…lahgo adil’i dine doo yeehosinilgii yidaaghi – Raven Chacon

…lahgo adil’i dine doo yeehosinilgii yidaaghi – Raven Chacon

Presented by Vancouver New Music
Saturday, November 18, 2023; 8pm
Pacific Spirit United Church, Vancouver, Canada

…lahgo adil’i dine doo yeehosinilgii yidaaghi (for large ensemble), which translated from Navajo means “acting strangely/differently in the company of strangers”.

Inspired some by Cardew’s Treatise, but more so of course by Navajo and Pueblo iconographies, particularly the ancient petroglyphs carved in the volcanic rock on the west side of Albuquerque. The piece however came about as a reaction to some listeners (or performers of my early works) believing that they should be hearing some kind of “Native American influence” in my music. Whatever that meant (to them). So this piece puts that burden into the hands of white performers, as that is who is the majority in music institutions in this country. There is no instruction or expectation for them to necessarily produce a particular style of music, (not in this piece, nor elsewhere either really), but I wanted to see if they would impose assumptions onto themselves, by being confronted with Indigenous symbols, a Navajo title, and knowing it was made by an Indigenous composer.
– Raven Chacon

Performed by Mark McGregor, Flute; Liam Hockley, Clarinet; AK Coope, Bass Clarinet; Katie Rife and Jade Hails, Percussion; Angelique Po, Pipe Organ; Llowyn Ball and Molly MacKinnon, Violin; Parmela Attariwala, Viola; Marina Hasselberg, Cello; Meaghan Williams, Contrabass; Stefan Maier, Electronics; Giorgio Magnanensi, Conductor

Videography by Mingtao Kong
Audio recording by Dan Kibke

Voiceless Mass – Raven Chacon (Diné) – Nov. 18, 2023 – SOLD OUT