Simple Songs of Birth and Return (2007)
Instrumentation: Mbira
Electronics: Yes
Duration: 8'
Commissioned by and written for Douglas Perkins.
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Notes: Simple Songs was commissioned by Douglas Perkins and is inspired by the essential function of (mbira) music in life rituals of the Shona people of Zimbabwe.In writing these pieces, I sought to find this quality in my own musical language - a language which is not African at all, but that nonetheless seeks to have cultural relevance in my time and place. "A Tale Begun" is written in celebration of the birth of Douglas’s first child the concurrent birth of a first child to two other dear friends. It is further inspired by the poem of that name by Wislawa Szymborska. "Two Shadows" is inspired by the Shona concept of the separation of one's light and dark shadows after death.