Spirit Voices
General Info
Year of Published: 2003
Movement
1. Jiu huang ye: Con forza
2. Bean nighe: Largo notturno
3. Ellyllon: Vivace
4. Te Mangoroa: Largo
5. Coyote: Energico
6. Tengu: Allegro di molto
7. Wah'Koh - Tah: Sereno, luminoso
Program Notes
This work takes its inspiration from the diversity of spirits and other supernatural forces from cultures around the world who manifest their presence through sound. The Irish banshee (cousin to the Scots bean nighe of my second movement) is one well-known example, but there are countless others. However, Spirit Voices borrows only the names and general behaviors of the seven spirits and gods used for its seven movements; the music itself does not borrow from these original cultures but instead comes purely from my own imagination.
I. Jiu haung ye (Malaysia). The Nine Emporer Gods are star deities who control the nine planets of our solar system, and they constitute the most popular spirit-medium cult within the Taoist pantheon in the region of Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. The Jiu huang ye are celebrated in an annual festival during the first nine days of the ninth lunar month, including the raucous martial-arts dance (wushu).
II. Bean nighe (Scotland). The Washer of the Fords, a female wraith who washes blood-stained clothes when someone in the neighborhood is about to die, especially in battle. She haunts desolated lakes and streams, and she is the counterpart of the Irish bean-sidhe (banshee). A similar figure, the cadineag, caonieag, or caointeach, may be heard weeping in the darkness near a waterfall before catastrophe strikes a local clan.
III. Ellyllon (Wales). Tiny, diaphanous creatures ruled over by Queen Mab, the ellyllon are benevolent Welsh elves. (The singular form is ellyll). Like brownies, they will help out with household chores; also like brownies, they will leave the house if they are offended, or if their privacy is invaded.
IV. Te Mangoroa (Maori). The Long Shark, or in English the Milky Way. These are the "people in the sky" whose task it is to foretell the coming of day.
V. Coyote (Navajo and many other Native American Indian traditions). According to the Navajo creation myth, the Milky Way was created by the mischievous behavior of the trickster god, Coyote. Coyote's character is greedy, vain, foolish, cunning, and occasionally displaying a high degree of power.
VI. Tengu (Japan). Originally long-billed bird-spirits, they are a race of evil mountain goblins known for their ferocity. These giants have wings, large claws, red ugly faces, a long beak, feathers, long hair, and a stormy temperament. These devils often harass people, playing jokes on them, spiriting away children, tormenting the Buddhist priests who came to the mountains to study them. Those who meet them become insane.
VII. Wah'Kon-Tah (native American traditions). The Great Sprit or Great Mystery, supreme being in a great many native American traditions; in some tribes, WakanTanka (the Breath Giver). According to the Wabanaki Algonquin Big Thunder, "The Great Spirit is in all things, he is in the air we breathe. The Great Spirit is our Father, the Earth is our Mother."
Works for Percussion by this Composer
Marimba Works
Concerto Works
Concerto for Solo Percussionist and Wind Orchestra – Solo Percussion; Multiple Percussion; Wind Ensemble; Band
Spirit Voices