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Kanza
is a form of the name of the Native American Tribe the “Kansa” (The
Wind People). A Siouan-speaking people, the Kansa or Kaw lived in
the middle border region (Kansas–Missouri–Oklahoma). In the 1950’s
the tribe reorganized as a legal corporate body known as the Kaw
Tribe of Oklahoma.
Based on the
songs of three birds (Bobwhite, Goldfinch, and Song Sparrow) Kanza
is a stylistic representation of the interplay between playful
birdsong and the expansiveness of the prairie wind. The piece opens
with complete statements of each bird song [1) Bobwhite, 2) Song
Sparrow (both stated by the flute), 3) Goldfinch (soprano
saxophone)]. The bird songs are then segmented and layered
throughout the piece, in a collage-like construction.
The octatonic
scale (an alternation between half and whole-steps) is employed as
the main scalar material. The rapid succession of rising and
falling scalar lines represents the motion of birds diving and
climbing through the wind.
First stated
by the soprano saxophone, the “wind” theme is a slow, lyric melodic
line, which continues to evolve as it is passed (both segmented and
expanded) between all three instruments. The role of this thematic
material is to represent the ever changing, yet ever-present prairie
wind.
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