This week's on Learning to Listen, we're focusing on music of the New World.
We chose this topic because today is Monday, Oct. 12; in 2015, this day is known as either Columbus Day or Indigenous People's Day. The former is a celebration of the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Americas in 1492. Although the holiday is a federal holiday, it is not without its controversy. The Columbus commemoration dates to the 19th century, before it was made a federal holiday in the 1930s. At that time, activists felt the celebrations were largely associated with Italian immigrants hoping to be accepted into the mainstream.
Today, opposition is based on the acts of genocide against indigenous peoples and a feeling that the myths surrounding Columbus are used to legitimize these acts. Four states do not mark the holiday; South Dakota celebrates Native American Day, and over the past two years, Minneapolis and St. Paul renamed the day Indigenous Peoples Day. Lakota activist Bill Means told MPR News that "Columbus represents the mascot of American colonialism in the western hemisphere. And so it is time that we change a myth of history."
So, to be honest, we want to tread lightly today. We'll find a way to celebrate our collective heritage and the music that was created by those who came from the old world and found inspiration and creative source material in the music of the First Nations — those who were already here in America when Columbus arrived.
Program Playlist
Arthur BlissChristopher Columbus: Land at Last; arr. Adriano
Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Adriano, cond.
Arthur Bliss
Christopher Columbus: The Voyage Begins; arr. Adriano
Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
Adriano, cond.
Antonín Dvořák
Sonatina: 2nd Movement
Gil Shaham, violin; Orli Shaham, piano
Charles Wakefield Cadman
Thunderbird Suite
Dario Muller, piano
Brent Michael Davids
Native American Suite: Zuni Sunrise Song
VocalEssence Ensemble Singers
Philip Brunelle, director
Arthur Farwell
Dawn
Dario Muller, piano
Edward MacDowell
Suite No. 2: "Indian": Village Festival
Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra
Charles Anthony Johnson, cond.
Edward MacDowell
Suite No. 2: "Indian": In War-Time
Bohuslav Martinů Philharmonic Orchestra
Charles Anthony Johnson, cond.
Katherine Hoover
Kokopelli
Joshua Weinberg, flute
Charles Tomlinson Griffes
Two Sketches Based on Indian Themes
Cypress String Quartet
Kathy Edaakie
Too Attached
Sweet Plaintain