DESCRIPTION:
Cuban Miguel Matamoros (1894-1971) formed the Trio Matamoros in 1925, a refined and very successful example (they stayed together as a band for thirty-five years) of a Cuban Trova group (think a French troubadour). Trova musicians sang and accompanied themselves on guitars, and their wandering nature helped to spread Cuban music throughout the world. Juramento quite dramatically describes the pain of being in love.

Si el amor hace sentir hondas dolores
y condena a vivir entre miserias,
yo te diera, mi bien, por tus amores
hasta la sangre que hierve en mis arterias.

Si es surtidor de misticos pesares
y hace al hombre arrastrar largas cadenas,
yo te juro arrastrarlas por los mares
infinitos y negros de mis penas.

If love makes you feel waves of pains
and condemns you to live a life of misery,
I would bestow upon you my love, for your loving,
even the blood that boils in my veins.

If love is a provider of mystic griefs,
and makes man drag long chains,
I vow to you to drag them through
the vast and dark seas that are my sorrows.

Ian Howell - Countertenor http://www.ianhowellcountertenor.com
Karl Wohlwend - Guitar http://www.columbusclassicalguitar.com

Recorded live June 19th, 2010 in the Huntington Recital Hall of Capital University in Columbus, OH. This performance is from the program "The New Music: 1602 - Present" and was presented by The Columbus Guitar Society.

Audio recorded by Eric French with a pair of Schoeps microphones.
Video recorded with a FlipHD camera and edited in iMovieHD.