(Above: Composer Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, creator of American Indian Symphonies performed at the Oregon Bach Festival)
By Daniel Buckwalter
As the messy United States of America marks its semiquincentennial anniversary, a singular question surfaces yet again: Whose country is this, anyway?
The Oregon Bach Festival doesn’t pretend to answer that question, but it is offering a mosaic of music that sweeps through a portion of the country’s vast landscapes and attempts to explore the abundant cultures that bind this nation.
And that was never more evident on July 2 than in the Hult Center’s Silva Concert Hall where, under the direction of Ken-David Masur, the OBF Modern Orchestra, along with the OBF Chorus and the University of Oregon Chamber Choir, took patrons on an sentimental European view of the U.S. (AntonÃn Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E Minor) as well as a raw, provocative look at Native American music (Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate’s American Indian Symphonies).
The richness of both pieces was profound, but I would like to start with American Indian Symphonies, which made its West Coast premiere in this Thursday night performance, and Tate, its composer.
Tate is a 57-year-old member of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma, one of 39 federally recognized tribal nations in that state. He has been commissioned to compose works for orchestra, ballet and opera, and his work has been performed throughout this country and around the world.
American Indian Symphonies is constructed as six vignettes representing six of the Native American nations in Oklahoma — the Wichita, Potawatomi, Apache, Chickasaw, Modoc and Cheyenne nations.
Led by soprano Kirsten C. Kunle (a member of the Muscogee Nation making her OBF debut) and baritone Javier Arrey, the six-movement symphony celebrates Earth and its voices (thunder and wind), spiritual renewal, a nation’s ancestors, and the noble American bison.
It is a muscular, stunning piece interwoven with thick threads of humanity, and it honors the courage and spiritual beliefs of the six nations, their elders and their tenacity and perseverance in the face of grave disappointments.
American Indian Symphonies, composed in just the past year specifically in time for this country’s 250-year anniversary, is a work that must be heard over and over. I hope it gains traction and becomes a lasting piece that choral ensembles reach for.
As for Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 — what more could be said of this piece. Masur and the OBF Modern Orchestra were simply magnificent, and as always, the second movement came close to bringing me to tears.
It stood as a telling and perfect contrast to Tate’s work, part of the mosaic of music that sweeps through a portion of this country’s vast landscape.
The Oregon Bach Festival runs through July 12. Event and ticket information is available at OregonBachFestival.org.
More information about Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate is available online at JerodTate.com.
