John Luther Adams' Five Athabascan Dances for Harp and Percussion. Duration: 16 minutes. 'These pieces are inspired by the music and spirit of the Athabascan people ofAlaska's boreal forest. The first and third dances are based on songs by Joe Beetus a Koyukon elder from the village of Huslia. The second dance is based on a short traditional song of the Dena'ingpeople of the Kenai Peninsula as remembered by the late Peter Kalifornsky and transcribed by the late Thomas F. Johnston. In their original setting these melodies would be sung in unison with no harmony orcounterpoint. Working as a composer in the Western tradition I have extended and transformed them in many ways. I have 'borrowed' and 'set' these melodies with permission and with the hope that my treatment ofthem conveys my profound respect for their origins. The second and third pieces are derived from my setting of poems by Adeline Peter Raboff written in the dialect of her Gwich'in people who inhabit the countryfrom Arctic Village to Old Crow. I offer this music as a gesture of respect to the first peoples of the Northern Interior and the Kenai Peninsula.' - John Luther Adams
SKU: HL.234540
9.0x12.0x0.09 inches. English.
'This set of miniatures is based on traditional dance songs of the Yupik Eskimo people of Western Alaska. In their original forms, these melodies would be sung in unison. The first, third and fifth songs would be accompanied by frame drums. The second and fourth are game songs, for jumping rope and juggling pebbles. Aside from the obvious difference in instrumentation, my settings of these songs differ from the Yup'ik originals in other respects. I have extended and varied the melodies, and added countermelodies, ostinato figurations, introductions, interludes and codas. The first four melodies are drawn from the collection Yup'ik Eskimo songs, compiled by Thomas F. Johnston, and Tupou L. Pulu, and published by the University Of Alaska. The fifth was 'loaned' to me by Yup'ik singer and dancer Chuna McIntyre, who learned it in his village of Eek, Alaska. The poems preceding each piece are rough translations of the words to the songs. These verses are often cryptic and enigmatic. Their obscurity is increased because some of the words or their meanings have been lost, over time.' - John Luther Adams.
SKU: HL.233157
9.25x12.0x0.13 inches.
Includes two copies of the performance score These pieces are inspired by the music and spirit of the Athabascan people of Alaska's boreal forest. The first and third dances are based on songs by Joe Beetus, a Koyukon elder from the village of Huslia. The second dance is based on a short traditional song of the Dena'ing people of the Kenai Peninsula, as remembered by the late Peter Kalifornsky and transcribed by the late Thomas F. Johnston. In their original setting these melodies would be sung in unison, with no harmony or counterpoint. Working as a composer in the Western tradition, I have extended and transformed them in many ways. I have 'borrowed' and 'set' these melodies with permission and with the hope that my treatment of them conveys my profound respect for their origins. The second and third pieces are derived from my setting of poems by Adeline Peter Raboff written in the dialect of her Gwich'in people, who inhabit the country from Arctic Village to Old Crow. I offer this music as a gesture of respect to the first peoples of the Northern Interior and the Kenai Peninsula. - John Luther Adams.
SKU: HL.233158
9.5x14.25x0.51 inches. English.
Spiral bound score.
SKU: HL.233155
9.0x12.0x0.076 inches. English.
Virtually all my recent music has been composed of four, five or six simultaneous tempo layers. If those ensemble and orchestral pieces are multi-dimensional sculptures, then Among Red Mountains is more like a drawing. In this piece, the challenge I set for myself was to suggest five independent tempo planes, within the limitations of two hands and what Vicki Ray calls 'the Big Black Box'. For three decades I've admired the Piano music of Peter Garland. At last I have a piece that I hope is worthy of this dedication. The title, Among Red Mountains, is the translation of the Gwitch'in Athabascan name for a place in the Brooks Range, north of Arctic Village.'- John Luther Adams.
SKU: HL.233153
9.25x12.0x0.117 inches. English.
For five percussionists playing: bowed crotales, orchestra bells, vibes, chimes, bowed vibes. Commissioned by the University of Wisconsin - River Falls. Duration: 10 minutes 30 seconds.
SKU: HL.50603588
ISBN 9781705112694. UPC: 840126941487. 9.0x12.0x0.526 inches.
This contemplative work for string quartet was written by composing three expansive harmonic fields made up of tempo canons with five, six, and seven independent layers. The music is presented as a performing score for each player of the quartet.
