Shasta

Scott Perry

Inspired by:

Ginkgo Tapestry

Corinne Okada Takara

Shas-ta [shas-tuh] - noun

Mount, a volcanic peak in N. California, in the

Cascade Range. 14, 161 ft. (4315 m).

Music Concept:

Deriving from the Ginkgo tree and the Shasta Mountains, this piece represents the evolution of the earth form over 200 million years ago to the present. Ambient and mysterious electronic sounds mimic volcanic eruptions and molecular fusion that sculpted our landscape. When the ashes and storms suddenly settle, we are left with a blank portrait on which cultures and civilizations are to be built. The hum of the streetlamp provides the light for us to follow. The Zheng harp, Shakuhachi flute, and the Banjo each enter and build their themes with disregard for one another, as if in isolation. This represents Chinese, Japanese, and American cultures that once developed relatively independent from one another. As the music progresses, each of the instruments, or cultures, get in the way of each other. They begin to adapt themselves in and around each other, trying their best not to lose their original identity. They increasingly become digested (in reference to the Cobra plant) into a new, unique sound as time has long since faded their original themes to the point where they are almost forgotten. But if you think hard enough, you will still be able to distinguish their identities because some things time can never erase. In the end, we are left with the buzz of the streetlamp to remind us how the world was shaped before us and that we are all under one sky.