R. Murray Schafer (1933-2021)
Manitou (1994)
for orchestra
A note from the composer:
I wanted to create something with a distinctly Canadian theme. Manitou is the Algonquin word denoting the “mysterious being” who, for the woodland Indians of North America, represents the unknown power of life and the universe. Sometimes Manitou is associated with the sun to suggest omnipotence, though, like the Christian God, he is unseen. When I discussed native spirituality with a Manitoba Indian he kept using the word “monster” to describe Manitou and mentioned that his people used to believe that lightning was a serpent vomited up by him.
I spent the winter months of 1993-4 in Manitoba, the province of Canada that takes its name from this “mysterious” god. In Manitoba the winters are long and harsh. Sometimes the thermometer remains at twenty degrees or more below zero for weeks on end. But the days are sunny, and over the relatively flat and treeless landscape the skies seem enormous. It was during these times, in the pleasant studio provided by Brandon University, that I sketched out Manitou, and I have no doubt that the climate, the geography and the “mysterious being” contributed strongly to the shape and character of what was written there.
picture:
Emily Carr: Vanquished (1930)
Негізгі бет R. Murray Schafer - Manitou (1994)
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