tejas means friend - 10'
In learning about José Parla's work, Amistad America, I was fascinated by the way he speaks about the origins of language. Parla speaks about the name in a video on the Landmarks website:
"Researching the history of Texas, the name Texas, itself, comes from the Spanish word Tejas, which comes from the Caddoan language of the Caddo tribe, Táy-sha. Táy-sha means friendship. Amistad, itself, means friendship."
Looking at the mural I am also inspired by certain collections of colors. Blue and orange stick out to me which I associate with particular chords and notes. The consistent dark blue prompted me to put the piece in a flat key, here c minor, and the the light blue is represented by the Bb which gets added on. As we approach the far right side of the mural the colors begin to clash, and at the farthest right side up the stairs, there's a burst of white streak which I hope will be obvious to the listeners. This piece is spatial and meant to be performed in large halls. A dancer is also present walking the listeners through which part of the mural is being represented.
The work is inspired by José Parlá's Amistad América and is best performed in front of the mural with choreography. Info on the artwork can be found here.
Instrumentation
2 Alto Saxophones (2nd with Baritone Saxophone and both with Pitch Pipes)
2 Flugelhorns with Piccolo Trumpets and Pitch Pipes
2 Trombones (Tenor, Bass) with Pitch Pipes
2 Performers or Percussionists with 2 Wine Glasses in C4 and Eb4, 2 Melodicas (F3-F6), and 1-2 Medium Tam-tams
1 Dancer (if performed on site)
"Researching the history of Texas, the name Texas, itself, comes from the Spanish word Tejas, which comes from the Caddoan language of the Caddo tribe, Táy-sha. Táy-sha means friendship. Amistad, itself, means friendship."
Looking at the mural I am also inspired by certain collections of colors. Blue and orange stick out to me which I associate with particular chords and notes. The consistent dark blue prompted me to put the piece in a flat key, here c minor, and the the light blue is represented by the Bb which gets added on. As we approach the far right side of the mural the colors begin to clash, and at the farthest right side up the stairs, there's a burst of white streak which I hope will be obvious to the listeners. This piece is spatial and meant to be performed in large halls. A dancer is also present walking the listeners through which part of the mural is being represented.
The work is inspired by José Parlá's Amistad América and is best performed in front of the mural with choreography. Info on the artwork can be found here.
Instrumentation
2 Alto Saxophones (2nd with Baritone Saxophone and both with Pitch Pipes)
2 Flugelhorns with Piccolo Trumpets and Pitch Pipes
2 Trombones (Tenor, Bass) with Pitch Pipes
2 Performers or Percussionists with 2 Wine Glasses in C4 and Eb4, 2 Melodicas (F3-F6), and 1-2 Medium Tam-tams
1 Dancer (if performed on site)