Kitzke: For Pte Tokahewin Ska

JEROME KITZKE For Pte Tokahewin Ska for flutes/vocals, bass clarinet/vocals, bassoon/vocals, cello/vocals, hammond B3/vocals and percussion/vocals

For Pte Tokahewin Ska Instrumentation: Piccolo/Alto/Bass Flutes/Vocals Bass Clarinet/Vocals Bassoon/Vocals Cello/vocals Hammond B3 w/Leslie/Vocals 1 Percussion/vocals Accidentals apply to the given measure.

All vocals should be performed with intense theatrical verve, no matter the dynamic.

The spoken texts are direct quotes from Charlotte Black Elk. Bars 250-253: Ululate. This is a high falsetto trilling done with the tongue as an expression of great grief or great joy.

A Digital Hammond B3 and Leslie setup may be used but a real Hammond B3 and Leslie setup is preferred. Settings designed by performer, preferably in consult with the composer.

Amplification should be used on all instruments, save percussion, to compensate for the electrically powered Hammond.

Percussion Key:

1. small concert bass drum 2. floor tom 3. tom tom 4. Scottish funeral snare drum 5. sleigh bells 6. triangle 7. sturdy ceramic cup or water glass 8. sturdy ceramic cup or water glass 9. sturdy ceramic cup or water glass 10. sturdy ceramic cup or water glass 11. sturdy ceramic cup or water glass/ regular snare drum Crotales – 2 octaves For 7 – 11, the sturdy cups or glasses should be chosen by the player and should ascend in pitch from 7 to 11. The pitches themselves do not matter. The cups/glasses need to be situated in such a manner that leaves them resonant but securely in place and not prone to falling over. The top line is shared by a cup/glass and a regular snare drum with clear indication given in the score and part as to which is in play at a given moment. Cups/glasses may be struck on the lips or sides.

For Pte Tokahewin Ska In 1988, while researching a work I was writing to commemorate the centennial of the December 29, 1890 Wounded Knee Massacre, I had the good fortune of meeting the Oglala Lakota Katela woman Charlotte Black Elk. In the autumn of 1988 I spent several weeks with Charlotte and her family in Manderson on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. Though they could have easily thought me to be just another wannabe white person trying to get something from them, they treated me with great warmth, courtesy and interest in my project.

This is not to say they did not test my heart and intent. They did with some intensity, as they well should have, given the terrible track record the Lakota had with white people entering their world offering something they were told would be helpful to them. After a week or so of getting to know one another, Charlotte began to share stories with me about her family and her peoples’ history, which eventually began to include things about Wounded Knee. It felt like we had come to a place of mutual respect and understanding. The piece I was writing, Box Death Hollow (1989), could not have been written without this interaction and I will be forever grateful to Charlotte for opening her world to me and for becoming my friend and colleague, a relationship that is still going strong after 27 years. Subsequent to Box Death Hollow, she participated in the creation of other works of mine, including The Paha Sapa Give-Back (1993-94) for which Charlotte attended the New York City premiere, delivering a searing pre-concert speech about what the theft of the Black Hills (Paha Sapa) meant to the Lakota, and Buffalo Nation (Bison bison) (2011), for which a portion of the libretto was culled from hours of interviews Charlotte gave to me and my librettist, Kathleen Masterson about the place of the bison in the Lakota world.

Charlotte is a fiercely powerful woman. My first phone call to her in 1988 commenced by her barking an exasperated “What!!?” at me when she answered the call. She can wither you with a look and beats around no bushes as she makes her disapproval palpable. But the opposite side of the human ledger, that of deep kindness and generosity, rides high in her as well. I have been on the receiving end of both these parts of her and a great deal in between. She is also an intense advocate for Lakota and Indian rights in general. Charlotte’s Lakota name is Pte Tokahewin Ska, White Buffalo Woman of Different Motion. She is well named. This piece, For Pte Tokahewin Ska, is an honor song for her.

Wopila, Charlotte.

Mitakuye Oyasin Jerome Kitzke New York City September 2015

For Pte Tokahewin Ska To Charlotte Black Elk

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Jerome Kitzke (2015)