Release Date:

Downloads include choice of MP3, WAV, or FLAC

BSXDG0182

Includes Digital Booklet

The ballet *A Song for Dead Warriors* consists of a series of vignettes that trace the life of an Indian man from his birth to his death. It is inspired by the life of Richard Oaks, a Canadian Mohawk Indian and one of the leaders of the young Native Americans who occupied Alcatraz Island in 1969. The plot can be inferred from track titles such as: "Young Indians – Festive Dance", "Richard and Anna – Pas de Deux", "The Sheriff Returns/Rape Scene", "Anna Carried Off by the Chiefs", "Richard Lost in Despair", "Pool Hall, Richard Knocked Unconscious", "Richard Dreams of a Return to the Days of the Buffalo", and "Richard Dreams of Anna’s Return."

A large National Philharmonic orchestra delivers a vibrant and powerful performance of Charles Fox’s colorful and eclectic score, which draws inspiration from composers like Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein, and Aaron Copland. The music opens with Indian chants and elements reminiscent of *The Rite of Spring*, alongside the wild dances of *West Side Story*. The score features rattlesnake sounds and eerie effects, with percussive piano and brass chords echoing across the soundstage.

The orchestrations and harmonies are imaginative and striking. For example, "The Sheriff Returns" has a remote and chilling quality, enhanced by unusual harp effects, while the following "Rape Scene" is quite horrific, featuring crashing chords and a climactic tam-tam crash. The "Richard and Anna – Pas de Deux" is a tentative and prickly dance, and the portrayal of "Pool Hall" is extraordinarily harsh and steely. On a more conventional level, the music depicting the days of the buffalo and the Old West could easily have been taken from the classic Western film scores of the 1940s and 1950s.

A SONG FOR DEAD WARRIORS: Original Score to the San Francisco Ballet Production

Charles Fox

$8.95

Downloads include choice of MP3, WAV, or FLAC

BSXDG0182

Includes Digital Booklet

The ballet *A Song for Dead Warriors* consists of a series of vignettes that trace the life of an Indian man from his birth to his death. It is inspired by the life of Richard Oaks, a Canadian Mohawk Indian and one of the leaders of the young Native Americans who occupied Alcatraz Island in 1969. The plot can be inferred from track titles such as: "Young Indians – Festive Dance", "Richard and Anna – Pas de Deux", "The Sheriff Returns/Rape Scene", "Anna Carried Off by the Chiefs", "Richard Lost in Despair", "Pool Hall, Richard Knocked Unconscious", "Richard Dreams of a Return to the Days of the Buffalo", and "Richard Dreams of Anna’s Return."

A large National Philharmonic orchestra delivers a vibrant and powerful performance of Charles Fox’s colorful and eclectic score, which draws inspiration from composers like Stravinsky, Leonard Bernstein, and Aaron Copland. The music opens with Indian chants and elements reminiscent of *The Rite of Spring*, alongside the wild dances of *West Side Story*. The score features rattlesnake sounds and eerie effects, with percussive piano and brass chords echoing across the soundstage.

The orchestrations and harmonies are imaginative and striking. For example, "The Sheriff Returns" has a remote and chilling quality, enhanced by unusual harp effects, while the following "Rape Scene" is quite horrific, featuring crashing chords and a climactic tam-tam crash. The "Richard and Anna – Pas de Deux" is a tentative and prickly dance, and the portrayal of "Pool Hall" is extraordinarily harsh and steely. On a more conventional level, the music depicting the days of the buffalo and the Old West could easily have been taken from the classic Western film scores of the 1940s and 1950s.