Mason Bates "Observer in a Magellanic Cloud" by Ricordi

ISMN 979-0-073-00260-5

Warning: Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited by Federal law, and subject to criminal prosecution.

OBSERVERINTHEMAGELLANICCLOUD

commissioned by Chanticleer

PROGRAM NOTES

Eons from now, a lost satellite ﬂoats in the Megallanic Cloud (Nubeculae Megallani), a group of dwarf galaxies. The satellite picks up a glimpse of ancient light from Earth. The light is old because it has been traveling for so long, and it reveals a look into Earth’s distant past.

Focusing its telescope, this robotic observer witnesses the Maori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) chanting to the Megallanic Cloud, which appears as a cluster of stars when seen from Earth’s surface. They invoke the power of the stars to bring bountiful food:

Tuputuputu atua Magellanic Cloud, sacred one, Ka eke mai i te rangi e roa e Mounting the heavens, Whangainga iho ki te mata o'te tau e roa e. Cause all the new year's growth to ﬂourish.

Distant future meets distant past in this brief moment. Then the telescope retracts, the satellite ﬂoats on, and the Maori leave their vegetable shoots in thanks.

PERFORMANCE NOTES

The chorus is often divided into two groups: satellite and Maori. Sometimes this division will be quite obvious to the listener, while at other times the two groups blend together.

The satellite group uses a handful of novel effects - chirping, slowly changing vowel sound, beeping - to emulate a ﬂoating computer. One effect requires explanation:

A rolled 'r' sound that quickly changes to an open 'ah'

A few pieces of 'pocket percussion' are called for: beeping metronome (ie, one that emits a high 'beeping' pitch), a rattle (such as might be found in a Maori tribe), and an egg shaker. All these items are very small and portable, and they require no special expertise.

The Maori group should consult the general guide to pronunciation on the next page.

MAORI PRONOUNCIATION

There are ﬁve vowels and ten consonants in the Maori alphabet.

VOWELS

While there are ﬁve vowels, combinations of vowels (diphthongs) are common. You should regard these vowel sounds as a larger group of simply the ﬁve vowels alone. A vowel can be long or short.

Vowels are pronounced as follows:

Short Long

a as in about far

e as in enter bed

i as in eat sheep

o as in awful pork

u as in put boot

CONSONANTS

Consonants are mainly pronounced as they are in English. The exceptions are:

Varies depending on which vowel appears after it. When succeeded by an ‘a’, ‘e’ or ‘o’, it’s pronounced with little or no 's' sound. When followed by an ‘i’ or ‘u’, it includes a slight 's' sound, however not nearly as much as an English ‘t’.

Commonly called a ‘rolled’ r. If you’re able to imitate the purring sound of a cat, you’ll know exactly what’s required to pronounce this consonant. Failing this, the sound you should aim for is something similar to an English ‘d’ – but softer e.g. judder.

as in the English word ‘singer'. A common mistake is to pronounce it as it appears in the word ‘ﬁnger’

The ‘wh’ digraph is usually pronounced as an English ‘f’ sound.

duration:6'

commissioned by Chanticleer dedicated to Christine Bullin, Matthew Oltman, and the amazing singers, with deepest gratitude

OBSERVERINTHEMAGELLANICCLOUD

s a t.

Tuputuputu,

.Œœ.Œœ.Œ

Tuputuputu,

œnœ˙ ˙ . ˙.˙ atua,

œ.jœn˙. ˙ atua,

œ.Œœ.Œœ.Œœ . Œœ < Œœ < Œœ < Œ eeeeee

œ.Jœ˙. ˙ atua,

Tuputuputu,

Tuputuputu, w. ˙.˙œb. ˙ ˙.œb. ˙

Œœ.Œœ.Œœ.Œ œ < Œœ < Œœ < Œœ < eeeeeeee w. ˙ ˙.œœœœœ‰œ oo œ ‰ œ ‰ œ Œ‰‰ œ Œ Tuputuputu, . ˙œœœœœ‰œ oo œ ‰ œ ‰ œ Œ œ ‰‰ œ Œ Tuputuputu,

Tuputuputu,Tu œ ‰‰œ‰œŒ‰œœœ‰œ Tuputuputu,Tu ‰ œœœ˙. ˙n atua, ‰œœœ˙ . ˙. ˙ atua, œŒœŒœŒœ ÓŒ œ < Œ œ < Œ "ee"ee ‰ œ œ œ œ œ œ ˙ ˙ . ˙. ˙ atua œ‰œ‰‰œœœœœ‰Œ putuputu, œ ‰ œ ‰‰œœ œ œ œ ‰Œ putuputu, ----

w˙

Tuputuputu

slowly neutralize the vowel*

tutuhi,Ta

œ‰œœ œŒœœœœœ‰ putuputu,Tuputuputu, ÓÓ¿ > ¿¿¿¿ > Tuputuputu, œ‰‰œŒ‰œœ‰‰œŒ putuputu, œŒœŒœŒœ

Atutahi,

œ Œ œ ‰Œ œ ‰œ‰Œ Atutahi,

œœ œœœœœœ Atutahiatua, Œœœœœœœœœ Atutahiatua,

> ¿¿¿ > ¿ Atutahi,

Atutahi,

Takurua,

Takurua

Takarua,

Takurua,

Whanui, Œ œ

Whanui,

œ ‰ Whanui, ‰œœœœ‰ Whanui, "

Whanui,

Tuputuputu, œ ‰Œ œ ‰ŒŒœœ œ Tuputuputu, ‰œ‰œœ œ Œ œœœŒ Tuputuputu, ‰œn‰œœœnŒœœœŒ Tuputuputu, Œ¿¿¿¿¿Ó. Tuputuputu, œ‰‰œŒ‰œœœœŒ Tuputuputu, ŒœŒœŒœŒ

Œœ‰œ‰Œ‰œœœnœœn Atutahi,

Atutahi,

Atutahi, Œ¿¿¿¿Ó. Atutahi, œ‰‰œÓœ‰‰ œœ œ Atutahi œŒœŒœŒœ

Whanui,

Tuputuputu,

Œœ‰œn‰ŒŒœœœ Takurua,

Œœ‰œ‰ŒŒœœœ Takurua, ‰œ‰œœ œ Œ œœœŒ Takurua, ‰œn‰œœœnŒœœœŒ Takurua, Œ¿¿¿¿Ó. Takurua, œ‰‰œÓœ‰‰œŒ Takurua,

Atutahi,

Œœ‰œn‰‰œnœœœ‰Œ Whanui, Œ œ ‰ œ ‰‰œœœnœ‰Œ Whanui, ‰œ‰œœœ œœ œ œ ‰Œ Whanui, ‰œ‰œœœœ‰Œœnœ Whanui,Whanui, " œ‰‰œ‰œŒŒœœn Whanui,Whanui, œŒœŒœŒœ œ ‰‰ œ ‰ œŒÓ‰œ Whanui,Tu --------

Takurua,

˙œ‰Œ‰œœœœ‰ Tuputuputu,

˙ ˙œ œ ‰Œ‰œœœ œ ‰ Tuputuputu,

œnj œn Ó œœœ#œ Œ Tuputuputu,

œ.j

œŒ Tuputuputu, Ó¿¿¿¿¿ŒŒ Tuputuputu,

œ.j œ Óœ œ œ œŒ Tuputuputu, Œœ-Œœ-Œœ-Œ

œ.j

putuputu,

˙œ‰Œ‰œnœœ‰ Atutahi, ˙ œ ‰Œ‰œœ œ ‰ Atutahi,

œnœn‰œ ‰Œ œœnœœ‰ Atutahi,

œœ‰œ‰Œœœœœ‰ Atutahi, Ó¿¿¿¿Ó. Atutahi, œ.J

œ Œ Atutahi, œ -Œœ-Œœ-Œœ -

˙.œ. ˙ Kaeke

œnœ ‰œ‰ŒœœœœŒ Tuputuputu, œœn‰ œb‰ŒœnœœœŒ Tuputuputu, ÓÓ¿¿¿¿¿ Tuputuputu,

‰œ Tuputuputu,Tu

-Œœ-Œœ-Œ

Atutahi,

Tuputuputu,Tu

Tuputuputu,

putuputu,Tu

-Œœ-Œœ-Œœœ œ‰ œ

putuputu,Tu

B1&B2 ˙ ˙n. rangi, ˙. ˙ rangi, ˙œ˙ Kaeke œ œ‰œ‰œ‰œœ‰ Tuputuputu, ŒœŒœŒ œ œ‰œ‰œ‰œœ‰ putuputu, œ -Œœ-Œœœ œ‰ œ ‰œ‰ œ œ‰ putuputu,

Beginning to build...and slightly accel... eggshaker ˙n. ˙n rangi, ˙ ˙n. rangi, ˙˙œ maiite

œ œ‰œ‰œœœ‰œ Tuputuputu, œŒœŒœ œ œ‰œ‰œœœ‰œ Tuputuputu, Œœ-Œœ-Œ

œ œ‰ œ ‰œœ œ ‰ œ Tuputuputu, ---

& & & V ? ? bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb bbbb

˙˙œ rangie ˙n˙œ rangie ˙n.œnœ rangie

œ œ ‰œ‰ œ ‰œ œ ‰ Tuputuputu,

Tuputuputu,

Whangainga

œ ‰œ‰œ‰œœ‰ Tuputuputu,

-Œœ-Œœœ œ‰œ‰œ‰œœ‰ Tuputuputu,

Tuputuputu,

Whangainga

mata

Tuputuputu,

Whangainga

& & V ? ?

Whangaing

=69

Whangaing

mata,

Ff Ff Ff Ff Ff

Whang

aingai

hokite

˙ mata.

Whang

aingai

hokite

mata.

Whang

aingai

hokite

mata.

Whang

aingai

hokite

mata.

mata,

Whang

aingai

hokite

mata.

mata,

Whang

aingai

hokite

mata.

Tuputuputu

atua, ˙˙w atua,

Tuputuputu,

Tuputuputu, w

Tuputuputu,

sim. sim. œ. ˙ œ˙œ w w

œ‰œŒœœœŒ Tuputuputu,

Tuputuputu, .

Tuputuputu,

Tuputuputu, ˙œœb " ˙˙. ˙ atua, ˙˙. ˙ atua,

atua, œ. j œ‰œŒœœœŒ Tuputuputu,

œ‰œŒœœœ‰œ Tuputuputu,Tu w˙‰ œ Tu ÓÓŒŒ‰ p sim.--

Tuputuputu,

putuputu,

Tuputuputu,A

Atutahi,

putuputu,

Takurua,

kurua,Wha

‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰œ‰œ‰œn‰œb eeeeeeeeeeeeee

œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ eeeeeeeeeeeeee

‰œnŒœnœœŒœœ‰ Whanui,

kurua,Wha

**"deep" (with so" consonants)

‰œŒœœœŒœnœ‰ Whanui, œ‰‰œœœœ‰‰œœ‰œ nui,A œŒœŒœŒœ œ ‰‰ œœœœ ‰‰œœ‰œ nui,A ‰ œ ‰œ‰ œ ‰œn‰œæœœ‰ eeeeeeeerrr"ah""oo"

œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰ œ ‰‰œæœœ‰ eeeeeeeerrr"ah""oo" ‰ œ Œ œb‰œœœŒ Atutahi, œ ‰‰œœ‰œ‰œœŒ Atutahi,

œ‰‰œœ‰œ‰ œ œ œ œ‰ œ œ tutahi,Tu ŒœŒœŒœŒ œ ‰‰œœ‰œ‰œœ‰œ tutahi,Tu f f-

f sim. f sim.

putuputu, s

æœœ‰Œ‰œæœœ rrr"ah""oo"rrr"ah""oo" Œ‰œæœœn‰Œ‰œæœb rrr"ah""oo"rrr"ah" ‰œœœœ‰Œœœ Tuputuputu, ‰œœ œŒ‰œnœœœn‰ Tuputuputu, œœœœœœŒœœœœŒ ˙ œ‰œ˙œ‰ putuputu,

Atutahi, œœœœœœŒœœœœŒ

eggshaker (rattle) Œœ‰œnœœŒœœ "ee""ah""oo""ah""oo" Œœ‰œœœŒœœ "ee""ah""oo""ah""oo" ‰œæ œ œœœnŒœœ rrr"ah""oo""ah""oo"

Atutahi,Ta

"ee""ah"oo"Whanui,

Atutahi,Ta

œœœœ ‰ œœœ œœœœ Kaekemaiiterangi,

œœœœ ‰ œœœœœœœ Kaekemaiiterangi,

"ee""ah""oo"Whanui,

‰‰œœœ‰œ˙ Whanui, œœœŒœœœœŒ

œ‰‰œœœ‰ œ œ ˙ ˙ nui, ŒœŒœŒœŒ œ ‰‰œœœ‰œ˙ nui,

œœœœ‰œœœœnœœœ Kaekemaiiterangi,

œœœœ‰œœœœœœœ Kaekemaiiterangi, " œœœœ‰œœœ œœœœ œ Kaekemaiiterangi, "

œœœœœ ‰ œœœœœn‰ Tuputuputuatua,

œœœœ‰œœœœœœœ œ Kaekemaiiterangi, f f f f f f

œœœœœ ‰ œœœœœn‰ Tuputuputuatua, œœœœœn‰œœœœœ‰ Tuputuputuatua,

œœœœœ ‰œœœœœ‰ Tuputuputuatua, " œœœœœ‰œœœœœ‰ Tuputuputuatua, " œœœœœ ‰œœœœœ‰ Tuputuputuatua,-----

(shaker) (rattle) ‰ œ ‰œ‰

‰‰ œœœœ ‰‰œœ‰œ Tuputuputu,Tu

Takurua,

atua,

‰ œæ > ˙ ˙#. (U) Œ rrr"ah""oh" ¿ŒœŒœŒœ ‰œæ˙. ˙# U () Œ rrr"ah""oo" ‰œ œ æ > ˙ ˙ . . ˙ nn˙ U () Œ rrr"ah""oo" ˙ > ÓÓ. ˙ > ÓÓ. f (listen to metronome & adjust rhythm; watch B1 & B2) p s a t. fp turnon metronome (q»!§) fp fp M a o r i ˙˙ atua, ˙˙ atua, ŒœŒœ ˙˙ atua, ˙˙ atua, " " --------. . .

Tuputuputu,

‰œ > æ˙ ˙#. U () Œ rrr"ah""oh"