Choral work for voices and drums, based on legends songs dances and poetry of the Mi'kmaw First Nations peoples |
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NIKMAK is an SSA choral work for voices and drums, based on legends songs dances and poetry of the Mi'kmaw First Nations peoples of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was commissioned of Ottawa's Elise Letourneau and Eastman's (Quebec) Donald Patriquin by Elise Bradley, director of the Toronto Children's Chorus, which will be performing it four times during the duration of Podium 2014.
The first and third movements of the three movement work, are based on two Kojua dances, Tu hey duk and Jukwa'lu'kw ke'ji'ju'ow, with choralography based on historic Mi'kmaw performances, while the contrasting middle movement is a setting of Mi'kmaw 'poet laureate' Rita Joe's Our Home is This Country. The Toronto Children's Chorus has a resident choreographer, and every singer sings and performs (simultaneously) on native drums.
More about it By Donald Patriquin
I could write reams about Nikmak, but I'll let the eventual music speak for itself. That being said, here's a little about how it emerged. It took well over half a century.. |
 Don with flute (he's trying to look ancient) |
And then I remembered that at the last, Ottawa 'Podium' Elise Bradley, the transplanted New Zealander who conducts the remarkable Toronto Childrens Chorus arguably the finest childrens choir in Canada, and one of the finest in North America had conducted the TCC in a stellar performance of a relatively simple arrangement I had done of a west-coast 'potlatch' song - Tsimshian Welcome Song. But it was not just the voices and interpretation that thrilled me, but their approach to drumming, along with very modest movement. Caught up by the beauty of the performance, and the real potential for something quite electric, I asked Elise B right after the concert what she would think of a longer, more sophisticated arrangement at some point, perhaps with considerably more drumming and choreography. Her crescendo response echoed through the halls of Ottawa's Lord Elgin hotel where the congress was held, managing to turn more than one surprised and inquisitive head "Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!" I was hooked.
The third element in NIKMAK's genesis was my fortuitous meeting another Elise- Elise Letourneau, who had just picked up the 'Podium' prize for new choral music. (I had initiated this prize at Halifax's last podium, in 1998). I had to tell her of my musical plan, as the first thing she asked me was "What ever did you say to Elise Bradley?!" I could see she was interested in the possibilities, and right then a there we decided to collaborate, but it would have to be by email and telephone due to the distance between us. A first for both of us in terms of collaboration, but it more than worked.
Finally, the last element: a thrilling series of email and phone communications with members of Nova Scotia's Mi'kmaw community, and a number of non-Mi'kmaw working with them. To a person, everyone I spoke with exhibited such generosity of spirit, and this brought the project or at least its final concept phase to a head. I would work with ancient Mi'kmaw songs and legends, while Elise would work on a setting of Our Home is This Country by Rita Joe, one of the finest and best known Mi'kmaw poets. We proposed this to Elise Bradley who immediately accepted it, and invited us to workshop our creative ideas at the TCC summer camp in Oakville ON, which we did. We were amazed at how quickly the young choir, their resident choreographer (!) and their young-at-heart choir (and drum) director took to the music, a lot of it quite challenging for non First Nations people.
We are thrilled this piece will be premiered in the land of it origins, and expect a significant contingent of First Nations people at the four performances scattered across the province.
More about Don's music here .