Gabriela, a song about childhood in texts by Gabriela Mistral

Childhood and motherhood in the eyes of Gabriela Mistral is what can be heard in this concert where Natalia Vilches, in soprano voice, and Simón Morgado, in piano, will take the audience on a journey set to music by the award-winning artist's poems about childhood and the tenderness of being a mother.

The repertoire considers literary poems interpreted by them in a musical way, seeking an instance of encounter between lyrics and song.

The way in which these elements are intertwined will be through the genre of lied, developed by the composer Franz Schubert, which is characterized by the use of high-quality poetry, in addition to not having a hierarchy of the voice over the instrument, but rather both maintain a relationship of co-soloists in which each one has the task of transmitting the description of the text, which is the main element that gives coherence to the interpretation of the instruments. 

"This concert arose during the days of the pandemic. We met early to study and prepare the repertoire and things began to appear little by little, and one day when Natalia was in Italy a poem by Gabriela Mistral called 'Botoncito' came into my hands, in an hour I had it ready with music but it needed to come to life, so I showed it to Natalia, she liked it and others began to arrive. It flowed, like the pages opened by themselves and said 'put me on music'. Six songs appeared, we saw them with Natalia and that was the story, since before we had recorded one of the poems set to music," remembers pianist Simón Morgado.

"We both have a childhood that grew up with Gabriela. We are regular readers of her, we admire her a lot, not only her work but also her biography, what she did in terms of education since we are both teachers so we have a super deep training in teaching and an admiration for her vision on this subject. There is also a value context that she always addresses which is the allusion to childhood, motherhood or Christ, and childhood is always circling with a very subtle slap on the wrist about the protection of children,” adds Natalia.

The show also contemplates the experiences of the poet, and her vision and feelings about the processes of motherhood in her treatment of this topic, by talking about pregnancy and breastfeeding in a deep and vulnerable way. All these reasons make the concert an event full of emotion and commitment on the part of the team that will present the musical work.

Pianist and composer Simón Morgado | Soprano Natalia Vilches | Stage Direction Francisco Carvajal

The program consists of two parts:
The first, with musicalizations by Emma Ortiz, María Amélia Balbi and Carlos Guastavino. The second consists of a sequence of compositions by Simón Morgado.

Part 1
- Prelude for piano: Let's play! (Simón Morgado)
- Everything is Ronda, María Angélica Balbi
- Rocío, Emma Ortiz
- Enchantment, Carlos Guastavino
- Rocking, Carlos Guastavino
- Piececitos, Carlos Guastavino.

Part 2 (Compositions by Simón Morgado)
- Interlude
- Caress
- Promise to the stars
- Fear
- Little pieces
- As long as you fall asleep
- The child alone
- Little button
- Handyman