Voices of Connection: 06/16 Around the World Wednesdays: Nicaragua

Canto de Despedida · Carlos Mejia Godoy
Misa Campesina Nicaraguense

FROM GUEST CURATOR GILDA LYONS

In his “Canto de Despedida” (“Song of Farewell”) Carlos Mejía Godoy, national treasure of Nicaragua, alternates choral singing with solo-voice verses that speak to the heart of community, and to the bittersweetness of goodbye. His music is, always, of the people, and his “Misa Campesina Nicaragüense” from which this song is drawn, brings the musical language of the mass into that of a people united; a chorus of change. For me, Mejía Godoy’s work is a reminder that life is full: that the sacred can be delicate, and it can also be sweaty; that the divine may be ethereal, and it may also be bold; that the most precious things may be fragile, but they are also loud, glorious, and fully-present—and they are here in this moment with us, rooted to the ground. – Gilda Lyons

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