Michael Daugherty: Gee's Bend (2009) for electric guitar and orchestra, IV. Chicken Pickin'

Michael Daugherty: Gee's Bend (2009) for electric guitar and orchestra
IV. Chicken Pickin'

Donald Sparr Junior, electric guitar
Joachim Jousse, conductor
Filarmonic Arturo Toscanini

Located on the Alabama River In one of the poorest areas of the South, Gee's Bend, Alabama (also know as Boyken) is a small, isolated town inhabited primarily by African-Americans who are descendents of Civil War slaves. Living in isolation forced the residents of Gee's Bend to develop their own traditions and find ways to survive. This included creating unique quilts that incorporated bold colors, abstract patterns and leftover fabrics. In recent years, the quilts of Gee's Bend have gained significant national attention. They have been shown in museums and heralded as "some of the most miraculous works of modern art in America" which "blur the boundaries between folk and contemporary art".

My composition is a patchwork of various crosscurrents: I Intertwine American guitar rock and southern folk music with contemporary classical music to create a colorful and unique tapestry of sound.

The final movement is a blazing virtuosic 'tour de force' entitled Chicken Pickin'. The title refers to a southern style of plucking the guitar strings made famous by guitarists such as Bo Diddley, Chet Atkins, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Duane Allman. The title also alludes to the fact that most of the residents of Gee's Bend continue to Inhabit small, modest farms where their ancestors were once slaves. For most Gee's Bend quilters, the singing of African-American spirituals and an active church life are important parts of the gospel of inspired quilt making. To honor this tradition, I have threaded spirituals, such as "Swing Low Sweet Chariot" and "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" into the orchestral fabric of my musical quilt which is dedicated to the quilters of Gee's Bend, Alabama.

For further information on Michael Daugherty's music, see his website:
www.michaeldaugherty.net

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Michael Daugherty
• Gee's Bend
• Donald Sparr Junior
• 'electric
• guitar
• Joachim Jousse
• Filarmonic Arturo Toscanini
• Alabama River
• Boyken
• Civil War slaves
• Bo Diddley
• Chet Atkins
• Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Duane Allman
• gospel
• quilt making
• spirituals
• Swing Low Sweet Chariot
• Alabama
• Chicken Pickin'

[mrgeleo]

WHAT A GREAT WORK, ITS EXITING, COMPLEX AND IT ROCKS, GOOD WORK MAN!!!