El Doliente (The Mourner)
In 2018 Óscar Hahn (National Prize for Literature 2012) invited Nano to present, for the first time, a public reading of his poems at the Santiago International Book Fair, and a relationship was born of mutual admiration and passion. From this encounter Óscar asked Nano if he would put music to his poem El Doliente.
The tradition of creating music based on sonnets dates back to the Renaissance, and throughout the centuries, both poets and musicians have addressed this major form of poetry. From Dante to Enrique Lihn, from Monteverdi to Joaquín Sabina, the sonnet has seen the passage of time from its imperishable seat.
On his relationship with the poet, his work and his setting El Doliente to music, Nano says:
"Óscar Hahn's poetry moves me deeply and being able to meet the man behind the lyrics has only increased the admiration I feel for him. 'The Mourner' is a sonnet that says necessary truths and that fills us with hope, especially in those moments when life is an uphill battle. Musicalizing other people's poems is to embark on a journey into an alien world, to find there what is common to us and that it makes us human. From poetry to singing there is a tiny and subtle step, and as a composer, the challenge is to be able to listen to music that is already implicit in words.”