Texts and Translations: Frank and Beethoven

The Minnesota Orchestra's performances on March 19 to 21, 2026, feature Gabriela Lena Frank's Pachamama Meets an Ode, sung primarily in English, and Ludwig van Beethoven's Ah! Perfido and Ninth Symphony, sung in Italian and German, respectively. Following is the text for Pachamama Meets an Ode, as well as the original text and an English translation of both Beethoven works.

Gabriela Lena Frank: Pachamama Meets an Ode

Great Man, there is no joy
if we set aflame,
flood,
starve
our home.

Great Man, behold across the sea
your contemporary,
a witness to appetites:
A man of a conquered face,
anonymous,
a painter,
an artist like you.

It was not strange
in the shadows of the Mudéjar church built on Inca stone,
the endearments could be heard.
A painter murmurs to his children,
insistent spirits from the past
yielding before his brush:
a Chavín jaguar-god,
a Moche monkey,
a Huarí harpy
in the shadows of the Mudéjar church built on Inca stone.

"My children,
I must hide you...
I tuck your wings, Huarí harpy,
Inside the sleeves of San Asisi.
I pin your claws, Ai Apaec
To the lapel of San Gabriel.
Your brow, O Lord of Sipán,
I bury under the hat of a Conquistador."

The painter readies his children
for lands he no longer recognizes.
Mountaineers becoming fishermen...
fishermen becoming miners...
miners planting deserts...
deserts becoming a city...
city pistaqos hunting mountaineers.

"My children,
I release you.
I shall paint you protector huacas:
This gleaming stone, this lush river, this verdant mountain...
And I shall paint you Pachamama's glorious creatures."

In the shadows of the Mudéjar church
built on Inca stone,
a witness to appetites lays down his brush.

Great Man,
the river is on oily fire!
Great Man,
the land is dry as dust!
Where is the amanto fish,
la puna grebe,
la viscacha chinchilla?

The canvas empties.
Pachamama asks:
What of odes?
What of joy?

—Gabriela Lena Frank

Ludwig van Beethoven: Ah! Perfido, Scene and Aria for Soprano and Orchestra, Opus 65

Ah! perfido, spergiuro,
barbaro traditor, tu parti?
E son questi gl'ultimi tuoi congedi?
Ove s'intese tirannia più crudel?
Va, scellerato! va, pur fuggi da me,
l'ira de' numi non fuggirai.
Se v'è giustizia in ciel, se v'è pietà,
congiureranno a gara tutti a punirti!
Ombra seguace, presente, ovunque vai,
vedrò le mie vendette,
Io già le godo immaginando.
I fulmini ti veggo già balenar d'intorno.
Ah no! Fermate, vindici Dei!
Risparmiate quel cor, ferite il mio!
S'ei non è più qual era, son io qual fui,
Per lui vivea, voglio morir per lui!

Ah, faithless deceiver,
vicious traitor, you are leaving?
And are these your last farewells?
Who has known such cruel tyranny?
Go, you villain! Go, flee from me,
You will not escape the wrath of the gods.
If there is justice in Heaven, if there is mercy,
they will all conspire to punish you!
Pursuing shadow, wherever you go,
I shall see my vengeance,
I already rejoice to imagine it.
I already see lightning flashing around you.
Ah, no! Stop, avenging gods!
Spare that heart, strike mine!
Though he is no longer himself, I am what I was,
I lived for him, I want to die for him!

Per pietà, non dirmi addio!
Di te priva che farò?
Tu lo sai, bell'idol mio!
Io d'affanno morirò.

Please, do not bid me farewell!
Without you, what shall I do?
You know, my dear beloved!
I will die of grief.

Ah crudel! Tu vuoi ch'io mora! 
Tu non hai pietà di me?
Perchè rendi a chi t'adora
così barbara mercè?
Dite voi se in tanto affanno
non son degna di pietà?

Ah, cruel one! You want me to die!
Have you no pity for me?
Why do you reward the one who adores you
with such cruel thanks?
Tell me, amid such distress,
am I not worthy of pity?

—Surtitles by Cori Ellison

Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Opus 125, Choral

O Freunde, nicht diese Toene! Sondern lasst uns angenehmere anstimmen und freudenvollere!

O friends! Not these sounds! But let us strike up more pleasant sounds and more joyful!

Freude, schöner Götterfunken,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische dein Heiligtum.
Deine Zauber binden wieder,
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brueder,
Wo dein sanfter Fluegel weilt.

Joy, o wondrous spark divine,
Daughter of Elysium,
Drunk with fire now we enter,
Heavenly one, your holy shrine.
Your magic powers join again
What fashion strictly did divide;
Brotherhood unites all men
Where your gentle wing's spread wide.

Wem der grosse Wurf gelungen,
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein,
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
Mische seine Jubel ein!
Ja wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!

The man who's been so fortunate
To become the friend of a friend,
The man who has won a fair woman,
To the rejoicing let him add his voice.
The man who calls but a single soul
Somewhere in the world his own!
And he who never managed this
Let him steal forth from our throng!

Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Bruesten der Natur,
Alle Guten, alle Boesen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Kuesse gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprueft im Tod,
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.

Joy is drunk by every creature
From Nature's fair and charming breast,
Every being, good or evil,
Follows in her rosy steps.
Kisses she gave to us, and vines,
And one good friend, tried in death,
The serpent she endowed with base desire,
And the cherub stands before God.

Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan
Laufet, Brueder, eure Bahn,
Freudig wie ein Held zum Siegen.

Gladly as His suns do fly
Through the heavens' splendid plan,
Run now, brothers, your own course,
Joyful like a conquering hero.

Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!
Brueder - ueberm Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.

Embrace each other now, you millions!
The kiss is for the whole wide world!
Brothers - over the starry firmament
A beloved Father must surely dwell.

Ihr stuerzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schoepfer, Welt?
Such ihn ueberm Sternenzelt,
Ueber Sternen muss er wohnen.

Do you come crashing down, you millions?
Do you sense the Creator's presence, world? 
Seek Him above the starry firmament,
For above the stars he surely dwells.

—Friedrich Schiller and Ludwig van Beethoven