Promise to a sleeping child by Luis Carlos Figueroa

The late composer Luis Carlos Figueroa was born in Cali, Colombia in 1923. He studied in his native
city and after winning a government scholarship, he moved to Paris to pursue his music studies in
the Schola Cantorum, the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique and the Ecole Normale
de Musique, where he graduated in 1959 as a pianist, choral conductor and composer under the
guidance of Guy Delvincourt, Jean Batalla and as a hearer of Alfred Cortot’s masterclasses. He
was also a student at the renowned Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy where several of this
pieces were performed during the 1950’s. After coming back to Colombia he was a longtime
teacher in different music departments in the western part of the country. As a deep affectionate
lullaby, Promesas para que duermas was written by the poet Alvaro Sanclemente (1911-1949) as a
gift for her child. This art song is full of post-impressionistic traits that creates a subtle and tender
atmosphere that is very appropriate for the text.

Figueroa’s art songs remain unpublished in manuscript. The composer still lives in Cali and last
year the Colombian government made a retrospective recording of his work that will be published
soon.

Promesas para que duermas Promises for a sleeping child

Text: Alvaro Sanclemente (1911-1949)

Music: Luis Carlos Figueroa (1923-)

Promesas para que duermas Promise to a sleeping child

Si duermes mi niña If you sleep my little Girl

En sueños te voy a traer In dreams I will bring you

Estrellitas de luz de clavel Little star lights made from red carnation

Ovejitas de luna para jugar Little moon-sheep to play with

En el prado verdeazul de la mar In the blue-green sea meadow

Un violín de brisa también te voy a dar I will also give you a breeze violin

Que sepa canciones de lucero y palmar That play morning star’s and palm tree songs

Duérmete mi niña, no es hora de jugar Sleep my little Girl , it’s not time to play

Duermete para que puedas soñar Sleep well for you to dream

Free translation by Felipe Calle

Felipe Calle, pianist
As a collaborative pianist, Mr. Calle holds a versatile career in his native country, Colombia
collaborating with singers and instrumentalists. He currently works at Universidad Nacional and
Universidad Javeriana as a staff pianist and collaborates regularly with members of the local
orchestras in chamber music projects. He is very sought-after as a pianist for lieder and art song
recital focusing in Latin American art song composers. He holds degrees from Cleveland Institute
of Music in Collaborative Piano where he studied under the guidance of Anita Pontremoli. He
has been part of the Schubert Institute, the Vancouver International Art Song Institute, the
Collaborative Piano Institute, the Piano Wellness Seminar and the Encontro de Pianistas de
Piracicaba. He has recorded art songs from Colombian composers for the Colombian Federal
Reserve Bank music section in 2017.

Maria Paula Gómez, soprano

Mrs. Gomez is a soprano from Bogotá, Colombia where she is currently finishing a B. Mus. in
vocal performance at Central University.  She has performed the following roles with orchestra as
a part of her college Opera Studio: La Musica from L'Orfeo by Monteverdi, Mozart from The
Classical Style by Steven Stucky, Ernestina from La Scuola dei Gelosi by Salieri, Elisa from Tolomeo
e Alessandro by Scarlatti Frog/ Hen from The Little Cunning Vixen by Janáček  and La Fée from
Cendrillon by Massenet. She has been part of the 44th Oratorio and Cantata Interpretation Course
in Poland and the Thirteenth Cartagena International Music Festival. She has taken masterclasses
with Nadine Sierra, Samantha Malk, Olga Pasichnyk and Rosa Domínguez.