el reno for soprano or tenor & piano

The piece is about Jenna who has finished inspecting the now empty interior of her family bakery for the last time. The piece portrays happy memories but bittersweetness and love of ancestry. It is the last day at your own store, the last look at your own history.

Like the Floorboards

Libretto by John de los Santos

Jenna has finished inspecting the now empty interior of her family bakery for the last time.

JENNA: (upset that is ending)

A cloudy day for my final look?

Soon erased by passersby, looking for quick and low.

Whenever I come back there’ll be

A lock that doesn’t know my key.

Glass cases may be empty, but they remember Grandma’s pies. Just like the floorboards do, with grooves from Grandpa’s broom. They both remain, sights and smell, with hints of Dad and Mom.

They all kept it up; kept it up for me. I learned to bake right over there,

learned to share through what I made.They trusted me and believed the

world would need this place. They never thought, they’ll never know. Thank God they’ll never know.

A rainy day for my final look.

I’m erased by passersby, looking for quick and low.

That’s why I won’t come back to see

A lock that doesn’t know my key.