Regaining (Image Music XXXII)
Greg A. Steinke
About this work:
This piece is another in a whole series of pieces identified by the composer as “Image Music,” which explore Native American cultural ideas and relationships and are based on a poetic image (here excerpted from Songs of the Fire Circles by K’os Naahaabii). The formal plan of the music is loosely tied to the poetic material and is approached somewhat impressionistically and freely by the composer.
Based upon:
from Song XXVIII†
Struggling vainly to regain
The life-giving source,
Sparks exploded in the air, swept by
A vortex of urgent winds
Filling with flame.
Brilliant colors in small
Streaming balls filled
A mind flushed of all
Thought known before this time.
Blue, yellow, black, red,
Streamers in chaotic undulation
As the singing voices welled in unison
And a black ominous storm cloud
In a pulsating universe
Filled with shimmering electrical hum
Shot the spheres with lightning bolts.
K'os Naahaabii
(Don Jordan)
†from Songs of the Fire Circles
©1977, Blue Oak Press
Auburn, CA
Reprinted by permission
Version: for Sop. Sax, Clarinet, Bassoon, Violin & Cello
Year composed: 2009
Duration: 00:08:00
Ensemble type: Chamber or Jazz Ensemble, Without Voice:Other Combinations, 2-5 players
Instrumentation: 1 Clarinet, 1 Bassoon, 1 Soprano Saxophone, 1 Violin, 1 Cello