Will Wickham Music
Will Wickham Music
Hello
The Story Teller is a set of 6 miniatures for choir and orchestra with improvised indigenous flute interludes. The stories in this work come from Cayuga Nation storyteller Dan Hill who also made and played all the indigenous flutes in this recording.
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The six miniatures are
1 - the story teller
2 - water
3 - eagle and thrush
4 - two little birds
5 - winter winds
6 - creator asks
the text
1. The Story Teller
endless nights
winters chill
long night moon
her stories float like diamond dust
Grandmother’s wisdom
spun with silvery moon glow
2. Water
Always in nature,
water is everywhere
following Creator’s
original instruction
to not disappear.
Water can be damaged
but can not be destroyed.
3. Eagle and Thrush
Creator brought all birds together
to give each a sound,
a voice of their own,
to the highest flyer
goes the best song.
Eagle flew all the way up,
when from a perch
on Eagle’s back
a hidden thrush
flew up five more feet.
Coming down, shamed by cheating,
the thrush, with golden song,
flew far away.
A hermit forevermore.
4. Two Little Birds
Riverside woods at sunrise
filled with chirping, squawking birds,
leaves were gone, trees were bare,
branches filled with
little starlings.
Two birds flying tag-team,
following each other
through the sky,
they soar, looping and whirling,
diving and swooping overhead.
Finally, after a long time,
one went sailing up this way, zh-oop,
the other went straight
and sat down.
The still flying bird
retraced loops and whirls,
a victory lap before
taking off again,
leading the flock to the
next rest stop.
5. Winter’s Winds
Grandmother said to us,
“don’t tell stories in summer.
Stories distract
the animals and birds,
listening takes them
from their duties.
Besides, winter winds
carry the story better
to ears that need to hear.”
6. Creator Asks
Everybody has a job,
everyone has something
they are supposed to do.
Creator gave you
one assignment
that must be done
before you leave
this world behind.
Everybody has a voice
and one job to do
making sure that everyone’s okay.
Helping others when they need
be thankful every day.
Creator asks only that you
be generous and caring
in all ways.
Program note:
To share and amplify under-heard voices was one of the strongest founding principals of the Story Music Project. Throughout the world, including the Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York, one of the least heard voices is that of indigenous peoples. Part of the Heron Clan of the Cayuga Nation, Dan Hill is a proud, strong voice. Dan has been making art of various sorts since well before his teacher and artistic mentor, his Grandmother, said to him, "Don't let these things die!"
It was Dan's flute-making and storytelling that found a home in my heart. Spending many, many hours hand crafting a single flute from natural materials, Dan learns many of his stories from the flutes themselves. Made of redwood, aromatic cedar, deer and elk antlers, and even from the branch of an apple tree that met a tragic fate at the front bumper of an errant car, Dan's flutes frequently suggest the stories he shares in his presentations.
The Haudenosaunee story telling tradition, like that of many indigenous cultures, is a way of sharing knowledge, ethics, and even some good fun! Hopefully, you will find all that and more in this collection of tales inspired by Dan's flutes. - - w wickham
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Performance note:
The piece was conceived and first performed with full orchestra accompaniment and Dan Hill playing various flutes between sections. Like the stories, Dan's improvised flute songs are inspired by the flute itself. Each flute related specifically to the story and music that follows.
Contact
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