About this work
“…I think of you all the time, and you know this without me having to say it, but silently, and between the lines, you should be able to read the love I feel for you, and the tenderness in my heart…”
From the last letter of Federico García Lorca to Juan Ramírez de Lucas, circa 1936.
The Sonetos del amor oscuro, (Sonnets of dark or hidden love) comprise some of the most fascinating parts of the output of Federico García Lorca. These cryptic sonnets depict an openly gay Lorca and a year-long, tempestuous relationship with a lover, believed now to be Castilian actor and political activist Juan Ramírez de Lucas.
In 1936, Lorca received political asylum from the Mexican Government and both he and Ramírez de Lucas made plans to leave for Mexico. Before he was able to escape, however, Lorca was summarily assassinated by a nationalist death squad (now known to have been operating under the direction of Generalissimo Franco) as punishment for homosexuality, his defense of the Roman Catholic Church (which found itself under increasing scrutiny from the ruling junta), and his outspoken artistic output. His body has never been recovered. The Sonetos, along with El Divan de Tamarit, comprise his final written work.
Originally withheld from publication by his heirs as part of a sanitization of his legacy, they were first published in 1983 in an unauthorized edition by an underground Andalusian queer newspaper. This unauthorized publication was quickly followed by an authorized edition in 1984.
Many thanks to the Fundación Federico García Lorca and Laura García Lorca for allowing the use of this text.
-jma
Text
From Sonetos del amor oscuro by Federico García-Lorca (1898-1936).
Duration
ca. 35 minutes
Instrumentation
Flute (dbl. Alto Flute)
Alto saxophone (dbl. Bass Clarinet)
Oboe
Baritone Sax
Horn in F
Trumpet
Trombone
Electric Guitar (dbl. Mandolin)
Accordion
Vibraphone
Timbales (with cymbal)
2 Violins
1 Viola
1 Violoncello
1 Double Bass
Performance History
- December 15, 2018: The Great Noise Ensemble (World Premiere)