Kiva Dances - Ron Miller (2009) -- approx. 14 min.

Here's a YouTube link of PYO performing Kiva Dances in 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4D4_ePFfyk

"On a day off during a trip to the nation’s capital in 2005, I had the opportunity to visit the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI).  It had just opened, and is a soaring, curving sandstone building among the other boxy granite monoliths which tend to make up the Smithsonian Institution.  Inside are some spectacular spaces, interesting displays, Native American foods, and, on display and also for sale in the gift shops, beautiful Native American flutes. 

"Use of flutes by Native Americans can be traced back many centuries.  The early examples of wooden flutes that we have are from the 7th century, and are end-blown, like a cola bottle; the sound production method is like a contemporary silver flute, but the hole is at the end instead of on the side of the pipe.  This is the flute played by Kokopelli. There are also examples of bone flutes that date back to the 4th century BC.

"The modern Native American Flute is a “fipple” flute – it is still end-blown, but has a whistle chamber in it, very similar to a recorder. The transition from the end-blown Kokopelli flutes to the end-blown recorder flute is not known, but these flutes can be traced back to the middle of the 19th century, and it seems highly likely that the native Americans who built these instruments were influenced by similar instruments of western origin; in particular fifes, which were commonly found within in the early American military.  Still, these flutes spread throughout the southwest and the plains, and are still in use today."

This piece was composed for a Native American flute with 6 holes, playing a  traditional pentatonic scale – five notes, corresponding to the black keys on a piano starting on Eb, but in this case, that pattern is transposed to start on the note A.  In addition to these somewhat limited (but very expressive) resources, the flute has some characteristic effects, including a glissando between notes, and a sudden leap to a very high note.

Kiva Dances is in three movements:
Introduction - Lament
Dance in Time of Drought
War Dance - Benediction

Kiva Dances introduces the Native American flute right away, in the Introduction, and the piece also concludes with the flute – the Benediction.  The melodies within the 3 movements of the piece also feature the flute’s pentatonic scale, and emulate other flute effects. 
 

Orchestration:
*+3-*2-*3-2 - 4-3-3-1 - Timp - 5 perc - str, plus Native American Flute soloist.
Percussion includes Orchestra Bells, Xylophone, Vibraphone, Tom-toms, Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Maracas, Bongos, Rainsticks, Suspended Cymbal, Crash Cymbals, Triangle, Claves, Slap Stick.