Kai Nieminen: Sea Poems (Merirunoja), Hommage à Manuel de Falla

Sea Poems (Merirunoja), Hommage á Manuel de Falla composed by Kai Nieminen on a poem by Tommi Hautaniemi. English translation of the poem by Peter Jarrett. Live recording from concert in Jyväskylä 28th of January 2024, performed by Stanislav Kriuchkov (countertenor) and Olli Hirvanen (guitar).

Proud are the ships with lonely sails,
borne away, o'er the waves,
though even those that love it.
The moody sea will cast away.

And other vessels lonely too,
all their sails now are furled all their helms idle,
Pale and forlorn they drift,
now all can see their pride is gone.

In the calm of the sea,
the breeze slack in the sails.
The smell of tar from the deck,
which we knew so well,
now is gone, forgotten.

The creak of the hawser,
the flap of the top sail, all gone,
all are one with the calm.
The albatross you must not shoot, or seek to catch pilot fish.

If your wish is to proudly sail the wide, wide sea,
you will not see,
that the ocean is unpredictable.
No matter what way the trade wind is blowing.
For the wind may turn and end in calm.

From the book of dreams
we may catch the bosun's whistle.
The captain's counsel from the quay,
vanishing in the fog,
weatherbeaten features.