He Loved His Red Fusquinha (2022)

For baritone (contact me for transcription to female voice range), with optional ‘cello part; total performance time about 4:30, range Ab2 -F4. This song is the culmination of my participation in Sing Out Strong: Remembered Voices, an online concert staged by the Boston-based activist opera organization White Snake Projects. In January of 2022 I was given a poem written by the daughter of Celio Salgueiro, a hard-working immigrant living in NYC, originally from Brazil, who succumbed to Covid-19 in the early stages of the pandemic. Titled “He Loved His Red Fusquinha,” the “fusquinha” – which means “beetle” in Portuguese – refers to Celio’s beloved Volkswagen Beetle that he managed to keep on the road for 45 years. The poem speaks of his devotion to family and the heartbeak of losing him in the pandemic. $7 for two copies of score, ‘cello part, and demo recording. Order here.