Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate: Winter Moons

by Frank J. Toth, Winter Moons Orchestra

Overview

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, a registered member of the Chickasaw Nation, is one of a small number of Native American composers active in classical composition, and his work has been increasingly often noticed and commissioned. Winter Moons was his very first large-scale work, written in 1991 as the score for a ballet choreographed by his mother, Patricia Tate. By his own account, Winter Moons, which originally included the appealing Spirit Chief Names the Animal People presented separately on this album, was not just an inaugural work but one in whose working-out he actually realized possible points of intersection between classical music and his experiences as a Native American. It is thus of considerable interest for anyone concerned with cross-cultural fusions. Tate's musical language has developed in some ways since Winter Moons was composed, but its essential features were already in place, including the use of traditional instruments and a musical idiom that varies between influences from Bartok (which Tate has acknowledged) and a late Romantic style. What is unique about Tate is that he does not attempt to imbue every bar with Native American references; they appear as significant but not exclusive aspects of his musical and personal experience. The performance by the Winter Moons Orchestra under composer Frank J. Toth are clean and evocative, and the sound from the Azica label is excellent. For those interested in this composer, who is definitely growing in importance, this release is essential. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	08/05/2022
Label:	AZICA
UPC:	0787867135020

Tracks

1. Winter Moons~Introduction (The Four Moons) - Winter Moon - Puberty Blessing Songs
2. Winter Moons~The Indian Spirit at Mesa Falls
3. Winter Moons~Red Plume and the Medicine Wheel - The Origin of Bitterroot
4. Winter Moons~She Runs With the Wind - Finale
5. Spirit Chief Names the Animal People~Coyote
6. Spirit Chief Names the Animal People~Bear
7. Spirit Chief Names the Animal People~Salmon
8. Spirit Chief Names the Animal People~Eagle
9. Spirit Chief Names the Animal People~Coyote (reprise)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Frank J. Toth   Primary Artist,Conductor
Winter Moons Orchestra   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Michi Wiancko   Violin
Elizabeth Hedman   Violin
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate   Piano
David Cassel   Double Bass
Feza Zweifel   Percussion
Annaliesa Place   Violin
Caroline Stinson   Cello
Ken Wadenpfuhl   Horn
Lenora Leggatt   Violin
Amy Schwartz Moretti   Violin
Eric Sung   Cello
Ann Marie Hudson   Viola
Anne Francis Bayless   Cello
Akemi Takayama   Violin
Vivek Kamath   Violin
Miriam Bolkosky   Cello
Heather Zweifel   Trumpet
Anne Gilbert   Double Bass
Christine Davis   Flute,Piccolo
Cindy Wulff   Horn
Dan Jordan   Violin
David Ling   Violin
Lisa Boyko   Viola
Richard Waugh   Viola
Rong-Yan Tang   Violin
Stephen Olson   Bassoon
Tariq Masri   Bassoon
Yvonne Johnson   Viola

Technical Credits

Bruce Egre   Engineer
James Bonney   Producer
Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate   Composer,Executive Producer
Alan Bise   Mixing Engineer,Mastering Engineer
Larry Hazlett   Lighting Design
Mimi Hedges   Set Design
Patricia Tate   Liner Notes,Choreographer
Rodney Grant   Storyteller
Scot Shuman   Text
Victor Runnels   Cover Art