Saci

a work for chamber ensemble + narrator and dance

Back in 2017, I was invited by Common Tone Arts to compose a piece for a chamber ensemble with narrator. The goal was to have a companion piece to Stravinsky’s A Soldier’s Tale, with a similar instrumentation and length. I decided to explore the Brazilian mythological character Saci Pererê, a one-legged black boy who does all sorts of mischiefs.

The Saci (sah-see) or Saci-Pererê has been a mythological character of Brazilian folklore since the early 1800s. He is an amalgam of different cultural strains, combining elements from Native Brazilian tribes, African slaves and Portuguese colonizers. Usually depicted as a one-legged black young man or boy, he is always smoking a pipe and wearing a red liberty cap. He has holes on the palms of both hands. A Saci is often invisible, and likes to hide inside dust devils or whirlwinds. A straw sieve with a cross on the bottom, when thrown into the wind, can trap him. Once caught, he can be kept in a corked bottle marked with a cross. Whoever catches a Saci can steal his sulfur-smelling cap, and Saci will do anything to get it back, including small tasks, pranks and practical jokes. He is known for braiding horses’ manes, curdling fresh milk, keeping eggs from hatching, dulling needles, causing nightmares and hiding objects from people. On some windy nights, a group of Sacis will gather in a wild dance party known as a Sacizada. A Saci’s cap gives him the power to transform himself into a bird of the same name with a plaintive whistling call. Practically every region of Brazil has in its folklore some stories about the Saci.

Enjoy this video of the performance here:

The piece was performed in December 2017, with the beautiful (sung) narration by Stephen Michael Newby, dance and choreography by Karin Stevens and the following musicians:

Ben Thomas, percussion

Brian Chin, trumpet

Rebecca Ford, trombone

Dana Jackson, bassoon

Rachel Yoder, clarinet

Eric Rynes, violin

Todd Gowers, bass

It was a joy to compose this piece. How can we perform it again in your community?

Let me know…