MOTHER EARTH, FATHER SKY

General Info

Commission: Empire State Youth Orchestra and Percussion ensemble
Publisher: Propercussa
Level: Intermediate
Duration: 00:07:30
Price: $18.00

Instrumentation

Player 1: Wooden Shaker & Glockenspiel & Chimes & Bird Whistle
Player 2: Xylophone & Bird Whistle
Player 3: Vibraphone & Temple Block & Bird Whistle
Player 4: Marimba & Guiro
Player 5: Bass Marimba
Player 6: Ocean Drum & Suspended Cymbal & Tom Tom
Player 7: Tam Tam & Marimba & China Cymbal
Player 8: Rain Stick & Bass Drum

Program Notes

This work for percussion ensemble (8 players) was commissioned by the Empire State Repertory and Junior Percussion Ensembles for ESYO New Music for a New Generation Festival supported by the New York State Music Fund, and was premiered on March 2008 by the E.S.Y.O Percussion Ensemble.

“The Great Spirit is our Father, but the Earth is our Mother. She nourishes us; that which we put into the ground she returns to us.” Spoken by Big Thunder of the Wabanaki nation in Maine, these words bear eloquent testimony to an awareness of the cosmos that is shared by all the native cultures of what is today the United States and Canada.

The main harmonic concept of the work consists of the following consideration: If the letters of the alphabet are given to the notes of a chromatic scale, the letter A would be the note “C”, letter B the “C#”, letter C the “D”, letter E the “D#” and so on. With this configuration, the words “Mother Earth” create a C major/suspended chord and the words “Father Sky” create a C major/suspended chord with a minor seventh and a sharp eleventh, suggesting a C augmented chord and a C whole tone scale. The first part represents the Earth and depicts the progression from the dawn to the full light of day. A small bridge represents the fire, and the second part represents the Sky with its force and thunderstorms. The same material that represents the Earth will close the work. The main theme of the work represents the Great Spirit and his voice will be heard throughout the piece, through the Earth and from the Sky.

Recent Performances

Works for Percussion by this Composer

Solo Work

Bem-Vindo - Vibraphone
Brazil 500 Years - Multiple Percussion
Cenas Amerindias N.1 and N.2 - Multiple Percussion
Choro Bachiano - Marimba
My Dear Friend - Vibraphone
Prelude and Blues - Vibraphone
Reflexos - Multiple Percussion
Seven Brazilian Children Songs - Marimba
Sonata Lebensabschnitte - Vibraphone/Marimba
Sonatina para caixa clara - Snare Drum
Suite Popular - Marimba
Ten Beginning Studies for Multiple Percussion - Multiple Percussion
Three Moods - Marimba
Three Preludes - Marimba
Toccata and Divertimento - Vibraphone/Marimba
Valencia (solo) - Marimba
Variações para quatro tom-toms - Multiple Percussion
Variações sobre um tema do Rio Grande - Marimba
Variations over Evelyn Glennie's "A Little Prayer" - Marimba
Vibes Etudes and Songs - Vibraphone

Concertos

Percussion Ensemble

A Message to a Friend - Percussion Duo
Cadencia para Berimbau - Percussion Quartet
Cenas Brasileiras, Baiao and Frevo - Percussion Quartet
Five Cirandas Brasileiras - Vibraphone; Marimba
Fred No Frevo - Marimba Quartet
Japanese Overture - Percussion Octet
Mitos Brasileiros (Brasilian Myths) - Percussion Quartet
Samba (no. 3 of Brazilian Scenes) - Percussion Sextet
Suite Popular Brasileira - Percussion Sextet
Two Brazilian Steel Dances - Percussion Ensemble (7) - Steel Drums
Valencia - Percussion Ensemble (11); Double Bass
MOTHER EARTH, FATHER SKY - Percussion Octet

Reference