- John Luther Adams
Three Drum Quartets from Earth and the Great Weather (1993)
- Taiga Press (BMI) (World)
Programme Note
These three pieces are drawn from Earth and the Great Weather, an evening length “sonic geography” of the Arctic. Although purely “abstract” in form, it is my hope that they are in some small measure informed by the elemental power of natural forces in the Arctic, and by the ecstatic power of Inupiat Eskimo drumming and dancing.
The great sea has set me adrift.
It moves me like a weed
in a great river.
Earth and the great weather move me,
have carried me away
and move my inward parts with joy.
- Uvavnuk,
an Iglulik Eskimo shaman
The great sea has set me adrift.
It moves me like a weed
in a great river.
Earth and the great weather move me,
have carried me away
and move my inward parts with joy.
- Uvavnuk,
an Iglulik Eskimo shaman
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Reviews
“…muscular and sophisticated pieces… based on Inuit dance music… charged with the explosive power of Japanese Taiko drumming…”