Historically late autumn is a celebration of the end of the harvest, a time to enjoy the fruits of labor, share our abundance with others, and gather to celebrate and exchange our culture and experiences. My goal was to capture the essence of the season, so in the arranging of the two songs in this work, I selected traditional songs with a rich and significant history!

The first song Alabado, is a Spanish word that literally translated means “song of thanksgiving”. The second song, Lac qui Parle is is a tune notated and given lyrics by Joseph Renville, whose mother was Sioux Indian and father was French Canadian. The tune is among the world’s most widely known melodies of American Indian origin, and I included it to honor Native Americans. Lac qui Parle literally translates to “lake that talks”, and in addition to being the name of the song, was a mission in which the Sioux Indians’ Dakota language was written and parts of the Bible were translated.

This composition includes the opportunity to use a variety of “found” percussion, specifically brass bells from home. I scavenged these when making the reference recording from my mom’s holiday decorations: