September1999qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqVolume XI n.

THE MUSIC SCORE OF THE MONTH

The Legends of the American Indians

Brad Richter
Four Native Tales
guitar
ed. GSP (United States) 1998,

20 pages

Inspired by American culture, and especially by the background of the American Indian, these four pieces for solo guitar represent very interesting research on rhythms sounds and sonorities which are used to evoke the stories represented here. Specifically, each piece is associated with a one page legend from an Indian tribe that traces the history of the music of that particular tribe.

The writing of the different myths is filtered through the sensibility of the composer, but he reconstructs on them a new poetic path to reach the evocations and emotions suggested by the different texts.

The musical language is linear, the style recalls minimalism and the various pieces run along a similar string of thought, always returning to a variation of the original theme, thus never losing their strong sense of global coherence.

At the instrumental level, all four pieces that make up this suite present an elevated difficulty of execution, especially because of the utilization of particular effects, both natural and percussive. Though mastering these effects requires a strong commitment on the part of the player, one can see that they are indeed quite necessary for the overall continuity of the music.

In general it is a serious, complex work of good coherence without being esoteric. This suite has a strong impact and is very interesting, both for the novelty in the material used and for the imagination of the realization.

It is advisable, to undertake a close reading of these pieces that can lead to their inclusion in one’s own repertoire, and to help illuminate the texts, to respond in an appropriate manner to this personal technique beyond individual taste.

In order of the publication the titles are: How the Sun Came, The Waters Beneath, How Death Came, The Unpromising Hero.