One-Eyed Elk
Naftali Schindler
About this work:
The title, One-Eyed Elk, refers to a folk tale from Tuva (a region in Southern Siberia, just northwest of Mongolia) about a down-on-his-luck hunter. After many days of unsuccessful hunting in the Taiga, The hunter plays a melody on his shoor (end-blown flute). Late at night, the spirit of the shoor tells the hunter that he will capture a one-eyed elk on the following day, which he does. This piece does not depict the story literally, but gives its general outlines. The musical language is inspired by Tuvan flute playing and overtone singing. The flute player sings drones virtually throughout the piece, while playing overtones to those drones on the flute. The interaction of the sung and played pitches will cause other pitches to be heard.
Year composed: 2007
Duration: 06:00:40
Ensemble type: Solo instrument, non-keyboard
Instrumentation: 1 Flute