Letter from M. Barnet to H. W. Henze, February 6, 1971

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La Habana6Fe‡brero[sic]‡ 1971 Querido Hans;
[Figure: ]

Te escribo esta vez con mucha indignación contra el hecho de que tú
no puedas venir, ahora en febrero a Cuba.* He hecho mil millones de
gestiones: hablé con todos los músicos, con Bidopia y con su secreta-
ria y todos, invariablemente, piensan maravillosamente de ti, de elxx‡
‡ tu amor por Cuba y por la Revolución, pero creo que esta vez
no pueden hacer nada para que tú vengas en Febrero. Leo te informó mal.*
Lo que te dijo acerca de las posibilidades del viaje fue pura ilusión de
él y de Duchesne. La Dirección de Cultura no puede invitar a ningún mú-
sico estos meses, excepto los que ya están contratados como intérpre-
tes, porque según me dijo Marta Valdés,-secretaria de Bidopia- con quien
hablé ayer, Sono 71‡ * será algo muy gr nde[sic]‡ e importante y entonces habrá
que hacer muchas invitaciones. Ella me dijo que te comunicara que natu-
ralmente tú estás invitado como figura imprescindible en el Festival.

Espero que puedas venir para ese entonces. La fecha exacta es‡ de Junio 6
a Julio 6. Un mes. Pero ella me dijo que tú permanecerías un tiempo más
en Cuba. No sé porqué lo sabe, pero a mí eso me hace muy feliz.
(Una cosa piensa el borracho y otra el bodeguero… Yo pienso que tú
debías haber venido también en Febrero, que era tu tiempo libre. Pero
yo no tengo las posibilidades como te imagi‡ n‡arás y no puedo mandarte
el ticket del avión. Eso sí lo siento. De todos modos entre Furé y yo
te vamos a preparar un gran r epertorio[sic]‡ de música popular y vernácula
de la época de Rachel *. Cuando llegues tendrás todo eso perfectamente
localizado. Sólo tendrás que oir‡). No creo que te debas desanimar por
no venir ahora en Febrero. La negativa no es una cuestión personal sino
un problema general. Hablé también con el‡ Capt. Pacheco y con Sareska* pero
ellos no pueden formular una invitación oficial. ( A propósito tengo que
darte algunas noticias del mundo chico– la petite histoire‡–: Sareska
y Sergio ya no están juntos. Hubo un cataclismo terrible que afectó mucho
a Sergio y lo llevó a un suicidio del que se salvó de milagro. .¡Women,
oh, women!)

Por acá han estado varios amigos míos como Cortázar, el novelista,
que me contó en detalles lomaravilloso que fue e x‡l espectáculo de
Cimarrón. No sabes lo triste que estuve por no haber podido estar allí.*
Eso nunca‡ lo olvidaré. Pero los amigos me han contado maravillas. Leo

(2)

(perdón, debo ahorrar papel)‡
casi no me habló nada. El está muy disperso. Pienso que tiene problemas
con su mujer o algo así.* The thing is he is a friend,‡ a genius, but
perhaps not my sensibility. Estoy muy disgustado con él porque estamos
ya en febrero y todavía en Cuba no se ha escuchado la obra tuya, nuestra
obra‡ ,‡ y es inconcebible que yo no haya tenido oportunidad aún de conocer
Cimarrón‡.* Estoy desesperado,‡ así como Angulo, Carmen Valdés‡ * (She adores you, by the way)‡ ‡, Harold,
y cientos de personas que en Cuba están ansiosos de escuchar la ópera.
Leo siempre me dice que no tiene el estudi‡o apropiado.* O que el Icaic‡
no le ha dado turno en la sala de Prado, donde e‡ ecuchasod[sic]‡ la Mèdusa, ¿te
acuerdas?* El caso es que Miguel Barnet todavía no ha escuchado la música
que su hermanoh‡a[sic]‡ ‡ compuesto con sus textos.* And that is something that
really gets into my nerves. Pero, pensemo‡s que Leo es un artista y que
está trabajando m‡ucho y muy bien. Y quizá eso lo ha absorbido demasiado.
Anyw-ay[sic]‡ I am furious. Leo ofreció un concierto al cual fueron cientos
de personas y fue un gran éxito. Claro, la retagu‡rdia no estuvo allí.
Solo los verdaderos artistas y el público que fue muy numeroso, sobre todo‡
gente muy joven. Estuvo al piano Roger Woodward‡ el australiano‡, que es muy bueno.*
¡Ah! Tu entrevista con Heyworth en Observer, la traduje completa, es
brillante.* Salé‡ ‡ publicada en nuestra revista Union/[sic]‡ en el mes de Abril
o Mayo.* Ha gustado mucho aquí. I would like to discuss some points about
the dissollution[sic]‡ of the concept of artist, anyhow.
Tengo que decirte que este año he escrito muchos poemas y que ya casi
tengo un nuevo libro, así como de las fábulas cubanas * que ya están a pa-
reciendo[sic]‡ p‡ublicadas. Pero lo mejor fue un largo poema de 50 páginas sobre
la artista mulata más famosa y genial de la Cuba republicana. Es un libro
de gran formato que saldrá este año, con fotos, partituras, programas, etc.
Se titula Claves para Rita ‡,* porque Claves eran agrupaciones de músicos
populares que se reunían en los barrios a cantar para celebrar u homenajear
a alguien, Por ejemplo una Clave famosa decía: "Aquí falta señores, una voz
de ese sinsonte cubano, que Martí se llamó, ay, se llamó", ¿te das cuenta?
Entonces eso lo hice en grande y en prosa poética. Nicolás Guillén me
dijo que era la prosa más bella que había leído en muchos años. Él fue
un gran amigo y colaborador de Rita Montaner.

Quiero decirte que Caita, Enrique ( a yellow diamond)[sic]‡, Rogelio Marinez Furé,
Nancy y yo nos pasamos la vida hablando de ti. Lo mismo cuando veo a Leo.
¿What have you done to our lifes, bastard? Come in June.* I’ll write more.

Give a Kiss to Fausto and hugs to Magnus. And for you all and years,‡ Miguelito

Havana6 Feburary 1971 Dear Hans;

I am writing to you this time with great indignation at the fact that you will not be able to come to Cuba in February. I have made a billion arrangements: I have spoken to all the composers, to Bidopia and his secretary and they all, invariably, think wonderfully of you, of your love for Cuba and the Revolution, but I don’t think they can do anything this time to get you to come in February. Leo misinformed you. What he told you about the possibilities of the trip was pure wishful thinking on his and Duchesne’s part. The Dirección de Cultura cannot invite any composers for now, except those who are already contracted as performers, because according to Marta Valdés –Bidopia’s secretary– with whom I spoke yesterday, Sono 71 will be something very big and important and so many invitations will have to be issued. She told me to tell you that you are naturally invited as an integral part of the Festival.

I hope you will be able to come by then. The exact dates are from June 6 to July 6, one month. But she told me that you would stay a little longer in Cuba. I don’t know why she knows, but that makes me very happy. (The drunkard thinks one thing and the barkeeper another... I think that you should have also come in Feburary, which was your free time. But I don’t have the means, as you can imagine, and I can’t send you the plane ticket. I’m sorry about that. Anyway, between Furé and me we are going to prepare a wide repertoire of popular and indigenous music for you from Rachel’s time. When you arrive, you’ll have all that perfectly located. You’ll just have to listen). I don’t think you should be discouraged by not coming now in February. The negative response is not a personal issue but a general problem. I also spoke to Capt. Pacheco and Sareska but they cannot issue an official invitation. (By the way, I have to give you some relationship gossip la petite histoire: Sareska and Sergio are no longer together. There was a terrible cataclysm that affected Sergio very much and led him to attempt suicide. He was lucky to survive. Women, oh, women!)

Several friends of mine have been here, such as Cortázar, the novelist, who spoke to me in detail about how marvellous the performance of Cimarrón was. You don’t know how sad I was that I couldn’t be there. I will never forget that. But friends have told me wonderful things. Leo

(2)

(sorry, I have to save paper) hardly spoke to me at all. He is easily distracted. I think he has problems with his wife or something. The thing is he is a friend, a genius, but perhaps not my sensibility. I am very upset with him because it is already Feburary and your work, our work, has still not been heard in Cuba, and it is inconceivable that I have still haven’t had a chance to hear Cimarrón. I am desperate, as are Angulo, Carmen Valdés (She adores you, by the way), Harold, and hundreds of people in Cuba who are anxious to hear the opera. Leo always tells me that he doesn’t have the right studio. Or that the Icaic hasn’t given him a slot at the Prado auditorium, where you heard Mèdusa, remember? The point is that Miguel Barnet has still not heard the music that his brother has composed with his texts. And that is something that really gets into[sic] my nerves. But, let’s remember that Leo is an artist and that he is working very hard and very well. And maybe that has absorbed him too much. Anyway, I am furious. Leo gave a concert that hundreds of people attended and it was a great success. Of course, the rearguard was not there.
Only the real artists and the audience, which was very large, mostly very young people. At the piano was the Australian Roger Woodward, who is very good. Ah! I translated your interview with Heyworth in [The] Observer in its entirety, it is brilliant. It will be published in our journal Unión in April or May. It was very well received here. I would like to discuss some points about the dissollution[sic] of the concept of artist, anyhow. I have to tell you that this year I have written many poems and that I almost have a new book, as well as the Cuban fables that are already appearing in print. But the best was a long, 50-page poem about the most famous and brilliant female artist of mixed heritage from Republican Cuba. It is a large-format book that will be coming out this year, with photos, scores, programs, etc. It is titled Claves para Rita , because Claves were groups of popular musicians that gathered together in the neighbourhoods to sing to celebrate or pay homage to someone. For example, a famous Clave went: "Aquí falta señores, una voz de ese sinsonte cubano, que Martí se llamó, ay, se llamó" (Here, sirs, a voice is missing, that of the Cuban mockingbird, whose name was Martí) Do you know what I mean? So I did that on a grand scale and in poetic prose. Nicolás Guillén told me it was the most beautiful prose he had read in many years. He was a good friend and colleague of Rita Montaner.

I want to tell you that Caita, Enrique (a yellow diamond), Rogelio Marinez Furé, Nancy and I talk about you all the time. The same when I see Leo. What have you done to our lifes[sic], bastard? Come in June. I’ll write more.

Give a Kiss to Fausto and hugs to Magnus. And for you all and years[sic] Miguelito

Translation by Yolanda Acker

Editorial

Responsibilities

Editor(s)
Elena Minetti
Transcription
Elena Minetti; Joachim Veit
Translation  
Yolanda Acker

Tradition

  • Text Source: Basel (Schweiz), Paul Sacher Stiftung (CH-Bps), Sammlung Hans Werner Henze, Abteilung: Korrespondenz
    Shelf mark: Barnet, Miguel

    Physical Description

    • Document type: Letter

      • Material

    • dünnes bis mitteldickes, beiges Briefpapier
    • Faltung: 3mal längs, 2mal quer: bei 8,5 und 16 von links

      • Extent

    • 1 folio
    • 2 written pages
    • Dimensions: 331x213 [mm] (HxW)
      •

      Layout

    • 1,5-zeilig
    • Rand links 2,7cm

Writing styles

  • 1.
    Typescript.
  • 2.
    Handwriting, Barnet, Miguel, ballpoint pen (dark red).

Text Constitution

Commentary

  • 1.
    [Figure Description]A line connects Henze’s name to Barnet’s graphic signature in red pen on the left.
  • 2.
    "… en febrero a Cuba ."Henze wanted to return to Cuba already in October 1970, but this was impossible.
  • 3.
    "… . Leo te informó mal."Perhaps Brouwer had given Henze some hope about his possibility of returning to Cuba. Further information can be found in the correspondence between Henze and Brouwer kept at the Paul Sacher Foundation.
  • 4.
    "… quien hablé ayer, Sono 71" "Sono 71" is the name of a festival, but no further information could be found. In an earlier telegram, Barnet refers to the festival as "Sono 70".
  • 5.
    "… de la época de Rachel"Barnet is referring to the main character of his novel La Canción de Rachel, based on a real-life person: the variety singer Amalia Vorg.
  • 6.
    "… Capt. Pacheco y con Sareska"Sareska’s identity has yet to be fully ascertained.
  • 7.
    la petite histoire
    • the little story
  • 8.
    "… no haber podido estar allí."It cannot be ascertained which live performance of El Cimarrón Cortázar attended, as Barnet implies in this sentence.
  • 9.
    "… su mujer o algo así."Brouwer’s wife, Yolanda Brita, who Henze writes about in his Autobiography, p. 300, was a much-loved popular pop singer, who allegedly committed suicide a few months after the "Padilla Affair". This expression alludes to an event that prompted international disapproval of Fidel Castro’s government. On 20 March 1971, Padilla and his wife were imprisoned and their property confiscated because he had criticised the government. Numerous intellectuals including Henze signed an open letter on the initiative of the newspaper Le Monde (see its publication in "De nombreuses personnalités s’émeuvent de l’arrestation du poète cubain Heberto Padilla"), that was sent to the Cuban government communicating their disapproval and demanding the release of the poet and his wife. After his signature, Henze was persona non grata in Cuba and so his return was no longer possible. See Henze’s Autobiography, p. 302, Henze’s letter to Barnet on 21 May 1971 and Barnet’s letter to Henze on 4 June 1971.
  • 10.
    "… aún de conocer Cimarrón ."The premiere of the work had taken place in Aldeburgh several months earlier: on 22 June 1970.
  • 11.
    "… como Angulo , Carmen Valdés"A line connects the name Carmen Valdes to the sentence in brackets.
  • 12.
    "… el estud i o apropiado."Brouwer probably wanted a studio that was suitable for presenting and possibly recording the performance of El Cimarrón.
  • 13.
    "… la Mèdusa , ¿te acuerdas?"The recording of Das Floß der Medusa was heard publicly at the University of Oriente on 4 April 1969, when Henze was in Cuba during his first trip to the country. See Barnet’s letter of autumn 1969.
  • 14.
    "… compuesto con sus textos ."In his letter of 15 May 1970, Barnet wrote that he would soon be able to listen to El Cimarrón. Actually, he was not able to listen to a recording of the work and read the score until June 1971, in Cuba, together with Brouwer. A detailed impression of his first listening can be found in Barnet’s letter of 4 June 1971.
  • 15.
    "… , que es muy bueno."It was not possible to identify which concert Barnet is referring to here, however the pianist Woodward had already collaborated with Brouwer, who dedicated his Sonata pian e forte to him in 1970.
  • 16.
    "… la traduje completa, es brillante."It is likely that Barnet is referring to Heyworth’s interview "I can Imagine a Future: Conversation with Hans Werner Henze" published in The Observer on 23 August 1970.
  • 17.
    "… de Abril o Mayo ."The interview to which Barnet alludes was not published in any issue of the Revista Unión in 1971. Barnet had already written to Henze a year earlier, in a letter dated 15 May 1970, that he would translate a Henze’s interview for the same journal, but again, there is no trace of his translation in the 1970 issues.
  • 18.
    "… como de las fábulas cubanas"Barnet is referring to the book Fábulas cubanas. Akeké y la Jutía, which was not published until 1978, since Barnet’s stance on the "Padilla Affair", that took place in March 1971, prevented him from publishing for many years.
  • 19.
    "… titula Claves para Rita ,"For the same reason as mentioned above, Claves para Rita was unable to be published until 1987.
  • 20.
    "… bastard? Come in June ."Henze was initially supposed to return to Cuba in October 1970, then in February 1971, but he would not return in June 1971 either.

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