of the original project, as well as several scenes.
So far, the genesis of the work. About the work itself it is difficult (and perhaps preferable) to comment on seeing and hearing it. Not from the artistic point of view, but from its "mechanical" operation, perhaps it is useful to clarify that these are twenty independent scenes, without any obligatory internal link, and that they can also be offered in their entirety or in parts, and, of course, in a different order than the one chosen for today. Good proof of the extreme liberality of interpretation with which Turina presents this work is that a suggestion that for many reasons has shaped the creation of the work, such as the global organization of La Celestina, by Fernando de Rojas, remains completely relegated in the production to a mere compositional structuralism, practically imperceptible to the viewer, except for a few isolated textual quotes.
With these twenty scenes, in addition to the overall work, Turina has included nine other basic works in its catalogue, since it has already been said that each one of them is designed to be performed in isolation, in concert or with stage support: two choral pieces (Acrostic and Per la morte di un capolavoro), a piece for voice and electroacoustic transformation (Consonants and vowels), a unique trio for sub-contrabass flute, piccolo and drums (Dubles), four works for a group of 16 instrumentalists (Presentation of the Círculo Ensemble, Klangfarbenpas de deux, Syntactic disintegration of a Góngora sonnet and Pas de deux II (Waltz)), and a splendid piece for voice, solo sax and ensemble (He was waiting for me to leave). The Varied Coral (scene XVI) is the only piece that perhaps does not make sense in isolation, that is, without occupying a place in the context of the scenic development.
This autonomous sense of the various modular fragments of the work is unified in this staging of its premiere by an imaginary figure -a "stripe on the water"- that persists throughout almost the entire show and recalls that the stripe we make on the water and that vanishes has scarcely come into existence; but it is clear that it does not necessarily have to be this way in future productions, and that the work itself admits very diverse interpretations: ultimately, as many as there are spectators who see and listen to it. In this sense, the person in charge of the staging, José Luis Raymond, recently wrote: "(...) La Raya en el Agua is a title that reminds us how art and life are ephemeral, with all their interiorities and variants: love, hate, relaxation, imagination, sensitivity... To write in time is to write on water: what is written evaporates, disappears... then we are left with only the moment lived, the instant.(...) Each instant is an autonomous plastic installation, which could be in a gallery or a museum."
For his part, José Luis Turina said about his work: "La Raya en el Agua is a show that integrates music and performing arts, without therefore constituting an opera, or a zarzuela, nor anything to which the usual names can be applied. Sometimes abstract, other times concrete, La Raya en el Agua wants to be an invitation to a journey -with as many possible routes as spectators have- through multiple sound and visual suggestions, to which each individual memory must give its own meaning.
The work does not have a clear text, nor a clear plot line, but it could be defined as an attempt to synthesize antagonistic elements -which is, on the other hand, an ancient claim of art-, in which you meet simultaneously the old and the new, the possible and the impossible, the authentic and the spurious, the tragic and the comic... In short: the apparently real while it is produced, which turns out to be unreal when it vanishes. Like a stripe drawn on the water. Something, in short, in which all the arts that this show intends to integrate in a single embrace participate: music, dance, theater, poetry, all of them brought together through light, color and the magical invocation of the stage."
The work, "composed for the Fine Arts Circle, commissioned by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Community of Madrid", is dedicated "Al Círculo de Bellas Artes", an institution that has just celebrated its 116th anniversary.

Saludo final tras el estreno



Reviews and press news



Musical theater for a long-awaited occasion
By Tomás Marco, composer and director of INAEM
(Article published in the magazine Minerva of the Circle of Fine Arts of Madrid, September/October 1996)


Opening a new theater is always a happy occasion, and even more so when it comes to recovering a historic hall that also has the capacity to host both theatrical and musical performances and musical theatre. Perhaps for this reason, the Círculo de Bellas Artes decided some time ago that the renovated Sala Fernando de Rojas should be opened with a musical theater play. With a new work of course, since the Circle has always opted for modernity, and with a work expressly conceived for the hall itself. This is how José Luis Turina's La Raya en el Agua emerged, happily opening the new path of the reborn theater.
The choice of José Luis Turina did not offer doubts either. Composer from Madrid with a wide reputation, belonging to the generation that has already reached creative maturity, with experience in musical theater works as his excellent Ligazón on Valle-Inclán duly demonstrates, Turina was not linked to the Círculo board either, although it was a person who frequents the House. Furthermore, Turina did not intend to make an opera in the traditional sense of the concept, but rather a musical theater work that implied the realities of the new theatre, its possibilities and even its limitations. Nor is anyone more suitable to premiere it than the Círculo Ensemble, which, after all, was not only born within the House itself, but for many years has been the most complete expression of its musical activity, both inside and outside. of its walls.
The work of José Luis Turina takes on a historical dimension even before it is premiered, due to the moment and the occasion in and for which it arrives. Also by itself, since it is guaranteed a prominent place among the works of an author who, despite his mature youth, already has a well-defined historical position in Spanish music.



"I have never enjoyed myself as much as a composer"
José Luis Turina premieres the production of La Raya en el Agua at the Autumn Festival
By Rubén Amón
(Article published in the newspaper El Mundo. Madrid, November 27, 1996)

It is not an opera. In reality, José Luis Turina (Madrid, 1952) does not know in what genre to place the original project of The Stripe on the Water, although such an approach to the contradictory world of La Celestina can be considered the most "gratifying" work of the Madrid composer and, definitively, the production that last night has recovered the performance hall of the Circle of Fine Arts for Madrid's cultural life.
"It is true that I had never enjoyed myself as much as a composer and never had a creative experience enriched me as much as writing and performing The Stripe on the Water. And it is that this project has a special interest, because, in some way, it integrates very different artistic manifestations: theater, poetry, dance, plastic arts and music. The opportunity to be involved in this idea is a real privilege."
The Stripe on the Water, directed by José Luis Raymond and José Luis Temes -at the head of the Círculo Ensemble-, also represents José Luis Turina's first experience in the stage world. "Many years ago I did a chamber opera in Cuenca, but I consider The Stripe on the Water as my true scenic baptism. Never before had I had the feeling of working into a team. And it is that in this way the work is enriched by many aspects. Of course, the suggestions of José Luis Temes and Raymond have been as important as mine could have been for them at another time".
José Luis Turina does not dare to mention the word opera. "No, it is not that. The fact is that opera, like any other manifestation of stage music, had always presented me with two problems. One, the lack of means and opportunities. And another, more important still, the lack of conviction to carry it out. Undoubtedly, composing an opera is my greatest dream, but it seems essential to me to acquire more background and have more clarity of concepts".

Conceptual.- Perhaps The Stripe on the Water is an intermediate step on the way to opera, although José Luis Turina prefers to associate it with the terms of a "suite". "There is no script, no plot line, no leading vocal part. Let's say that it is a succession of more or less independent scenes that allude to La Celestina not from fidelity to a plot, but from a conceptual perspective. The primary objective is to present this show from the perspective of the synthesis of antagonistic elements that occurs in the work of Fernando de Rojas: the tragic and the comic, cultured and vulgar language, prose and verse…".
How does this contradiction arise from the musical point of view? "Let's see, the work is not only music, but, in some way, it can be considered the element that gives it cohesion. So this situation of antagonistic elements is reflected by the opposition of contemporary music without concessions against another much more accessible. In addition, as in my other works, there is a dialectic between contemporary aesthetics and allusions to more traditional music".
In the speech of La Raya en el Agua there is no room for sopranos, tenors or baritones, so the viewer should not be surprised by the fact that José Luis Turina has resorted to a sopranist -Flavio Oliver- and Pedro Iturralde's saxophone as essential elements of the cast.
But where does the title of the work come from? "A stripe on the water is an old proverb, which appears in La Celestina, and which alludes to another paradoxical situation that arises for the artist when he creates something: on the one hand, the feeling of having done something new; and on the other, the fact that the work disappears in an ephemeral way. Just like when you draw a stripe on the water".



"La raya en el agua", a dazzling show at the Autumn Festival
By José Luis García del Busto
(Review published in the newspaper ABC. Madrid, September 28, 1996)

My illustrious namesake José Luis Turina does not wear long hair, precisely, but there is no doubt that he "has let his hair down". His musical-theatrical show for the reopening of the small theater of the Circle of Fine Arts is a wonderful chaos where the most varied occurrences take place in a lively flow, without taking a break and with the appearance of free entertainment. Appearance, I say. Everything is written, everything is measured, everything is thought, weighed, controlled. As if it were a work by José Luis Turina, say.
Let us hasten to say, however, that, even though it is an "author's" work, co-authorship is contemplated in the very idea of The Stripe on the Water. It is, in effect, about twenty mini-scenes conceived as modules. All of them have autonomous value and -except those that start and end each of the acts- can be ordered differently. In short, the theater director can and should have a decisive influence on the final appearance of each production (more decisive than usual, I mean). In this premiere, the co-author is José Luis Raymond, who has lavished imagination and theatrical creativity in perfect harmony with the talent that Turina has put into the libretto and the music.
There are music-only scenes, word-only scenes, and both in various proportions. The text is extensive and multiform, in prose and in verse, in jest and in earnest, in Góngora and vulgar Castilian, in classic and modern, lyrical and cocky style, and in English and Italian... It seems like an anthology of things, but It's all Turina. The music is recognizably Turina most of the time, although it abounds in inserts of pure baroque, pure music-hall, jazz improvisation... But, as the reader has already imagined, neither baroque nor music-hall are pure, nor jazzman improvises none: everything is Turina.

Whirlwind representation

With a single performance of such a whirlwind spectacle, the memories of the moments that captured you the most are exhausted, and his quote will surely be incomplete and messy. A third José Luis, José Luis Santos, delicious author for the humor of the first text, was so magnificent in the Royal Decree Dance that I understood the whole text and I was even able to laugh, despite the stage presence of Marián Sánchez, stripe on the water before whose unheard-of beauty I bow. There was also grace and quality in the direction and performance of Susi Sánchez, without whose "specific weight" the scene of the Syntactic Disintegration of a GóngoraSonnet might have suffered due to the somewhat excessive presence of the group of transvestites. The two choirs are extremely beautiful –"showy" the one in the first act, reflective and even moving at the end- whose difficulties did not deter the excellent Magerit choir directed by Manuel Dimbwadyo with admirable knowledge and dedication. Extremely attractive is the concert of exotic percussions played by dancers, in the first act, and the "choral" of the second, interrupted (more than varied) by the aggression of a traffic that at times becomes a crazy herd or a nonsense video game.
The musical performances of the instrumentalists of the Grupo Círculo and the invited soloists were always of the highest level, with special relevance to those of the veteran saxophonist Pedro Iturralde -magnificent in his two appearances on stage-, that of the two Salvadores -Espasa, Vidal- who showed their luxury category in several scenes of special instrumental demand, or that of Julián López Elvira, player of the overwhelming sub-contrabass flute in the singular trio that he does with the other end of the family -the piccolo (Espasa)- and the "steel-drums" (Vicente Tello).
The memory does not run out, but the space does. Let us therefore mention, finally, two other moments of the highest musical-theatrical quality that force us to refer to protagonists of the performance not yet mentioned. He was waiting for me to leave is a formidable and highly inspired music-hall number (Gershwin revived and improved) in which he snatched the vocal interpretation of Flavio Oliver -a formidable and plural artist, here as a sopranist- and the instrumental of Iturralde. And the Pas de deux immediately before the final chorus, a memorable scene in all its aspects. The music, a recreation of the waltz, is an apotheosis of the "three by four" that breaks after a lewd accellerando and continues into long cathartic bars in which Ambroa and Espasa gave lessons from the pit. The choreography, an idea that merges so intimately and naturally with the music that it is hard to believe that they were not born together, had an emotional and exciting realization: idea and realization were by Claudia Faci and Ion Munduate.
A fourth José Luis in dance, maestro Temes, led the baton with equal rigor and love. Rigor is a matter of the trade; love is the logical father of the creature, because José Luis Temes had a lot to do with what we are going to do, how and with whom, to reopen the Circle Show Room. Like Rosa María Molleda, an exemplary producer in whom we represent the ¡bravo! to so many participants in this adventure whose names do not appear here. Is it possible that this musical-theatrical party will disappear on Saturday like a stripe on the water? It would be unfortunate, and not so much for those who see the work of months vanish in hours -nobody can't take away their fun-, but because this party is called to be enjoyed by so many, by everyone.



End of the century varieties
By Juan Ángel Vela del Campo
(Review published in the newspaper El País. Madrid, September 28, 1996)

José Luis Turina (Madrid, 1952) defines his last work as a "scenic-musical show", without falling into the temptation of labeling it as a chamber opera or something of the sort. From the title La Raya en el Agua (The Stripe on he Water) , the ephemeral nature of the proposal stands out, and from the intentions -merge music, theater, dance and image- a space of worship, a variety show, if you will, is sought, where the different elements put into play coexist with each other but do not submit to each other.
The bet has its risks, of course, and sometimes disconcerts. It has its ups and downs, of course, but it maintains the tension by resorting to surprise or intelligence. And it has, filling every last pore, an extraordinary music that envelops, gratifies and moves.
Turina never loses the point of view of the show. The music, the scene and even the theater itself are interrelated in a game of complicity, Turina's generosity is evident in this shared adventure.
Contemporaneity is in the organization of his findings and in the invitation to the party to other music -ritual, popular, jazz- and other creative fields -a pity the suppression of the videographic and sculptural aspects of the original project, due to budget limitations -.
With everything listed above, the show is more convincing when the interpretive side is better resolved, and is susceptible to retouching given the distribution itself in independent scenes.
Variety and contrast are at the heart of The Stripe on the Water's character as lucid entertainment. They have little to do with each other but, nevertheless, they contribute to the personality and rhythm of the work such excellent numbers as the original Dubles trio for sub-contrabass flute, piccolo and drums; the funny and ironic Royal Decree Dance with an inspired José Luis Santos as an actor; or the suggestive piece for sopranist, saxophone and instrumental ensemble He was waiting for me to leave with magnificent Pedro Iturralde and Flavio Oliver as soloists.
José Luis Temes directs a reinforced Círculo Ensemble with a good dose of seriousness, good pulse and effusiveness. Sometimes the work surpasses the Magerit choir, the dancers comply but are not always up to the communicative level of the music (in Pas de deux II the choreography was somewhat repetitive), and José Luis Raymond's staging is uneven although some scenes are brimming with inventiveness.
The Stripe on the Water is, in any case, a show as lively as it is fresh and imaginative. In the global balance, perhaps a greater role for music is missed, but the one that is there is formidable from start to finish.
Cristóbal Halffter, Luis de Pablo, García Abril, Tomás Marco, Mauricio Sotelo, Llorenç Barber, Fernández Guerra and a long etcetera of composers of the most varied and diverse tendencies attended the premiere with which the Madrid Fine Arts Circle recovered, after six years of closure and one of works, the old Fernando de Rojas Hall, an author whom Turina also pays tribute to in The Stripe on the Water.



Fantasy teacher
By Carlos Gómez Amat
(Review published in the newspaper El Mundo. Madrid, September 29, 1996)

José Luis Turina has sometimes been painted as a young -already mature- technique teacher. But now it turns out that, without forgetting his technical qualities, he becomes a fantasy teacher for us. In what an artist can have of magic.
The work that he presents us, product of a calm high culture, is well suited to inaugurate the hall, whose recovery is a complete success. And I say that it is adequate, because in La Raya en el Agua we are offered a synthesis of artistic, literary and musical flows, with dance in between.
It is not necessary to classify this show, and even less to look for any kind of plot line. However, it must be said that it is not a succession of unconnected scenes. Especially in the second part, the order in which these scenes are followed suggests an idea of unity, perhaps linked to the logic of dreams. For now, La Raya seems to me to be a pinnacle in the work of José Luis Turina, and one of the happiest achievements in Spanish art of our time.
The foundation of La Celestina de Rojas; the ingenious literary game; the sincere declaration of intentions; the music that seems to go from Juan Sebastián Bach to the cabaret; the dance that jumps between epochs; lights; the scenic contraptions; the movement in short, are general elements that contribute to the captivating effect.
Then, we must take into account the possibility of independence of the fragments, especially some, such as the two magnificent choral moments. There are authentic discoveries, such as the danced Royal Decree, the extremely difficult disintegration of a beautiful sonnet, the duet between two virtuosos, each one in his own genre, the saxophone Pedro Iturralde and the sopranist Flavio Oliver, a multifaceted man.
Turina has played with texts and music, in a close and happy brotherhood with the stage director José Luis Raymond and the musical José Luis Temes. Outstanding for them and for all the others, since nobody is careless here. Everything works to the thousandth of a second and also with enthusiasm.
You may like some scenes more than others, that's inevitable, but the total impression is dazzling. The Círculo Ensemble is augmented by other musicians, sometimes with unusual instruments. I have cited Iturralde and Oliver. The Magerit University Choir, wisely directed and prepared by Manuel Dimbwadyo. The actors Susi Sánchez and José Luis Santos. The dancers Claudia Faci and Jon Munduate, great at the waltz. Lights by Camacho and imaginative costumes by Gorriz and Sanz. The noisy success corresponded to the merits.



Lucid and playful José Luis Turina
By Leopoldo Hontañón
(Review published in the magazine Scherzo in November 1996)

[...]
It has not been able to make its return to active life with a better start after six years of closure, the recently and stupendously renovated Show Hall of the Circle of Fine Arts. It has been well verified by all who have had the opportunity, any of the days 26, 27 and 28, to witness the absolute premiere of La Raya en el Agua; In the words of the author of the libretto -a champion of wide and deep culture- and music, José Luis Turina (Madrid, 1952), a show that is "neither an opera, nor a zarzuela, nor anything to which the usual names can be applied".
All right. The Stripe on the Water, strictly speaking, is nothing more than the succession, articulated in two parts, of up to twenty paintings with no apparent musical, thematic, or philosophical connection. All of them, yes, obediently faithful to the purpose that those responsible for the Circle and the Community who decided to entrust the work to Turina had suggested to him: that "they come into play in the work, in addition to the dramaturgy and music, the image arts and new technologies, always in an open, festive line, with the character that the illusion of recovering a new space for culture should have". And also to the fact that everything was -hence the title- a kind of hymn to the ephemeral.
From then on, the successes begin to be chained -until reaching the triple success-, all encompassing themselves in a collective preparation, exemplary in effort and illusion, which decisively contributes to underlining and quintessentially so many individual goals. The first, without a doubt, the one that José Luis Turina achieves with a score, of rare univocality in all the multiple expressions and formulas that he adapts to the very diverse incidents and situations that he himself designed in the fun and only apparently crazy and scattered libretto. Next, the formidable imaginative, colorful order enriched with a thousand intentional nuances that José Luis Raymond displayed in the layout of the scenic space and in the direction of that character must appear.
The executor is paired with the creator. The individualized nomination that each and every one of the instrumentalists would deserve is not possible, but see yourself represented in the citations that space allows. For the difficult conciliatory work, carried out flawlessly, by José Luis Temes at the head of a particularly successful Circle Group, enlarged for the occasion. For the Magerit University Choir directed by Manuel Dimbwadyo, impeccable in the two beautiful choirs that close each part. For the solo and duet performances -one of the highlights of the work, with the Royal Decree Dance, the Disintegration of a Góngora Sonnet, the waltz and the aforementioned choirs- by saxophone Pedro Iturralde and sopranist Flavio Oliver. For the splendid actors Susi Sánchez and José Luis Santos. For the no less splendid choreographers and dancers Claudia Faci and Ion Munduate…