los poderes del aire, las llaves submarinas

Listening to "Neruda Songs," interpreted by mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson. M____ told me the tale of her & composer Peter Lieberson, who were once married to other people but fell violently in love. In a gift shop at the Albuquerque airport Peter noticed "the bright pink paperback with orange dots displayed on the rack"--Pablo Neruda's 100 Love Sonnets--& bought them for Lorraine. The poems were perfect for two people who would sometimes "cry in each other's arms out of gratitude that they had finally found each other." Friends noted the lovers' insularity with a certain amount of regret, but perhaps this is an inevitable consequence of all grand affairs; in any case, the liner notes state "The two moved ever closer in temperament once they became a couple."

The CD, which consists of a setting of five sonnets, is performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by James Levine.

Lorraine died in 2006, a year after her premiere performance of "Neruda Songs."