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Shoshone Love Song is now considered as one of the greatest examples of literary and musical tradition of Native American Culture. For a considerable amount of time, this masterpiece was neglected yet in the twentieth century the tide turned, and this work of art began to attract the attention of many musicians, and poets. In particular, we should speak about such famous composer as Roger Emerson, who set the words of this poem to music. On the whole, it should be pointed out that that he is renowned for his arrangements of folk music, yet this one is said to be one of his biggest achievements. Apart from that, it should be borne in mind that the authorship of this song has not been identified but it was brilliantly translated into English by Mary Austin. It brilliantly illustrates peculiar features of Shone oral tradition.
First and foremost, we need to mention the so-called legato, or a style in which virtually no perceptible gaps are left between the notes. It is a typical characteristic of chorus music. Furthermore, the poem, itself, acquires melodic qualities only if it is performed in legato style. The smoothness and fluidity of this song make this song make it sound so beautiful. Occasionally, it seems that it was specifically created for chorus music. We may say that Roger Emerson managed to preserve the musical qualities of the poem.
However, we should not limit our assessment only to this issue. It is of the crucial importance for us to discuss the images that this song conjures up because they throw light upon culture of Shoshone people, their attitude to life and what is more importantly nature and these themes are so closely intertwined in the text. To a certain degree they represent aesthetic values of Native Americans and their world perception.
For instance, we can single out such very powerful metaphors as “the white star of twilight”, or “moon roving to the sky’s end”. These passages indicate that Shoshone people always associated beauty with nature. Naturally, we must not presume that this is entirely unprecedented; such expressive means have already been invented long before, but in this context, they seem to be so elaborate and natural. With reference to this question, we should say that Shoshone Indians always believed that a human being was an inseparable of nature, but not superior to other creatures.
This philosophy is reflected in this song because the author describes heavenly bodies as something sacred. Being combined with Roger Emerson’s music it produces an ineffable impression and creates the atmosphere of internal piece. In addition to that, the composition proves that Western and Native American cultures can be incorporated into a single entity and the results can be fascinating.
To conclude, in Shoshone Love Song we can trace the influence of Native American’s literary, musical and even philosophical principles. This vocal exemplifies the stylistic features of Shoshone music and literature, namely legato (or smoothness and fluidity) and the tendency to use images strongly connected with nature. We may say that Roger Emerson’s music supplements this song and adjusts it to chorus. Overall, this example indicates that the culture of Shoshone people and Native American in general has a great potential but we still to continue to dismiss.
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