De colores by Mari Esabel Valverde
Mari Esabel Valverde beautifully captures the melody in this new arrangement of this well-known song from the traditional Mexican Folklore. This accessible arrangement is available for treble voices and lower voices.
“Mari Esabel Valverde is an in-demand composer whose tuneful melodies seamlessly combine with social justice song texts to create powerful pieces that touch both singer and audience. Her music is lyrical and intuitive, perfectly suitable for any ability level, and she deliberately chooses themes that engage the listener to think about our shared humanity.”
Product Details
Recordings
Transcription
Spanish
De colores se visten los campos
en la primavera.
De colores son los parajitos
que vienen de afuera.
De colores es el arco iris
que vemos lucir.
Y por eso los grandes amores
de muchos colores me gustan a mí.
De colores brillantes y finos
se vista la aurora.
De colores son los mil reflejos
Que el sol atesora.
De colores se viste el diamante
que vemos lucir.
Y por eso los grandes amores
de muchos colores me gustan a mí.
English
The countryside is dressed in color
in the springtime.
The birds arrive in many colors
from far away.
The rainbow paints the sky in colors
that shine on us.
And that’s why loving many colors
brings joy to my life.
Adorned in brilliant, vivid color
the dawn appears.
A thousand reflections of colors
held by the sun.
The diamond flaunts its colors
that shine on us.
And that’s why loving many colors
brings joy too my life.
Composition
While it originates from the era of Spanish colonization of the Americas, today "De colores" is internationally recognized as a Mexican folk song. Historically, it has served multiple purposes—as a children's song, as a musical tradition of the Catholic “Cursillo” movement, and most significantly, as the unofficial anthem of the United Farm Workers movement under the leadership of Dolores Huerta and César Chávez. The music rejoices in the beauty and goodness of the natural world as a message that can unite all of humanity.
Composer
Award-winning composer Mari Esabel Valverde has been commissioned by the American Choral Directors Association, Boston Choral Ensemble, Cantus, the Gay and Lesbian Association of Choruses, Los Angeles Master Chorale, One Voice Mixed Chorus, Portland’s Resonance Ensemble, San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, Seattle Men’s and Women’s Choruses, and the Texas Music Educators Association. Her music appears on multiple albums: Ensemble Vocapella Limburg’s Vom Werden und Vergehen—Songs of Life and Death, Peninsula Women’s Chorus’s Women Making Waves, Cantus’s The Covid-19 Sessions, the International Orange Chorale of San Francisco’s Hope in Times of Disquiet, SACRA/PROFANA’s A Longing for Christmas, Seattle Pro Musica’s Solstice: Music of Light for the Holidays, and Eric Ferring and Madeline Slettedahl’s No Choice But Love: Songs of the LGBTQ+ Community.
She has also built a reputation as a singer, educator, adjudicator, and translator. She sings on the rosters of Dallas Chamber Choir, EXIGENCE Vocal Ensemble, and Pasión—Río Grande Valley’s Professional Choir. Following six years as a high school classical voice instructor, she spent two years specializing in transgender voice training. Proficient in Spanish, French, and Brazilian Portuguese, she has translated numerous vocal works and documents including a phonetic guide of Ravel’s opera L’Enfant et les Sortilèges. A native of North Texas, she holds degrees from St. Olaf College, the European American Musical Alliance in Paris, France, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She is a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers and the American Choral Directors Association.
Publisher
La Voz Music Publishing