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Al Peregrino
	Comments by Jose Luis Merlin about the "Al Peregrino" compositions.          Translated by: Carlos de la Fuente
Progressions for Pauline This is a requiem in memory of, my friend, Pauline Lasse.  I met her in 1984 when she was a member of the Council for Human Rights in Latin America in Eugene, Oregon.  She was a fervent activist during the years of the dictatorships in Latin America together with Nelly Link, Margaret Thomas, David Salem, Robert Guitteau and Isabel Letelior, among others.  Why a requiem for joyous moments?  Because that is the way Pauline was, even in her death bed.  When I visited her for the last time to say farewell, it was a sad, but beautiful moment and something that I will never forget in my entire life.  Her smile and peaceful look filled the room.  Peace shall be granted once the work is completed!   Alfonsina and the Sea This zamba was included in a series called, "Argentinean Women", by Ariel Ramirez and Feliz Luna.  This piece in particular is dedicated to the poet Alfonsina Stormi who was born on May 29, 1892 in Switzerland and died in 1939.  She was an actress, a teacher, and with her was born modern feminist poetry in Argentina.  She committed suicide at the age of 47 in the city of Mar del Plata by throwing herself into the ocean.   Galopa el Jinete This is a composition based on the poem by Nicandro Pereyra (born in the province of Santiago del Estero), an Argentinean poet and friend.   The Horseman Gallops by Nicandro Pereyra (Translated by Sue Littleton)   There is a horseman who gallops true, There is a horseman who gallops over the green plain Who rides, hooves treading frost. Who rides, hearing the whistles of the mockingbirds. Green weed wet with dew.   The early mornings of the blue pampa, Poncho to the wind, that horseman rides. The gleaned fields sing with straw, the path Cutting through, yes. The early mornings of the pampa, the three-leafed clover seen now and then, that horseman gallops.   To the Christ at La Quebrada For years I have been moved by the image of the pilgrim.  Because of my career as a musician, I also consider myself a pilgrim.  I travel through airports, train stations, highways, hotels, theatres, cities, languages, and oceans, but also through the internal roads--there where images, sounds and smells are recognized and reflect in the soul.  In the village of La Quebrada of the province of San Luis, Argentina, each year thousands of pilgrims from every corner of the world come together moved by their faith to visit the statue of Christ.  Far from the commercial and governmental manipulations, I am interested in this pilgrim that is moved by his loyalty to a belief. Here, I see myself reflected.  To pray or to meditate are acts that everyone performs—each one from his intimate or unique point of view—even those that consider themselves non-believers in a religious or literal sense of the word.  For this reason I pay homage to the pilgrim.   Suite del Recuerdo (Evocacion, Joropo) This is dedicated to a memory.  To my memory.  To the memory of the province of San Luis with its beautiful peasants and landscapes.  Atahualpa Yupanqui would always say that the peasant carries the landscape within.  This is also a recollection of wild aromas of the fields.   Dance of December The first time this piece was ever heard in public was Christmas Eve 1992 at the jail, El Devote, for the prisoners that studied at the University.  It was an unforgettable concert.  My wife, Debora Lewin, a flautist, and I had played for the prisoners on previous occasions, but this time it was very special.  Maybe it was the date or maybe other reasons, I don't know, but the emotions were high that afternoon.  At the conclusion of the concert, one of the inmates with tears in his eyes approached us and said "when I heard Dance of December, I felt as if my soul was rising over the prison walls toward freedom."  Later the prisoners gave us the St. Matthew Award of 1992 with an inscription that read, "I was a prisoner and you visited me."   Five Love Songs The recurring "pilgrim" theme and some of the forms of love are presented here.  "Only love can make a miracle of a piece of clay…." from a poem by Silvio Rodriguez and "for what is this tenderness in my chest…if she is not with me…" from poet, Antonio Esteban Aguero.  These poems were inspiration for the first two of these five songs.  The third number is taken from a poem by Bertold Brecht, and is dedicated to a father mourning the death of his son on the battlefield.  "From where comes solace, from where comes relief, from where comes the music in the river…." a poem by Atahualpa Yupanqui -- fundamental in the fourth song.  And finally, a dance with a recurring theme in crescendo with a collective rhythm to attenuate, understand and recognize the pain that we all, in one way or another, share.

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