Stolen Music

About

This triptych is comprised of three sections:

1. This is a transcription of a fife player from Zionville, North Carolina, recorded in 1937 by John Lomax (Library of Congress 837B2). The instrument is an unkeyed wood predecessor of the piccolo. Groundhog is a well-known Appalachian folk song.

2. In this case, the original performance was on a small pygmy flute which was cut from a piece of cane. The player then burned four stop-holes at the lower ened, plugged that end with a rolled leaf then notched the top end, all in a few minutes. After playing a while, the performer seemed to lose all interest in the flute. The original can be heard on Music of the Ituri Forest , recorded by Colin M. Turnbull and Francis S. Chapman, Folkways LP No. FE4483.

3. The last melody is from Turkestan, Afghanistan. The foot-tapping accompaniment employed in my piece was originally played on the Zer-Barhali, a type of drum. The original was from an LP issued by Musicaphon BM30 L2003, entitled, The Music of Afghanistan.