Barnet, Miguel: Brief an Henze, Hans Werner. undatiert
author: Barnet, Miguel
language: es
availability: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Between 15 February and 28 February 1974 [The content of the letter clearly confirms that it is Barnet's reply to Henze's letter of 11 February 1974. This letter must have been written just after this date and probably before March 1974.]
Querido Henze;

Aprovecho hacerte estas líneas porque un amigo mío parte para Italia y quiero que ponga la carta enseguida.[^1] Ye estoy trabajando mucho, muchísimo. Tengo dos tomos de poemas y muchos son del tema del amor, en todas sus facetas. [It is not known which particular poems Barnet is alluding to here. In his previous letter, Henze wrote that he would like to set Barnet’s poems about love to music.] Clare, que en este campo nos entendemos. Pero, sobre todo porque estamos colocados en una dimensión que trasciende las vulgaridades de lo cotidiano. Amamos porque estimamos las cosas positivas de la vida. Y porque en el fondo, creemos en nosotros mismos. Además, escribo mi tercera novela testimonio.[^2] El tema es complejísimo, así come el languaje. En sintesis se trata de la experiencia de un niño cubano en un colegio norteamericano, mundo cerrado de un ambiente colonial y mundo abierto, cosmopolita y contrastante de un barrio pequeño burgués de La Habana, años 1952–62. El título, La Mala Memoria .[^3] Evidentemente denunciará los elementos más visibles del colonialismo yanquí en la vida interior de Cuba. Trabajo con entusiasmo, pero lenta y paladeablemente, nadie me apura, despues de todo, eso es bueno... Ugné Karvelis estuvo en Cuba, la esposa de Julio Cortazar, ella te contará de mi y de mi vida con lujo de detalles. Sabe casi tanto de mí como tú. Y es mi hermana fiel. Trata de verla alguna v ez en Gallimard, Paris. Hans, cómo me alegró tu carta llena de amor y de entusiasmo. Que pena que esta vez tenga que escribierte tan pace. Tu trabajo veo que es muy fertil. Eso es lo importante, mi hermano. Carlos Fariñas está muy contento porque le he prestado la Sexta [Henze had sent Barnet the recording of his Sixth Symphony. Barnet thanks him in the telegram he sent on 13 August 1973.] y el Disco con lo de Ho ChiMin [Barnet is probably referring to the recording of Prison Song for one percussionist and tape, based on a poem taken from the prison diary of Ho Chi Minh, performed by Stomu Yamash’ta in 1972.]. ––

[^1: Several times in the course of the correspondence Barnet sent letters via people travelling from Cuba to Europe, probably both to avoid possible correspondence inspections by the Cuban government and to save postal costs.]

[^2: The first two novela testimonio were El Cimarrón. Biografia de un cimarrón (1966) and La Canción de Rachel (1969). The third novela testimonio to be published by Barnet was Galleco (1981), while the fourth was La vida real, which he seems to summarising here.]

[^3: Barnet never seems to have written a novel entitled La mala memoria. This is the title of a work published by Padilla in 1989. Perhaps Barnet changed the title of this work in La vida real, a novela testimonio whose young protagonist, Juhán Mesa, indeed emigrates to the United States at the end of 1951. In Barnet's letter to Henze on 8 February 1975, he states that he is still writing this novel. There, he also explains the meaning of title La mala memoria. He finished writing this work in 1976, as he explains to Henze in his letter on 9 December 1976.]

Tambien tiene otras cosas tuyas. El es muy buen amigo mio y te respecta y quiere muchísimo. El rapport entre nosotros ha crecido desde que tú te fuiste. Su música es muy buena, muy humana y muy intensa en color. Hace días asistí a un estreno de una sinfonía suya para cuerdas. [It has not been possible to ascertain which of Fariñas' works Barnet is referring to here.] Fue un gran éxito de público. El mensaje llegó a todos con perfecta nitid e z. A Leo lo veo muy poco. Dedica todo el tiempo a su mujer, está como encerrado en sus brazos, aunque trabaja sin fatiga. Su salud tengo entendido no anda del todo bien. De todos modos le daré tu teléfono de nuevo. [In his previous letter, Henze had written to Barnet that he was unable to contact Brouwer and gave him his telephone number in Rome.] Quiero que sepas que demoró meses en entregarme el disco que tú me enviaste con las cosas tuyas y las de Peter Maxwell,[^4] que tambien es muy interessante. Henze, ne dejes de enviarme tus discos Decca. [In his previous letter, Henze told Barnet that he had produced three records with Decca.] Por favor, hermano, necesito que al menos tú música esté siempre cerca de mis posibilidades auditivas. Escuchándela, recuerdo tu vez, nuestras conversaciones, nuestro diàlogo fundamental, el arco invisible que fabricamos y que cada día es más tenso y seguro. Parece que Cancer y Acuario son signos o se odian o se aman. Lo último para nosotros, por supuesto. [As Henze was born on 1 July, his zodiac sign is Cancer, while Barnet, born on 28 January, is Aquarius.] Te envío tres poemas míos del tema del amor. [The three poems that Henze would have liked to set to music were not found attached to the letter. See Henze's previous letter.] Estos van porque están publicados en Cuba. Los inéditos quisiera conservarlos aquí hasta que los publique. Luego te los mando. Me algro mucho que estés escribiendo una obra con textos de Edward Bond[^5], es muy importante seguro. Brothe r , noté que un tú última carta, que por cierto está escrita con agua del Adriático, azul obispo, resaltaban los rasgos japoneses.[^6] Tu felicidad es la mía, that'ś all. Mis amores son also angustiosos, pero son. [In the letter Barnet was replying to, Henze had told him about life with his partner Ohira in Venice.] Ahora con 33 años[^7], me doy cuenta que voy desarrollando un sentimiento más paternal y lo disfruto. Parece que esta vez me quieren naturalmente. One never knows. Hans, te envíe mis sentimientos por la muerte de Ingeborg . Veo que no los recibiste.[^8] Espero que me contestes si recibiste esta carta. Así te podré escribir con mayor certidumbre. Siempre escribo con desconfianza en el correo. [Henze received this letter, which has yet to be located.] Tranquílizame con este asunto, acusando recibo. Brother, only because you live there and create music for the soul, life is worthy. Remember me to Fausto and always write, please.

[^4: It's very likely Barnet alludes here to the recording with the title Stomu Yamash'ta, distributed by Decca in 1972, in which the percussionist performs Turris Campanarum Sonantium, composed by Maxwell Davies in December 1970 and Henze's Prison Song. Henze had sent Barnet this recording some months earlier and Barnet had probably lent it to Brouwer. See Barnet's letter to Henze.]

[^5: Barnet is refering to Henze's We come to the river by Edward Bond, commissioned by the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London and composed by Henze between 1974 and 1976. See also Henze's previous letter.]

[^6: The references to the Adriatic Sea and Japan allude to Henze's relationship with the Japanese glass sculptor Yoichi Ohira, who in 1973 studied at the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Venice, the city on the Adriatic Sea, from which Henze wrote his letter.]

[^7: Barnet was 33 years old between 28 January 1973 and 27 January 1974. So at the time of writing this letter he had recently turned 34 years old. For dating purposes, the content of the letter confirms that it is clearly a reply to Henze's letter of 11 February 1974 and so Barnet's age here is assumed to be an error.]

[^8: This sentence refers to Barnet's assumption that Henze did not receive his letter of condolence for Bachmann's death, which has yet to be located. See Henze's previous letter, in which the composer tells Barnet (perhaps again) about Bachmann's death in Rome on 17 October 1973.]

Miguelito

Fausto, quiero me [Little heart with an arrow.] envies con alguien un traje de baño sexy (Trusa) [Sometimes during the correspondence Barnet requests Henze's partner Moroni to send him objects, such as glasses or here a bathing suit.]

Hans, I heard comments on The Voice of Americana saying the La Cubana ¿Rachel?[^9] [There is an arrow connecting La Cubana to Rachel with a question mark, slightly higher on the right.] was a communist play by a communist author. ¡What truth! ¡I am proud! [Barnet’s small graphic signature is found to the right of the text under Rachel in the same felt-tip pen.]

[^9: As in the correspondence between Henze and Enzensberger, Henze and Barnet referred to the work La Cubana as Rachel, using the name of the main character of Barnet's book. The question mark next to Rachel might suggest that Barnet had not yet been informed of the final title of the work.]