CURT
CACIOPPO spoken
commentary
2-CD
set
$19.95 ~ MS1261
"This
double disc of music by Pennsylvania-based composer and educator Curt Cacioppo
delivers something different [which is] interesting in itself, and indeed this
release might make a good discussion topic for college classes involving music
and culture... the performances...are integrated and communicate a unified
musical vision. Among releases of contemporary music, this one is an unusually
good conversation starter."
All
Music ~ October 2008
"Two
other string ensembles that I've listened to with pleasure lately are the
Moscow and American string quartets, performing music by the American composer
Curt Cacioppo... This new recording is made up of viscerally and
intellectually stimulating compositions influenced in subtle ways by
Navajo, Hopi, and other Native American music. Cacioppo has a unique creative
voice that deserves to be heard."
Time Out ~ June 2008
*
* *
Coyoteway
is an outgrowth of my study of the Navajo healing ceremony of the same name. It
is one of four quartets that form a cycle based on episodes from the Navajo
creation story, and it is dedicated to Navajo elder and spiritual leader John
Co'ií Cook.
The
Ancestors is both inspired by a
Charles Stegeman painting of the same title, and by the myriad associations that
it conjured up, especially the many Native American overtones that resonated
around and within me throughout my childhood years.
A
Distant Voice Calling is another one
of my Navajo quartets. Its title refers to Talking God, who calls forth the
world’s inhabitants as he advances from the East, bringing wisdom, medicine,
ceremony and life for future generations.
Snake
Dance refers to Hopi kachinas
and ceremony, and reflects my acquaintance with music and culture of other
tribes as well. It was inspired also by Indian art (Jerome Tiger paintings, for
example) and the sound of gourd rattles used in the plaza dances.
Full
recorded composer commentaries featured on each disc.
*
* *
Curt
Cacioppo (b. 1951) pursues a varied
career as composer, pianist and teacher. Much of his work reflects his interest
in Native American studies, while his European travels have inspired an equal
creative response. He studied with Leon Kirchner, and found among other mentors
ethnomusicologist David McAllester. He performs internationally, and offers a
course called "Native American Music and Belief" at Haverford College.
http://curtcacioppo.com
.
