Part of the Indigenous/Undigenous (I/U) Series.

Indigenous/Undigenous II (I/U-2) is the second in an ongoing series of my new works, in this case composed for orchestra. For each work in the new Series, the same text is translated into a specific Indigenous language. Indigenous/Undigenous II was composed in the Unami language (Lenape). From latin roots, “indigenous” basically indicates an origin from the land and “undigenous” indicates an origin from the water (as in ‘undulate’). In our modern nomenclature, the title teases living as a Native American versus not living as one (‘undigenous’ teases not-indigenous), but it is more properly understood as a common theme of being ‘of the land’ and ‘of the water,’ respectively. 

For the Series, the core text will be translated into alternate versions of Native American languages: We are of the land / We are of the water / The lands and waters are our relatives / We love them. In this way, each work of the I/U Series will forefront Indigenous languages to express a common Native American identity that values the earth and the waters as cherished kinship relations. 

As the Lenape often traveled and inhabited the New York and Manhattan, the second in the I/U Series celebrates the Lenape people and auditory beauty of their language. The text was translated into Unami by Jim Rementer. Indigenous/ Undigenous II was commissioned for the Harvard-Westlake School Orchestra of Studio City, California. — BMD

Indigenous / Undigenous II - Lenape

My Song (FVHS Symphonic Band)

08:00. Cetacea (FVHS Jazz Band), Forest View High School Jazz Band, Mount Prospect, IL 1977. Fred Otis Elliot directing. Poor quality recording. Copyright ©1977, Brent Michael Davids. All Rights Reserved.

Cetacea (FVHS Jazz Band)

5-6:00. "Black Kettle Band" Concert Band. Grade Level 4. Commissioned by Mile High Freedom Band. Features 2 sets of timpani with concert band. Copyright ©2023 Brent Michael Davids. All Rights Reserved.

Black Kettle Band (concert band)

Creative Rage

16:00. Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Concert Band). Level 4-5. Depicts the four directions of many Indigenous cultures. The work utilizes layering techniques, extended instrumental techniques, timbre and cluster effects, several solos and soloistic passages, and added instruments such as thunder sheet, stroke rods and ocarina. The work was premiered by the Symphonic Band of Northern Illinois University with conductor Max Culpepper, DeKalb, Illinois. Obscure score. Copyright ©1981 Brent Michael Davids, All Rights Reserved.

Cry of the Winds

LAKE WINDS performed by Northern Symphony Orchestra at a concert in Anoka MN on Nov 19, 2022; Michael Halstenson conducting.

Notes: 04:30. Youth Orchestra (double winds), up to 6 flute soloists, Timapani, Horizontal Bass Drum, Orchestra Bells, Clay Bird Whistles, Bird Roars, Harp. A celebration of the Indigenous residents of a Minnesota lake. Commissioned by GTCYS especially for this occasion, "Lake Winds" celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the Greater Twin Cities’ Youth Symphonies of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. Commission was made possible in part by support from The Saint Paul Companies. Copyright ©1997 Brent Michael Davids. All Rights Reserved.

Lake Winds

09:00. Chorus (satb), Quartz Flute (or flute substitute), Shakers, Bird Roars, Powwow Drum (or tom substitute). A percussive suite derived from 3 Indigenous songs in 3 segue movements (Lenape Song, Apache Song, Zuni Sunrise Song). Lyrics: derived from Native American "vocables." Commissioned by the Dale Warland Singers. Available through earthsongs Choral Music. 1995.

Native American Suite (DWS)

06:40. Chorus (satb), Quartz  Flute (or flute substitute), Shaker, Orchestra Bells, Crotales, Skin Drum (or tom substitute), 4 Timpani, Violoncello. Lyrics in Mahican and "vocables" by Brent Michael Davids. The work was a finalist (1993) in the Dale Warland choral reading series. 1993.

WAMPE: GOODWATER (DWS)

03:00. Youth Chorus (SA), 2 Soprano Flutes, Triangle, Shaker, Tambourine. Lyrics in Mahican language, and "vocables" by Brent Michael Davids. A hand-notated manuscript in "picture notation" in the shape of feathers. The work celebrates our relatedness and is dedicated to the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of the Mohican Nation. 2000.

MOHICAN FRIENDS

20:00. Boys Choir (Trebles 1, 2, 3), Quartz Flute (or flute substitute), Shaker, Tambourine, Powwow Drum (or large tom), Narrator. Story and lyrics by US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo. Vocables by Brent Michael Davids. Includes story and six songs (Introduction Song, Happy Vain Crow, Gaming Song, Crow Magic Song, Soot Song and Human Lesson Song). Commissioned by the Phoenix Boys Choir. 1997. Lyrics Copyright ©1997 Joy Harjo. Music copyright ©1997 Brent Michael Davids. All Rights Reserved.

STORY OF CROW

3:30. Choral Anthem (satb), organ, Native American drum. Lyrics by Steven Charleston (Choctaw) and Brent Michael Davids. Commissioned by Native American Council at Christ Church Cathedral, Cincinnati, Ohio. 2014. Lyrics Copyright ©2014 Steven Charleston. Music copyright ©2014 Brent Michael Davids. All Rights Reserved.

HONORING EARTH (OH)

3:30. Choral Anthem (satb), organ, Native American drum. Lyrics by Steven Charleston (Choctaw) and Brent Michael Davids. Commissioned by Native American Council at Christ Church Cathedral, Cincinnati, Ohio. 2014. Performed by Plymouth Church, MN; Philip Brunelle, conducting. Lyrics Copyright ©2014 Steven Charleston. Music copyright ©2014 Brent Michael Davids. All Rights Reserved.

HONORING EARTH (MN)

08:00. Chorus (ssaattbb), large Native American dance drum. Lyrics and music: Brent Michael Davids. Lyrics are entirely Native American '"vocables." Commissioned by Loic Pierre and the Mikrokosmos Choir (Commande de Loïc Pierre pour le Choeur de Chambre Mikrokosmos). 2007. Lyrics and Music Copyright ©2007 Brent Michael Davids. All Rights Reserved.

ANCESTOR GIVEAWAY

01:30-3:00. Voice, Flute, 2 Contrabasses, Shaker. Lyrics in the Mahican language by Brent Michael Davids. Commissioned by Garrison Keillor for A Prairie Home Companion radio show (2 July 2005). Premiered at the Tanglewood Shed by Inga Swearingen, Prudence Johnson, Guys All Star Shoe Band, and the Edith Wharton String Quartet. 2005. Lyrics and music Copyright ©2005 Brent Michael Davids. All Rights Reserved.

STOCKBRIDGE MOHICAN SONG

09:00. Chorus (ssaattbb), 2 Nose Flutes. Lyrics and Music: Brent Michael Davids. The lyrics of Night Chant are both Mahican words and Native American “vocables,” as both a love song and night chant. A "walking chant" is composed into the work. Commission was made possible by a grant by Meet The Composer/Reader’s Digest Commissioning Program in partnership with The National Endowment for the Arts and Lila Wallace Reader’s Digest Fund; and, by a consortium consisting of Chanticleer and The Dale Warland Singers. 1996. Lyrics and Music Copyright ©1996 Brent Michael Davids. All Rights Reserved.

NIGHT CHANT

09:00. Chorus (ssaattbb), 2 skin drums (or tom substitutes). Lyrics and Music: Brent Michael Davids. A musical soup of Mahican and Native American "vocables" stirred together. Commissioned by Chanticleer, and premiered (22 July 1999) at Tanglewood's Seiji Ozawa Hall, Lenox, Massachusetts. 1997. Lyrics and Music Copyright ©1997 Brent Michael Davids. All Rights Reserved.

MOHICAN SOUP

01:00. Beginner solo piano work, plus teacher accompaniment. Level 1. Commissioned and published by the Frances Clark Center. 2023.

CATCH THE BEAT

05:00. Solo Violin. Level 6 (very difficult). Composed for solo violin with scordatura re-tuning of its low string, to evoke the rhythms of the single-stringed Apache violin. The Western violin’s G string is tuned down to a low A in bass clef, creating the characteristic “buzzy” quality that spawned the Apache violin’s “buzzer” nickname. With an Apache violin-like melody and rhythms that borrow the duple and triple beats of indigenous songs, Western musical techniques are also incorporated, such as double, triple and quadruple stops, harmonic and tritone sonorities. The work is intended to be a virtuosic experience. Thank you to Nash Ryder for the dazzling Performance!  Commissioned by Dr. Katherine McLin and Arizona State University School of Music, Tempe. 2019. Copyright ©2019 Brent Michael Davids. All Rights Reserved.

WOOD THAT SINGS

Solo Flute or Quartz Flute; Commissioned by the Arizona Commission on the Arts. The work evokes a desert landscape where the musical notation depicts a bowing cactus. Performed by Emma Peterson, flute (UWRF).

Desert Invocation (UWRF)

Alto Saxophone, Piano. Commissioned by Kara Nye for Darthmouth College. Melody and rhythm evoke a traditional Indigenous song. Performed by Wyatt Hanson, saxophone, Jamison Gallmeier, piano (UWRF).

Firefly Traditional (UWRF)

Solo Quartz Bass Flute, Voice. Text adapted from a poem by Mona Susan Powers. The work showcases extended instrumental techniques, and tells the story of a Winnebago man searching for his lost roots in the woods. Performed by Brent Michael Davids at UWRF.

In Wisconsin Woods (UWRF)

Bass Clarinet, Marimba, Vibraphone, Violin, Narrator. A humorous spoof of James Fenimore Cooper’s erroneous “Last of the Mohicans” book. Performed by Zeitgeist at UWRF.

Last of James Fenimore Cooper - Zeitgeist (UWRF)

Soprano, Piano. Lyrics are Native American “vocables” that portray an operatic aria reminiscent of an Indigenous song. Performed by Lola Porter, vocal soloist, Debra Fristad, piano (UWRF).

Spirit Woman Song (UWRF)

Solo flute. Commissioned by Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra for Julia Bogorad-Kogan. The work means “we speak,” and mimics the Mahican language with sharp enunciations and whip-like releases. Performed by Kevin Fraley, flute (UWRF).

Taptonahana (UWRF)

Solo Piano. Promotes science and Freethought. Composed for the composer’s dear friend and pianist Emanuele Arcuili. Performed by Claire Vaught, piano (UWRF).

Testament of Atom (UWRF)

Commissioned by Texas Lutheran University to honor Nita Pahdopony, an accomplished Comanche artist and activist; The entire work is marked “pianissimo” (pp) or ‘extremely soft.’ Performed by UWRF Wind Ensemble, Pat O'Keefe, conductor.

Nita (UWRF)

A Chopin Nocturne (Op 72, No. 1) adapted for, and played on, Native American wood flute, by Brent Michael Davids.

Chopin Op72 #1 on Native American Flute

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SPIRIT WOMAN SONG

"Powwow Symphony" for powwow master of ceremonies, quartz flute, satb chorus. (Phoenix Symphony Orchestra, Sammy Tonkei, Desert Chorale, Brent Michael Davids). Copyright @1998, Brent Michael Davids. All Rights Reserved.

POWWOW SYMPHONY

"Last of James Fenimore Cooper" for string orchestra and narrator (this recording is the string quartet version). Miro Quartet, Brent Michael Davids. Copyright ©2001, Brent Michael Davids. All Rights Reserved.

Brent Michael Davids

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