Caspar David Friedrich

8.   Morning Song     (Alborada)

(Cantares Gallegos, 1863)

Translator's Notes

All the preceding poems have made extensive use of the affectionate diminutive form peculiar to the Galician language. "Alborada" is no exception. The affectionate diminutive ends in iña (singular feminine) or iño (singular masculine). Preceding poems have already shown that some words which end in iña or iño are not affectionate diminutives.

All the words in "Alborada" that end in iña or iño are listed below together with a range of possible translations and a short explanation of the term chosen. Galician affectionate diminutives let the translator add alliteration, internal rhyme and lyrical sharpness to the text. The goal of the exercise is to select the best adjective, adverb or noun which expresses affection, concern, frailty or smallness depending on the context. This selection becomes a personal choice when there is more than one translation available as it often occurs. Occasionally it is even advisable to ignore an affectionate diminutive because the context is unclear, because the extra term crimps the fluidity of the translated poem or makes the text unadvisedly cloy. The exercise can be tedious, challenging and time-consuming, but to sideline the affectionate diminutive altogether in the translation of "Cantares Gallegos" is to deprive the English reader of an approximation to what De Castro dubbed "those tender words and those idioms never forgotten which sounded so sweet to my ears since the cradle and which were gathered up by my heart as its own heritage."

• auroriña. Dim. of "aurora" (dawn) translated "darling dawn." Other options: beautiful dawn, fair dawn, lovely dawn.
• cunchiñas. Dim. and pl. of "cuncha" (seashell) translated simply "seashells." The affectionate diminutive was ignored because the shells found on any beach have various sizes typically and because tagging them with a label of concern or affection seems extravagant. The only viable adjectives relate to beauty, such as cute, elegant, pretty, etc., but Galicia is not known for particularly beautiful seashells.
• gaitiña. Dim. of "gaita" (bagpipe) translated "his trusty bagpipe" to complement the past participle "accompanied of." The pronoun was included to improve the readability of the English text. Other options: beloved bagpipe, Galician bagpipe, native bagpipe.
• meniñas. Pl. of meniña (girl, lass). Not an affectionate diminutive.
• paxariño. Dim. of "paxaro" (bird) translated "little bird." The phrase connotes size and affection.
• ponliña. Dim. of "ponla" (branch, limb) translated "twig." Another option: branchlet.
• portiñas. Dim. and pl. of "porta" (door) translated "friendly doors." Other options: hospitable doors, kindly doors, neighbourly doors, welcoming doors. The front door of a house becomes a metaphor for the people who dwell inside.
• rapaciñas. Dim. and pl. of "rapaza" (girl, lass, teenage girl) translated "lassies." Another option: lovely (teenage) girls.
• teñidiño. Dim. of "teñido" (dyed) translated "daintily dyed." Other options: beautifully dyed, delicately dyed. Here the diminutive does not suggest splendour but coyness.
• velliñas alegriñas. Dim. and pl. of "vella alegre" (cheerful old woman) translated "cheery, charming dear grannies." The affection is shown by the phrase "dear grannies" and the adjective "charming" adds affection to the adjective "cheery." This double form has allowed the creation of one alliteration and one approximate internal rhyme (cheery, grannies).
• vidriños. Dim. and pl. of "vidrio" (glass) translated "window panes." Arguably not an affectionate diminutive. A window pane was cut from a parent sheet of glass.

Explanation of some words, terms or expressions

atruxaremos, cantaremos o alalá! (last line). "Atruxar" is the blend of a yodel and a prolonged yell. Examples: Minutes 0:28-0:31 (somewhat muted) and 2:22-2:27 of this recording. An alalá is a traditional Galician song of remote origin; some researchers trace it back to the Gregorian chant.¹ Alalá das Mariñas is an example.

Musical Adaptation

De Castro molded the meter of "Alborada" on this morning song of Ourense which a neighbourhood piper used to play. The resultant lyrics and tune became known as the "Alborada de Rosalía de Castro" (Morning Song of Rosalía de Castro).

As part of the commemoration of the 150^th anniversary of the publication of "Cantares Gallegos" Daniel Bellón plays the "Alborada de Rosalía de Castro" on the bagpipe (first entry). As part of the same commemoration Lucía Pérez and Rosa Cedrón gave a youthful interpretation of the "Alborada" on Radio Televisión Galicia (second entry). In 2008 Abe Rábade arranged a jazz vocal together with Guadí Galego and Anxo Angueira (third entry). Mary C. Otero Rolle wrote her own musical adaptation of the poem (fifth entry). Peque Coro Do Xan Viaño sings two stanzas (1.3, 2.2.1-4) with a distinct melody (sixth entry).

Daniel Bellón (February 24, 2013)

Lucía Pérez and Rosa Cedrón (February 22, 2013)

Guadí Galego, Anxo Angueira and Abe Rábade from the 2008 album Rosalía 21 (jazz)

Moncho do Orzán and Ricardo Morente (accordion and violin)

Mary C. Otero Rolle

On February 24, 2013, the Rosalía de Castro Foundation, the Royal Galician Academy, the University of Vigo and the Galician Bagpipers Association invited pipers to play the "Alborada de Rosalía de Castro" in unison across Galicia to commemorate the 150^th anniversary of the publication of "Cantares Gallegos." A short sample of localities and performances of the morning song is given next,

A Coruña, at the site of Sir John Moore's cenotaph

Allariz (Ourense)

Ordes (A Coruña)

Pico Sacro, at an altitude of 530 meters (Lestedo-Boqueixón, A Coruña)

Santiago de Compostela, before De Castro's tomb in the Pantheon of Illustrious Galicians

Villafranca del Bierzo (León)

Partial Recital

Esperanza Calvo