Song of Quetzalcoatl

American composer Lou Harrison (1917-2003) grew up in San Francisco. After spending many years in the East—living in New York City, studying avant-garde atonal theory, then teaching alongside John Cage at Black Mountain, NC—he returned to the West Coast. This marked a return in spirit to the pluralistic, free-ranging musical influences that he received in his earliest years. That pluralism was largely the result of San Francisco’s amazing ethnic diversity starting in the 1920’s and 30’s. Harrison’s personal musical connections reached across the spectrum, from Cage to Schoenberg to Ives, all of whom helped shape his eclecticism. There is also a strong element of “art as play”—one of Harrison’s deepest personal beliefs—as well as an interest in “found” music. Alongside Cage, Harrison would scour antique and junk stores for anything that would ping, pop, ring, or make some kind of intriguing sound.
Growing up in California, Harrison tapped into a general interest in Mexican history and culture. In particular, he pursued a plan to write music inspired by Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god that he saw depicted in numerous Mesoamerican codices. For the Song of Quetzalcoatl (1941) he brings together a host of traditional percussion instruments alongside Mexican ones, some of his collected “junk,” and Chinese instruments. The opening is dominated by a ritualistic rhythmic motif that ties the whole work together. Quetzalcoatl was the Aztec god of wind and wisdom. In the middle, a military snare drum tattoo creates a more driven energy, and Harrison builds and combines numerous percussive textures together. The final section unwinds the intensity to drift off in muted tam-tam and traditional rattles.

(c) Jason Stell