The Cid, Part 1

The Exile

By: El Cid

Narrated by: Dr. Edmund de Chasca

Excerpts from the classic medieval poem, performed in the original language with English translation, original music, and commentary.©1980 Charles Potter (P)1980 Charles Potter

Interesting, but a hard listen

The audiobook is unusual. It's not a full reading of the poem. Passages are read in Spanish, with an accompanying guitar. A narrator speaks over this from time to time to summarize the action; at other times another voice translates some of the passages as they're being read, using WS Merwin’s translation as a base. And then also from time to time the narrative is interrupted for commentary from a team of scholars. The effect is to give a flavor of the poem and provide some of the context. But it's not an immersive experience.

There is one significant problem with the production. There isn't a clear separation of sound between the Spanish and English as they are being spoken. Listening closely with good earphones helps. The intended effect apparently was similar to that in radio news broadcasts, where a speaker begins in a native language, then fades into the background while an English-speaking interpreter takes over. But here, they forgot to hit the “fade” button.

It's also important to note that this is only the first half of the story. The conclusion is sold separately.

Messy

Spanish and English voices overlap and can be hard to make out either, not too well put together. It’s not even the book directly read word for word, it’s closer to a summary

Horrible performance! Don't buy it!

What disappointed you about The Cid, Part 1?

Unintelligible! The English over Spanish format makes it unlistenable in either language

What didn???t you like about Edmund de Chasca???s performance?

Again, someone's "cute" idea of recording the English translation over the medieval Spanish was a disaster.

Any additional comments?

Audible, take this book out of the store!!!

Don't Waste Your Credits

This was a miserable listen. Couldn't comprehend what was being spoken in translation over the Spanish, and the music in the background just made it even more unintelligible. Wish I would've read the reviews before wasting time and money. The translation isn't even remotely close to the actual Poem of the Cid as it's otherwise translated. Just messy and incredibly unhelpful to me as a student who was assigned the full poem and doesn't have the time to sit down and actually read it. Color me very disappointed...