for Flute, Northern Plains Flute, Clarinet, Bassoon and Bass Clarinet - 25'
Commissioned by and dedicated to R. Carlos Nakai.
Premiered August 21, 2009
“Flûte à Bec” is the French name for the medieval and renaissance wood flute. The English called it the flageolet and the Germans called it the Blockflöte. “À Bec” means “like a beak,” which is a description of the beak-like mouthpiece of this flute. When the French first encountered American Indian flutes, they saw such a striking resemblance to the European renaissance flutes, that they simply called it the same thing.
À Bec Quintet was commissioned by Navajo/Ute Indian flutist R. Carlos Nakai and is directly inspired by his ancestral identity. The quintet introduces the Northern Plains Indian flute into woodwind quintet repertoire, with a deliberate synthesis of European musical forms and American Indian melodies from Nakai’s tribal lines.
The first movement, Water Music, is in sonata allegro form. The first and second themes of the exposition are derived from Ute Bear Dance Songs. A brief introduction of a third theme, a Navajo Corn Grinding Song, propels the music into the development. This is followed by a recapitulation and coda.
The second movement, Night Song, begins with a four-part fugue based on Navajo Night Yeibichei (Talking God) music. The middle section features the plains flute in a quasi-recitative style. The movement ends with another fugue of the Night Yeibichei song in inversion.
The third movement was conceived as a rondo for a specific reason: much of American Indian music of the Southwest has a remarkable resemblance to the behavior of 17th century rondeau compositions by French clavecinists. This movement is a 6-part rondo (A-B-A-C-A-D-Coda) with the following thematic focus: A=Dogrib Drum Dance, B=Navajo Sway Song, C=Hopi Buffalo and Elk Dances, D=Ute War Dance.