MOONSTRIKE
BOOKLET
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APOLLO CHAMBER PLAYERS on the Grammy-winning label AZICA RECORDS releases MoonStrike on September 2, 2022, the ensemble’s sixth studio album following its critically acclaimed With Malice Toward None in 2021. MoonStrike is a universal celebration of storytelling, space, and folk song, realized through new works by Jennifer Higdon, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, and Pierre Jalbert. Tate’s title work, MoonStrike, is narrated by Chickasaw astronaut John Herrington, the first American Indian citizen to fly in space. All three works were commissioned by Apollo Chamber Players as part of its 20×2020 project, launched in 2014 with a mission to commission 20 new multicultural works before the end of the last decade.
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Pullitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon’s In the Shadow of the Mountain (2020) is inspired by her upbringing in the Great Smoky Mountains and incorporates the sounds and colors of the region. Higdon shares, “The resonance of that area led me to choose, for my first opera, Charles Frazier’s novel Cold Mountain. The struggles of survival in Appalachia, the majesty of its natural features, and the sonorities of the mountain’s music, color the quilt of that opera and of this string quartet.”
Next is the title work, MoonStrike (2019), by Chickasaw composer and U.S. Cultural Ambassador, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate. The work honors the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing through American Indian moon legends as narrated by Chickasaw astronaut John Herrington. Tate explains, “American Indian legends are very colorful and have a tendency to take twists and turns within the narrative. Regarding the Moon, it is very consistent that the traditional tales involve trickster characters and competitions for ownership of this precious object.” MoonStrike features three diverse American Indian legends, and is bookended with an arrangement of a Calusa Corn Dance. MoonStrike also draws inspiration from Apollo Founder Matthew J. Detrick’s love of space and childhood dream to become the first person to play the violin in space.
Rome Prize-winning composer Pierre Jalbert’s L’esprit du Nord “Spirit of the North” (2019) is a three-movement work that fuses three French-Canadian folk songs with his unique, contemporary musical language. The first movement, “Chanson de Lisette,” is a playful theme and variations, while the second movement, “Cantique (Canticle),” contains two religious folk tunes: a Passion and a tune entitled “Les Pélerins.” The third and final movement, “Fiddle Dance,” was inspired by French-Canadian fiddling traditions.
Former NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy officer John Herrington, of Chickasaw heritage, is the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space. He traveled to the International Space Station in the space shuttle STS-113 Endeavor, launched on November 23, 2002, and his accolades include induction into the Chickasaw Nation and Oklahoma Aviation and Space Halls of Fame.
Next is the title work, MoonStrike (2019), by Chickasaw composer and U.S. Cultural Ambassador, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate. The work honors the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing through American Indian moon legends as narrated by Chickasaw astronaut John Herrington. Tate explains, “American Indian legends are very colorful and have a tendency to take twists and turns within the narrative. Regarding the Moon, it is very consistent that the traditional tales involve trickster characters and competitions for ownership of this precious object.” MoonStrike features three diverse American Indian legends, and is bookended with an arrangement of a Calusa Corn Dance. MoonStrike also draws inspiration from Apollo Founder Matthew J. Detrick’s love of space and childhood dream to become the first person to play the violin in space.
Rome Prize-winning composer Pierre Jalbert’s L’esprit du Nord “Spirit of the North” (2019) is a three-movement work that fuses three French-Canadian folk songs with his unique, contemporary musical language. The first movement, “Chanson de Lisette,” is a playful theme and variations, while the second movement, “Cantique (Canticle),” contains two religious folk tunes: a Passion and a tune entitled “Les Pélerins.” The third and final movement, “Fiddle Dance,” was inspired by French-Canadian fiddling traditions.
Former NASA astronaut and U.S. Navy officer John Herrington, of Chickasaw heritage, is the first enrolled member of a Native American tribe to fly in space. He traveled to the International Space Station in the space shuttle STS-113 Endeavor, launched on November 23, 2002, and his accolades include induction into the Chickasaw Nation and Oklahoma Aviation and Space Halls of Fame.
CREDITS
APOLLO CHAMBER PLAYERS
Matthew J. Detrick, violin
Anabel Ramirez Detrick, violin
Whitney Bullock, viola
Matthew Dudzik, cello
PRODUCTION
Apollo Founder, Artistic & Executive Director: Matthew J. Detrick
Producer, Recording and Mastering Engineer: Alan Bise
Cover Image and Artwork: Dustin Mater
Graphic Design: Teresa B. Southwell
Recorded at:
Sauder Hall, Goshen College (Goshen, IN) July 2020 &2021
Matthew J. Detrick, violin
Anabel Ramirez Detrick, violin
Whitney Bullock, viola
Matthew Dudzik, cello
PRODUCTION
Apollo Founder, Artistic & Executive Director: Matthew J. Detrick
Producer, Recording and Mastering Engineer: Alan Bise
Cover Image and Artwork: Dustin Mater
Graphic Design: Teresa B. Southwell
Recorded at:
Sauder Hall, Goshen College (Goshen, IN) July 2020 &2021