Batéy (Tania León)

Tania Le6n/Michel Camilo Batey

for Vocal Ensemble and Percussion

Commissioned by the New York State Council for the Arts and written for the Western Wind Vocal Ensemble.

Dedicated to Maria Estela Ferran and Carmela Morel Camilo

Instrumentation

Vocal ensemble:

2 Sopranos

1 Alto

2 Tenor

1 Baritone (may also be sung by larger ensemble)

Percussion (5 players)

Notated parts:

1. Marimba, roto-tom,caxixi, rain stick, claves, chekere

2. Zurdo, 3 tom-toms, caxixi, rain stick, maracas, chime (D), crotales (D,E)

Improvised parts:

3 "Bata" drummers specializing in Y oruban and Cuban drumming:

Bata drums, congas, chekeres, claves, cowbell

Duration: ca. 21 min.

BATEY

This work reflects some of the elements that African culture has contributed to the music of the Americas. The word "Batt;y" stands for the place where a community of people works and lives within a sugar cane plantation. The name was given by the first African slaves that were brought to the new continent. Written for six voices and percussion, Bat~y, makes use of bata drums together with a capella voices to create a setting with diverse musical structures inspired by the different rhythmic patterns of these ceremonial instruments. At the same time, this work touches on the spiritual side of the African heritage which, even today, is very much present in the Americas. Ms. Le5n wishes to dedicate her work in this piece to the memory of her grandmother, Maria Estela Ferran. This work is made possible through a g~ant from the New York State Council on the Art's Commissioning Program.

lya, lme, Jue

Si me llama Yemaya' .,,..

Ay no Jue

Que no me llama

Yenye, ulele cue ulelf

Ulele', Ue

OMBE

Ulele ,,,,.

Ya llove

0 Yenye

Ulele', ulel~, ulele°, cue, ,. h"" .,,..

Yenye O c echere cue Yenyere ,,,. .,,.,.

oienye oyenye, oyenye, oye,

Ae ,,. /

Oye sr.ue ya llove

Ulele, ulele me dice a mi ., ,,,. ,,,,.

Oyenye, oyenye que va llove

QUE NO ME LLUEVA ••. !

a) RITOS

NILLE MANIGUA ABEKUTO

KONKOMABO CHEKERE AKONKOLE

BOLO BOLO OCHUN

K6nkole ko chfkere ch~vere

YORUBA!

, ,,,.

Yenyere, yenyere guirindinga ke manigu~

ABEKUTO NIGUAl

teke, kete ke, teke ..•

Ay ombe! Varno pai campo

Ay ombe! ke ta jarineando

Ay ombel

CHANT .,. ,,,. ,,,. lya, lme, Jue Yemaya,,. calls me ; Ay no Jue ..• Don't call me Yeny~, ulele cue ulele,,. Ulele, Ue

MAN

Ulel~ It's gonna rain .,... Oh Yenye ,,,.. ,,,,., -Ulele, ulele, ulele, cue, J , h ,,,. r Yenye O chechere cue Yenyere Listen Ae Listen, it's gona rain Ulele, ulele tells me Listen ••• rain is coming RAIN DON'T GET ME ... l

YORUBA

a) RITUALS

NILLE MANIGUA ABEKUTO KONKOMABO CHEKERE AKONKOLE

BOLO BOLO OCHUN .,,...., Konkole ko chekere chevere YORUBA!

,,. _,,,. Yenyere, yenyere guirindinga ke manigua"°

ABEKUTO NIGUA!

teke, kete ke, teke .••

Man! Let's go outside Man! it's raining Man!

keno te vita

ke vamo ai batgy

tila, tila, tila ...

NILLE MANIGUA ABEKUTO KONKOMABO CHEKERE AKONKOLE BOLO BOLO OCHUN

b) LAMENTO

OH •• . M

Ay Dio

Nunca vamo a aprovechay Loque deja nuestra tierra poique somo como eclavo •.• .•• sin paray trabajamo .••

Ay Dio, Ae / ., De la madruga, Jum Me llamo Mayembe ••• MAYEMBE •••

3. REZOS

a) AMADO PUEBLO ,,,.

Yem~ Be,!!)Pe, g Ben, O Yem Bern, Yembe Yeo

Llevo dentro del corazon mi amado pueblo .•• de la palma, ch~nkerekG --Yenyerekuma

Llevo dentro del coraz~n la buena drume negrita drtl ...

Chay~n, Cha, Yfnyere, Yemay~

- - Dame Jum, _,,. ,,,.,. dame 1~, drume, de paloma ••• Demachen, Yenyerekum~, la~m •••

b) SEA TU NOM .••

Sea tu nom , la monta ••• , que si me ••. cielo •.. de la mano •.. donde va •••

dondf vai veh •••

decirte quiero ••• Tu nom, ve •.• tu reino, sea tu •••

Sea tu nom •..

Don't get too dress' ,,,,. 'cause we go the the batey tila, tila, tila ...

NILLE MANIGUA ABEKUTO KONKOMABO CHEKERE AKONKOLE BOLO BOLO OCHUN

b) LAMENT OH .•. M Ay God

We'll never profit from our harvest 'cause we are like slaves .•. . .. always working ...

Ay God, Ae

At d ./ awn, Jum - I become Mayembe •••

MAYEMBE •••

PRAYERS

a) BELOVED PEOPLE -

Yem Bembe, O Ben, "',J..,,,.

0 Yem Bern, Yembe Yeo

In my heart I carry my beloved people ••• of the palm tree, chenkereku, Yenyerekuma

In my heart I carry the dreamer black baby-girl , .,,,. ,,,,. Chayen Cha, Yenyere, Yemaya. Jum give me give me light, dove's dream .•. Demachen, Y6nyerekum~, la6m .•.

b) THY NAME •••

Thy Name ••. , the mountain ... , that if ••• heaven ... holding hands ••. where we go •.. one comes and goes .•• I wanna tell you ..•

Thy Name, see ••. your kingdom, be Thy •••

Thy Name .••

en la mont~ .•. ., / ,, donde, donde va ..• lleva andando a la ••. non sabe si me dice ••• cielo, donde sea lleva andando .•.

De la morada me da decirte de la ... de donde ... llevale de la mano 11€vale •.• venga de d6nde. d5nde va •.. , d6nde vaiven " d d~ ,,,. va e onde lleva ... y Ave ... DREAM!

4. RUMBA

A) MI G:S:N'l':S:

Oh no, no, no, ke varno ace

Se te llevo p'al BATEY vendr&' mi gente, Si paramo en el BATEY ke diferentel

Vivo p'al travajo diario con la ayuda de mi Dios sonando vivo .•. fuera de la realidad y mi futuro va caminando ...

Pero me sangre me llama, ,,, tengo el poder de Chango cuidao con ell

BATEY VIVIMOl

Mi sangre me ta llamando, .,,, vamono pa me BATEY.

Mi pueblo t~ trabajando, ,. _,,,. vamono pa mi BATEY1 ...,

Mi pueblo vive sonando, sonando con su BATEY. Mi gente me ta llamando, como llama me BATEY!!!

(Chorus)

Varno' a goz~, vamo p'al BATEY

b) TARURA (Scat singing)

in the mountain ... where, where we go .•. one is taken to don't know if I'm told ... beloved, wherever one is taken •••

From within I want to tell you from •.. where ... holding hands guide them wherever from, wherever to ..• , one comes and goes, where Thou taketh ... and Hail. .• DREAM 1

RUMBA

a) MY PlllOPLll

Oh no, no, no, what should we do

If I take you to BATEY my people will come, If we stop at the BATEY what a difference!

Living the daily chore with God's blessings alive ..• dreaming .. . outside reality and tomorrow unfolds •.•

But my roots are calling, we've got Chang5 1 s power beward ot IT!

WE ARE BATEY!

My roots are calling, let' go to my BATEY. My people is working, let' go to my BATEY!

My people is always dreaming, dreaming of BATEY. My people is calling me, BATEY, I HEAR YOUR CALL!!!

Live it out, let' go to BATEY!

b) TARURA

c) CONGA

Chechere, Abekuto, Manigu~ Echa te p'a I ca ••• ,,,,.

Vamo'a goza, vamo p'al BATEY

Mi pueblo ta trabajando,, . vamono pa mi BATEY!

Mi gente met~ llamando, como llama mi BATEY!!!

Ch~chere, Abekuto, Manigu~ Echa te pa I ca ••.

O ••• Ombe ••. Si me llama Ombe •.•

Se me llama Yemaya,,. ••• Yemaya,,,,,.

c) CONGA

Ch~chere, Abekuto, Manigua:" Come here •.•

Live it out, let' go to BATEY!

My people is working, let' go to my BATEY! My people is calling me, BATEY, I HEAR YOUR CALL!!!

Ch~chere, Abekuto, Manigu~ Come here .•.

Oh .•• Man ••. Yemaya calls Man •.. Yemaya.,,. calls

me ••• me •••

MICHEL CAMILO was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and moved to New York in 1979. A renowned jazz pianist and composer, Mr. Camilo has participated in numerous jazz festivals throughout the United States and Europe. He first gained notoriety with a band called French Toast led by french horn player Peter Gordon and then later with the group of Paquito D'Rivera with whom he performed and recorded two LP's. His tune, Why Not! won a Grammy Award in 1983 for The Manhattan Transfer's vocal version of it. As Associate Music Director for Score Productions, Inc., he has several major credits which include: "The Goodwill Games" (WTBS), "The 1984 Summer Olympics (ABC), "One Life to Live" (Underscoring/ABC) and "Knight Riders" (United Artists) among others. He has lectured at New York University and at Berklee School of Music. In New York City Mr. Camilo performs regularly at the Blue Note, Mikell's and the Village Gate.

TANIA LEON was born and educated in Cuba, arriving in this country in 1967 just after graduating from the National Conservatory, La Habana. She subsequently completed her Bachelor and Master degrees in music education and composition at New York University. In addition to Batey which was written jointly with Michel Camilo, Ms. Lebn's recent commissions include a piece for the American Composers Orchestra and a symphonic work to be written in collaboration with Allen Ginsberg for the Brooklyn College Sixtieth Anniversary. Other commissions have come from the Composers Forum, Brooklyn Philharmonia Orchestra, the Queens Symphony, the Lincoln Center Institute, and Affiliate Artists, among others. Ms. Le6n is founder of the Dance Theatre of Harlem Music School, and the Dance Theatre of Harlem Orchestra. She is Artistic Director of the New York Composers Forum and Music Director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and the Brooklyn Philharmonic Community-Family Concert Series. She is currently Associate Professor of music at Brooklyn College. Ms. Le6n will be part of the Composerto-Composer festival in August in Telluride, Colorado.