Erato Ensemble - Duormi Riposa (Vincent Schillaci-Ventura)

Duormi riposa sutta a ‘na rosa (2022)
Music by Vincent Schillaci-Ventura (composed for Erato)
Dorothea Hayley, soprano
Melanie Adams, mezzo-soprano & glass bowl
Jeff Pelletier, flute
Julie Begg, clarinet
Sarah Kwok, viola
Alexandra Sia, cello
This piece is based on an ancient traditional Sicilian lullaby. The lullaby is the first music we hear as infants - our mother’s voice lulling us to sleep, coaxing us to close our eyes, and dream. Sleep is also a metaphor for that moment when you gently transition from life to death. This work is dedicated to my Mother who passed away on February 8, 2022. The text is written in the original Sicilian dialect in honour of my Mother’s Sicilian heritage. Duormi riposa madre mia. ~ Vincent Schillaci-Ventura
Lullaby of the Rose (Traditional)
Go to sleep, sleep beneath a rose.
When you wake I’ll give you something nice.
I love you, I love you,
Close your little eyes then sleep will come.
You must calm down, you must calm down
Like waves in the sea calm down.
What can I say, what can I say,
When you have a twinkle in your eyes and a smile on your lips?
How sweet are you, how sweet,
Like sugar paste or walnuts.
Why are you crying? I have put your cradle
In amongst the orange trees,
What’s the matter, why do you cry all the time?