First Performance
St. Mary’s Abbey/Delbarton School, Morristown, NJ; Westminster Choir, Joseph Flummerfelt, director, 1988
Redrunner Music (David Sampson)


David Sampson (1987)

The music you are about to hear will be the first two movements of a five-movement work titled The Song My Paddle Sings. It was written last summer and the text is taken from an anthology of First Nation poetry, which is simply chant without the music. These are ancient texts handed down from generation to generation with no single author. It is a true folk tradition and actually are the collective experiences of each tribe.
The first poem titled “Listening”, is quite enigmatic. I’d like to read it to you. (Read poem) It sounds very much like the Japanese haiku: a single thought, very mysterious. The music will mirror the poem. As it begins, you will be able to feel yourself on the prairie with all the sounds of nature around you. After a while, the question which is raised in the poem will be sung by the men and then left unanswered.
The second poem titled “Buffalo Dance” is entirely spoken with a forceful rhythmic drive. This is simply to evoke the great American
Indian chant tradition and to mirror the power of the buffalo. So, two movements from The Song My Paddle Sings.

Total Running Time:
1. Listening
2. Buffalo Dance