Oshta (Four) for solo violin

Commissioned by Irina Muresanu; Premiered January 29, 2017

PROGRAM NOTE

Oshta is the Chickasaw word for the number four and became the title of this work in the spirit of Irina’s project, Four Strings Across the World. The work is loosely based upon a Choctaw church hymn that was composed in the 1800’s. One very unique artistic result of European contact is the American Indian church hymn. As missionaries fanned out across Indian Country they became the first to document our Native languages and create translations of The Bible and other Christian texts, including church hymns. This lead to a new series of a hybrid music, composed by tribal citizens.

For Southeast American Indians (Choctaw, Chickasaw, Cherokee, Creek and Seminole) this hybrid style of music is now over 200 years old and contains a vast repertoire. The music is unmistakably Native and added a third category of traditional music alongside stomp dancing music and our old folk songs.

Oshta presents the Choctaw Hymn 53 as the centerpiece and is embedded within my abstractions and feelings of the ancient time in which it was composed.

— Jerod Impichcha̱achaahaꞌ Tate