¡Cantaré! Compositions by Jesús López

Jesús López

The principal organist at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico, Jesús López has extensive experience working with school-age children and has composed a variety of choral works including Suite Romántica, which was dedicated to the Children's Choir of la Schola Cantorum in Mexico. López has degrees in organ from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and in harpsichord from the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature in Mexico City.

"Velero de Papel” (“Paper Sailboat”) & “Ensueños” (“Reverie” or “Dreams”) written for Burroughs Community School, Minneapolis

The second grade class at Burroughs Community School will perform these two charming songs with texts by Verónica Murguía and the composer himself. The main idea in “Velero de Papel” lies in capturing the metaphor that alludes to the innocent games of children, which through imagination, become big dreams that makes us reflect on the vision itself that generates the great events of humanity. “Ensueños” explores a metaphor between the innocence of children and their tender and pure feelings: the roses that bloom are the dreams that children have and take flight in the imagination.

 

“El Barquito de Papel” (“Little Paper Boat”) & “Clavelito” (“Little Carnation”) written for Adams Spanish Immersion, Saint Paul

The fourth grade class at Adams Spanish Immersion will also perform a song about a paper boat, but with a much bolder and spirited text by Adela Ayala that recreates a brave manifestation in the face of the difficulties of everyday life.  The text in “Clavelito” by Verónica Murguía refers to the passing of our lives in two parts: the morning is a metaphor for childhood and youth, and the night refers to maturity and old age.

 

“Religious Suite” written for The Latino Children’s Choir, hosted/organized by Church of the Ascension, Minneapolis

Designed for children with a religious approach, López tackled two texts for this suite, taken from the Liturgy of the Hours, which is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church that all clergy pray at different times of day. The first of the hymns is taken from the Feast of the Holy Family (Liturgy of the Hours, Vol. I) and reveals the union of the family and the different roles of each member. The second hymn is from the Ordinary for Thursday vespers (Liturgy of the Hours, Vol. I), and speaks of the necessary rest that all men are entitled to upon completion of their workday.