Photo by Daniel Sheehan

PULLMAN – Composer Wayne Horvitz will present his oratorio “Heartsong of Charging Elk” at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 27 in the Kimbrough Music Building, Room 101.

Horvitz’s oratorio for four voices and 10 chamber instruments is based on James Welch’s novel, “The Heartsong of Charging Elk” (New York: Doubleday, 2000). Welch (1940–2003) was one of the best-known Native American writers of his time.

Inspired by historical events, “Heartsong of Charging Elk” tells the story of an Oglala Sioux who was hospitalized for broken ribs and influenza in Marseilles, France, in 1889 while touring with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. When the show moved on, Charging Elk, now recovered from his illness and injuries, was left stranded in the French city, speaking neither French nor English.

“Using that historical predicament for his springboard,” Horvitz has written, “James Welch conjures a poetic narrative of Charging Elk’s displaced existence following his abandonment.”

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