Procesión
Language: Spanish (Español)
Our translations: ENG ENG FRE
I. Procesión
Por la calleja vienen
extraños unicornios.
¿De qué campo,
de qué bosque mitológico?
Más cerca,
ya parecen astrónomos.
Fantásticos Merlines
y el Ecce Homo,
Durandarte encantado.
Orlando furioso.
II. Paso
Virgen con miriñaque,
virgen de la Soledad,
abierta como un inmenso
tulipán.
En tu barco de luces
vas
por la alta marea
de la ciudad,
entre saetas turbias
y estrellas de cristal.
Virgen con miriñaque
tú vas
por el río de la calle,
¡hasta el mar!
III. Saeta
Cristo moreno
pasa
de lirio de Judea
a clavel de España.
¡Miradlo, por dónde viene!
De España.
Cielo limpio y oscuro,
tierra tostada,
y cauces donde corre
muy lenta el agua.
Cristo moreno,
con las guedejas quemadas,
los pómulos salientes
y las pupilas blancas.
¡Miradlo, por dónde va!
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Richard Gard) , "Holy Week procession", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Grant Hicks) , "Procession", copyright © 2020, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Procession", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ivo Zandhuis
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-11
Line count: 42
Word count: 128
Procession
Language: English after the Spanish (Español)
I. Procession
Along the alleyway come
strange unicorns.
From what field,
From what mythical forest?
Closer now,
they appear to be astronomers.
Fantastical Merlins
and the Ecce Homo,
enchanted Durendal,
Orlando Furioso.
II. Passage
Virgin in crinoline,
virgin of Solitude,
open like an immense
tulip.
In your ship of lights
you travel
on the high tide
of the city,
among turbulent saetas
and crystalline stars.
Virgin in crinoline
you travel
on the river of the street,
down to the sea!
III. Saeta
Swarthy Christ
passes
from the lily of Judea
to the carnation of Spain.
Look where he comes from!
From Spain.
Clear and dark sky,
seared earth,
and channels where the water
runs very slowly.
Swarthy Christ,
With burnt locks,
prominent cheekbones
and white pupils.
Look where he is going!
Note for stanza 1, line 9:
Ecce Homo is Latin for "Behold the Man," and refers to the scourged Christ presented to the crowd by Pilate.
Note for stanza 1, line 10: Durendal was the name of the sword wielded by the medieval epic hero Roland.
Note for stanza 1, line 11:
Orlando Furioso is a 16th-century epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto on the subject of Roland.
Note for stanza 2, line 10, and the title of stanza 3: A
saeta is a sacred song in flamenco style.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from Spanish (Español) to English copyright © 2020 by Grant Hicks, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2025-07-13
Line count: 42
Word count: 133
