Letter from H. W. Henze to M. Barnet, July 21, 1970

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[Manuscript]

[21 July 1970] * Miguelito querído‡,

una muchacha *de Gallimard sale por‡ Cuba tempranito, te traiga‡ unas
cartas. Quisiera escriberte una larga carta‡ pero me falta el
tiempo. Tenemos noticias buenas de Cuba, otros‡ menos buenas, está‡
siempre dificil‡ saber las cosas con precisión. La importancia‡ es
que la Revolución va adelante en su camino justo! Viva Fidel!

– para mi‡ es muy importante pasar mucho tiempo en Cuba
desde October.* Quisiera trabajar la partitura de Rachel.* Tengo
que hacer buenos estudios de la materia de los bailes, de lo
estile‡ music-hall, et cetera‡.

No puedo describirte el trionfo que tiene “El Cimarrón” in todos
lugares‡. Estᇠuna cosa sin precedences. ti traigeré‡ unas criticas‡,
en las cuales se refleja la cosa abastante‡ bien. El momento
nuevo es que[sic]‡ M.‡ Antonioni quiere hacer un film (largo metraje‡)
del “concerto” Cimarrón, tiene unas ideas muy poeticas‡.* Ese echo‡
me da una gran felicidad porque nos permite de pensar que
las relaciones culturales entre l’ Europa y Cuba se pueden hacer
mas faciles‡. A veces cuando estoy mas‡ triste y solo del mio normal
pongo la cinta de tu carta “hablada” * y así me siento mas‡ seguro.
Pero tu‡ sabes bien lo que me hace falta. Con el tiempo que
parece pararse y nunca pasar ¡mi deséo‡ se vuelve enfermedad!

Hoy por la noche hacemos el estreno francese‡ de “El Cimarrón”
aqui‡ en Avignon.* ¡Que lastima‡ que tu‡ no lo oyas‡! Espero que puedo‡
‡ traijar‡ una buena cinta. Hemos hecho el disco también, pero eso no sale antes de l’año proximo‡.
Espero que estas‡ mejor de mi‡

te abrazo mi hermano. Hasta pronto. siempre tu hermano hans

[Manuscript]

[21 July 1970] Dearest Miguelito,

A girl from Gallimard is leaving for Cuba early in the morning, she is bringing you some letters. I would like to write you a long letter, but I don’t have time. We have good news from Cuba, some not as good, it is always difficult to know things for certain. The important thing is that the Revolution is moving forward along the right path! Long live Fidel!

- for me it is very important to spend a lot of time in Cuba from October. I would like to work on the score of Rachel. I have to carry out proper studies of the subject matter of the dances, the music-hall style, etc.

I cannot tell you how successful “El Cimarrón” has been everywhere. It is something unprecedented. I’ll bring you a few reviews, which reflect things quite well. The latest news is that Antonioni wants to make a (feature-length) film of the Cimarrón “concerto”. He has some very poetic ideas. This makes me very happy because it enables us to believe that cultural relations between Europe and Cuba can be made easier. Sometimes when I am sad and lonely, I play the tape of your "spoken" letter and that makes me feel more secure. But you know well what I need. With time that seems to stand still and never pass, my desire becomes a sickness!

Tonight, we are giving the French premiere of “El Cimarrón” here in Avignon. What a shame you can’t hear it! I hope that I can make a good tape. We have made the record too, but that doesn’t come out until next year. I hope you are better than I am.

I embrace you, my brother. See you soon. Always, your brother hans

Translation by Yolanda Acker

Editorial

General Remark

The description of the sources was made according to the provided digital copies.

Responsibilities

Editor(s)
Elena Minetti
Transcription
Elena Minetti
Translation  
Yolanda Acker

Tradition

  • Text Source: Miguel Barnet, Private Collection

    Physical Description

    • Document type: Letter

      • Material

    • Vergilbtes Papier
    • Faltung: 1x quer, 1x längst

      • Extent

    • 1 folio
    • 1 written page

    • Condition

    • Vergilbt und an den Ecken eingerissen
      •

      Layout

    • Der Text füllt das gesamte Blatt aus und ist leicht nach rechts verschoben.
    • Da das Blatt ganz ausgefüllt war, schließt Henze den Brief ab, indem er die letzten beiden Zeilen am linken Rand des Blattes senkrecht schreibt, wahrscheinlich weil er wegen der starken Tinte des roten Feinfilzstiftes nicht auf der Rückseite schreiben konnte.

Writing styles

Text Constitution

  • 1.
    "El momento nuevo es que"sic
  • 2.
    "… oyas ! Espero que puedo"The following words are written vertically in the left margin, because the page had been completely filled up.

Commentary

  • 1.
    "… 21 July 1970"The date is confirmed by the fact that in this letter Henze mentions that the French premiere of El Cimarrón in Avignon would take place that very evening, which was 21 July 1970.
  • 2.
    "querído"recte "querido".
  • 3.
    "… una muchacha"Perhaps the lady who worked at the Gallimard publishing house and was travelling between Cuba and France is Ugné Karvelis, the same person mentioned in Barnet’s letter of 12 August 1970.
  • 4.
    "por"recte "para".
  • 5.
    "traiga"recte "lleva".
  • 6.
    "larga carta"recte "carta larga".
  • 7.
    "otros"recte "otras".
  • 8.
    "está"recte "es".
  • 9.
    "dificil"recte "difícil".
  • 10.
    "La importancia"recte "Lo importante".
  • 11.
    "mi"recte "mí".
  • 12.
    "… en Cuba desde October ."Henze third trip to Cuba never happened.
  • 13.
    "… la partitura de Rachel ."Henze would not complete the score of La Cubana, which was originally going to be titled “Rachel”, until September 1972. In regard to the work’s development, see Irmlind Capelle’s Introduction to the correspondence between Henze and the librettist Hans Magnus Enzensberger, which constitutes a kind of diary about the opera.
  • 14.
    "de lo estile"recte "del estilo".
  • 15.
    " et cetera"recte "etcétera".
  • 16.
    trionfo
    • triunfo
  • 17.
    "in todos lugares"recte "en todas partes".
  • 18.
    "Está"recte "Es".
  • 19.
    "ti traigeré"recte "Te traeré".
  • 20.
    "criticas"recte "críticas".
  • 21.
    "abastante"recte "bastante".
  • 22.
    "M."abbreviation of "Michelangelo ".
  • 23.
    "largo metraje"recte "largometraje".
  • 24.
    "poeticas"recte "poéticas".
  • 25.
    "… unas ideas muy poeticas ."The film director Antonioni often visited Henze at his Villa in Marino (see Henze’s Autobiography, p. 262) and it is possible that as a result of their encounters he came up with the idea of making a film about El Cimarrón. This, however, was never made. See also Barnet’s response and Henze’s letter to Enzensberger of 17 August 1970.
  • 26.
    "echo"recte "hecho".
  • 27.
    "mas faciles"recte "más fáciles".
  • 28.
    "mas"recte "más".
  • 29.
    del mio
    • de lo
  • 30.
    "… tu carta hablada"Barnet had probably sent Henze a tape recording with a message from him. This, however, has not been found.
  • 31.
    "mas"recte "más".
  • 32.
    "tu"recte "tú".
  • 33.
    "deséo"recte "deseo".
  • 34.
    "francese"recte "francés".
  • 35.
    "aqui"recte "aquí".
  • 36.
    "… Cimarrón aqui en Avignon ."According to “Les archives du spectacle.net”, the French premiere of El Cimarrón took place on 21 July 1970.
  • 37.
    "Que lastima"recte "Qué lástima".
  • 38.
    "tu"recte "tú".
  • 39.
    "oyas"recte "oigas".
  • 40.
    "puedo"recte "pueda".
  • 41.
    "traijar"recte "llevar".
  • 42.
    "de l’año proximo"recte "del año próximo".
  • 43.
    "estas"recte "estés".
  • 44.
    "de mi"recte "que yo".

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        Mit freundlicher Genehmigung der Hans Werner Henze-Stiftung (Dr. Michael Kerstan).

        If you've spotted some error or inaccuracy please do not hesitate to inform us via henze-digital [@] zenmem.de.

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