For My Cherokee Ancestors

For My Cherokee Ancestors is a colourful and evocative work, contrasting long lyrical solo lines against a more animated and rhythmic accompaniment, making use of the rich middle register of the double bass. “For My Cherokee Ancestors lasts just over four minutes and was written to honour my ancestors who had been so much of a mystery to me. My family always knew that we had Cherokee blood on my mother’s side, but only recently was I able to trace our heritage back to Chief Pathkiller, the last ancestral chief of the Cherokees. Only a few years after he died in 1827, the Indian Removal Act, which sent Native Americans to territory west of the Mississippi River, marked an end to the world my ancestors had known. Those last years of that traditional life were in my mind as I wrote this piece.” [Mary Rae] For My Cherokee Ancestors was premiered at Wells Cathedral School (Somerset, UK) on Sunday 24 February 2013 by David Bossanyi (double bass) and Gus Tredwell (piano).