For this week, I reflected upon a piece of cultural music that I have seen performed many different ways in different schools. The piece is called Tres Cantos Nativos. In this arrangement that you can purchase on J W Pepper, the music is freely based on three melodies sung by the Kurao tribe. This tribe is a group of native Brazilian indians living in the forests of northern Brazil.
I have included two videos in my blog this week to show the differences in performance. Many teachers I know teach this music and put choreography to the different melodies. Both videos shown start with the group creating rainforest sounds that gather into a thunderstorm. When looking at the music, it is not directly written in the text to do so.
As you can see in this picture taken from J.W. Pepper website (http://www.jwpepper.com/Tres-Cantos-Nativos/5539655.item#.U8mszY1dUg5), the music suggests that animal cries and percussive sounds be added to the first 8 measures, but it does not directly say to create a thunderstorm. Both groups do this in different ways.
Another comparison I have made is the choreography that has been added. It is different for each ensemble, and this can create concern for validity of the piece. Were these motions added for aesthetic value, or just to enhance the music? There is nothing written in the music giving directions to include choreography with stomping and hand clapping. I asked a teacher friend of mine who has taught this multiple times how she learned the choreography. She informed me that she was inspired after watching videos online of other groups performing the music in this way. This in no way relates to the tribe found in Brazil
The first video is a recording of the Lee University's Choral Union under the direction of Dr. Cameron LaBarr. You can hear the vocalists and the percussion that was added. This arrangement also changed the order of the three melodies to put the more "fast paced" one at the end. Does that change its value?
This video is the Young People's Chorus of New York City. You can see their interpretation of this music by how their singing is more nasal and the choreography is different. They also sang this in the original concert order. This piece uses vocals, but you can hear percussion instruments.
I know many teachers who enjoy teaching Tres Cantos Nativos, but I don't believe it is taught to have any value of music from Brazil.
Hello Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteAfter watching both performances, I can see several differences in them. The performance by the Young People's Chorus is shorter and uses more body movement. The performance by Lee University's Choral Union has a longer beginning and really emphasizes the storm and animal noises. I question how these groups can make their performances more valid? Is there a recording of the Kurao tribe performing the original? I think that the important part is that the students are experiencing this work and getting a glimpse of another culture, no matter how valid it is. I think that it is the opportunity and experience that matters to the child. Thanks for sharing.
Chad Hodges
Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting comparison! When performing a piece with my students, I listen to as many recordings as possible. I take what I like from each recording to make this piece unique to our performance, why still trying to maintain the authentic quality of the piece. This does open up the debate as to "is the piece still authentic if we make our own changes?" I believe that although there are many variations upon a piece's performance, the core of it is still the same and so it is still authentic. If we were to listen to this piece performed by different ensembles in Brazil, would all of them be identical? I doubt it. This definitely makes an interesting debate! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for sharing this educational piece and the different performances. Interesting point about the choreography not being connected to the culture. Well written overall, but you did not reflect on Koops’ models.
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