On Friday, August 2nd at 7:30pm the Dover Quartet–named one of the greatest string quartets of the past 100 years by BBC Music Magazine–will give the world premiere of Jerod Impichcha̱achaaha' Tate’s Woodland Songs and classical orchestration of Pura Fé Rattle Songs. Tate’s music has been described as “rich, provocative and moving” (The New York Times). His Woodland Songs is a five-character suite celebrating the animals that represent different clans of the Eastern Woodlands People–including squirrel, bird, deer, raccoon, and fish–through the use of traditional Chickasaw melodies mixed with classical techniques. “I’m allowing myself to be impulsive and just imagine what a quartet can do,” the composer says of the piece.
“The movements are quite obvious in style,” Tate says of the piece. “Squirrel is very chattery with lots of energy packed into it. It starts strong and is very fast and multi-metered. In Bird I’ve gone for a fluttery and busy sound. It is a little warmer but still high energy. Deer is a moment of poetic repose. I’m really diving into her spirit. It’s very focused and has a deep romantic energy. Fish has an oceanic and undulating sound to it, with ‘soaring melodies’ on top. And Raccoon, another high-energy movement, ‘expresses the survivor spirit of the animal. It finishes with a fast, celebratory warrior dance.”
Tate’s transcription of Rattle Songs by Pura Fé is the first time the piece will be presented in classical orchestration. Fé is one of the founding members of Ulali, an Indigenous women’s group of oral musicians who combine native roots and contemporary styles with vocals, stomping, and rattling turtle shells. Tate first heard Ulali three decades ago, and notes that it changed his life. “My native music is what it is because of them,” he notes. “They are the reason I do what I’m doing. And now I am transcribing the most influential piece in my life–Rattle Songs–literally 30 years after originally hearing it.”
Narragansett Tribal Members free tickets, go to our ticket page: kingstonchambermusic.org/tickets. Select Concert 5: Dover Returns. Under General Admission, choose the number of tickets desired and place them in your cart. Go to the cart and enter the promo code Tate. Confirm your order.
