Event
Wisconsin Chamber Choir presents "She is One of Us"
As part of the Wisconsin Chamber Choir's (WCC's) 2010/11 concert series focused on Music and the Natural World, the choir's May 20, 2011 concert will feature music
by Native American composers, poetry by Native American poets, and a special appearance by Muscogee Nation dancer, Tim Fish. All these elements of
the performance unite to emphasize the theme of humanity's interconnection with the natural world, as related in the powerful music and words of the WCC's Native American
guest artists.
The centerpiece of the May concert program will be the choral work, "She Is One of Us," composed by Brent Michael Davids on a text by Joy Harjo. According to the composer,
"She Is One of Us" celebrates "the Earth and her resiliency despite human negligence. Sometimes sparse, sometimes rich, sometimes harsh, sometimes gorgeous, 'She Is One of Us' used many vocal techniques including whisper singing, speaking, and specific Native American vocal sounds." Davids is a renowned composer and enrolled member of the Mohican nation who was born in Madison. Davids will take part in the concert as a performer on his crystal flute, and he will also coach the WCC in rehearsals and visit local elementary schools as part of his residency with the WCC.
Alongside Davids' music, the WCC's concert program will feature transcriptions of Native American songs by Louis W. Ballard. Often referred to as "the dean of Native American composers," Ballard (1931-2007) was of Cherokee and Quapaw heritage, a prolific composer of symphonic, chamber, and vocal works, and a prominent educator and advocate on behalf of Native American culture.
Kansas City composer Jean Belmont Ford's moving choral work, "Sky Loom," compliments the music of Davids and Ballard. For her text, Belmont combined a Tewa prayer with excerpts from treaties recorded between Native Americans and European settlers. The composer writes, "There is an irony in the lack of correspondence between the treaty text and actual historical practice. Nevertheless, the words remain as a constant reminder of aspiration and responsibility."
Widening the focus to include music from other aboriginal cultures, the WCC's concert program features a set of Maori songs by New Zealand composer Jenny McLeod. A former student of Olivier Messiaen and currently one of New Zealand's leading composers, McLeod has become closely associated with the Maori people, whose texts and melodies she utilizes in the selections performed by the WCC.
In a bow to traditional choral repertoire, the WCC presents a rare, complete performance of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák's choral song cycle, "In Nature." During an extended
visit to the United States in the 1890s, Dvořák championed Native American music and musicians, and repeatedly claimed that his own compositions, including the New World Symphony, were influenced by Native American and African American music.
Rounding out the program are two shorter works: "Now I Walk in Beauty," a round based on a Navajo prayer, and "Hanacpachap," the first piece of polyphonic music published in the Western Hemisphere. Printed in Peru in 1631, this short prayer is composed in the style of a Latin motet, except that the words are in Quechua, the language of the ancient Incans (and still spoken by millions of people today). The composer of "Hanacpachap" is unknown, but was likely a Quechua-speaking Native American student working at a church in Andahuaylas, Peru.
The WCC's May, 2011 concert will serve as the capstone of our 2010/11 season and its music relating to the theme of environmental stewardship. Each of our three concerts features a different partner organization that shares educational and outreach goals with the WCC. Beginning in November, 2010, in partnership with the Aldo Leopold Foundation, our concert of Romantic and contemporary music about nature featured composer Jean Ford Belmont's setting of excerpts from "Sand County Almanac," Aldo Leopold's seminal work about conservation ethics. In April, 2011, in conjunction with the Stoughton Chamber Singers, the WCC presented Joseph Haydn's oratorio "The Creation," a thrilling depiction of the Judeo-Christian account of creation that celebrates nature in all its glory. At our May concert, together with our Native American guest artists, the WCC will present Madison concert goers a rare, culturally significant opportunity to appreciate and participate in the rich traditions of our Native American
fellow travelers on the road to an environmentally sustainable future.
This project is supported by the Dane County Cultural Affairs Commission with additional funds from the Overture Foundation and the Pleasant T. Rowland Foundation.
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LocationTrinity Lutheran Church
1904 Winnebago St
Madison, WI 53719
United States
Categories
| Minimum Age: 0 |
| Kid Friendly: Yes! |
| Dog Friendly: No |
| Non-Smoking: Yes! |
| Wheelchair Accessible: Yes! |
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