Mioritza - Requiem for Rachel Corrie
Alice Shields
About this work:
I created Mioritza in memory of Rachel Corrie, the 23-year-old American peace activist who on 16 March 2003 was killed by an Israeli forces bulldozer while attempting to defend a Palestinian pharmacist’s home from demolition. Many innocent Israelis and innocent Palestinians have been killed during the Israeli occupation; this young American had come there to help in peace-making and defending the innocent. And so when Monique Buzzarté asked me to write a piece, I decided to dedicate the work to Rachel Corrie's memory.
I took the title "Mioritza" from a traditional Romanian poem of that name, which translates into English as "the clarivoyant lamb." The piece begins in a slow sarabande rhythm in a beat of three, with the emphasis on the second beat. Towards the middle of the piece the trombonist sings through the trombone an Indian raga melody with a phrase in Sanskrit: "Vittala, vittala, vittala, vittala: Deva vittala, Deva vittala..." which means roughly "glory to God." Mioritza is an expression of my reaction to Rachel's martyrdom in the cause of peace.
Version: trombone & tape
Year composed: 2004
Duration: 00:12:00
Ensemble type: Electronic Instruments and Sound Sources:Prerecorded Sound and Live Instrument(s)
Instrumentation:
Instrumentation notes: trombone, tape