Beyond the O-hi-o
Music of the West
by
Richard Hannemann
I am working on an album comprised of songs about the frontier West from 1825 to the closing of the frontier around 1900. New Mexico was the setting for many of the events of the era and the song lyrics are historically accurate. Growing up here this setting and history has been a major iinfluence on my musicianship.
Most of the music and lyric for the collection have already been written -- though there are a few pieces still in process. I'm still in the process of doing the live recording of the lyric versions of the songs -- however -- you can listen to the instrumental versions on my soundcloud page.
What follows, then, a list of the song titles and a brief description of what the song is about.
Pilgrim --- In 1803-06 the Lewis and Clark expedition charted the length of the Missouri River crossing over the Rockies and on the Pacific Coast. Their reports helped fuel the westward expansion. In our story, an elderly pioneer recalls leaving home in 1825 to cross the prairie and become a trapper/mountain man.
Hawken (guitar solo -- also in the Guitar Solos collection) -- this was the rifle most favored by the trappers of the early to mid-1800's. Each rifle was hand made. Imagine our Pilgrim crossing the plains with his trusty Hawken rifle.
Argonaut Tide -- the lure of gold and silver has always been a strong incentive driving exploration. The first verse of this song speaks of Coronado seeking the fabled seven cities of gold. The second verse refers to the Colorado silver strikes. Mining camps blossomed often to be abandoned when the gold or silver played out. Yet some camps became real towns that grew to become major cities -- and that is the thrust of the song -- "El Dorado lies deep in the mind -- seekers of gold discover more than they find. Opening new lands for the builders behind .... "
Jemez Overture (orchestral work) -- The Jemez mountains of North Central New Mexico and the Valles Caldera which they contain is one of America's super volcanos. This piece was written as a musical portrait of the Jemez and its wildlife --- as a hawk (the clarinet) flies over the caldera you may hear a bear or badger ambling along, or a herd of elk in stately motion across the caldera.
Butterfield Line -- The last rendezvous of the Rocky Mountain trappers was in 1838. By that time the demand for beaver and otter furs -- often used for top hats - had declined along with the number of beavers and otter available to trap. So what was an unemployed mountain man to do? Some became scouts for the US Army, some became guides for the wagon trains that began to roll West, and others found work with the freight and stage lines. The Butterfield Line was one such freight and stage line.
Snake Oil. -- Throughout the period, and particularly after the wagon train migrations of the 1840's, as people settled far from small towns that were themselves just getting started merchants would load up wagons with various goods needed by the far-flung settlers. Most of these were legitimate businesses -- however -- there were also the "medicine wagons" which sold elixers of dubious content and result.
The Gun of Samuel Colt. -- Shortly after the Civil War, gunsmith Samuel Colt introduced a 44 caliber hand gun that would become a mainstay of the West. The "Peacemaker" it was called and it was said that "God didn't create all men equal -- Col. Colt did".
Pistolero -- a man who made his living with his gun was not referred to as a "gunslinger". He was a shootist or a pistolero and he lived, and died, by his own code.
Season of the Wolf (guitar solo -- also available in the Guitar Solos Collection) -- Imagine a wolf in the high country. Carefully he makes his way through the aspens, ponderosas, firs and spruce forest then comes to an open meadow which he dashes across to then disappear into the forest on the far side. The full moon of December is also referred to as the "Wolf moon" and deep winter is the season of the wolf when game is scarce and wolves prowl.
Legend on the Run -- There is also the other kind of wolf -- the two-legged kind. Men who robbed banks and trains or who hired out as "enforcers" to cattle barons and anyone else who could afford them. Frontier justice was a harsh thing and sometimes it went awry.
Saga of the D&RG - In 1869 a group of very important people gathered at Pomontory Utah to watch two men drive a golden spike into rails of steel joining the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific rail lines together. Tied the nation east to west. After that other railroads made their own attempt to cross the nation east to west. But General Palmer had a different notion - to bring the rails to the mining camps of the Rockies. In 1870 he started the Denver and Rio Grande railroad. She was a different kind of line -- she had a narrow stance. And Gen. Palmer hung her rails on the sides of cliffs and mountains like you hand tinsel on a Christmas tree. This is her story and the story of her battle with the Santa Fe line for control of the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas river which lead to the mines of Leadville, Colorado.
High Desert River (orchestral) -- The Rio Grande Rift runs from the Arkansas River in Colorado south through the center of New Mexico to Mexico. Likely the most famous section is the Rio Grande Gorge near Taos NM. There are 5 main basins to the rift one of which is the Espanola Basin -- known locally as The Valley which lies between the Jemez mountains to the west and the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rockies to the east with the Rio Grande running through the center. The Rio is bordered by a riparian section called the bosque with upper Sonoran desert beyond. "High Desert River" is a musical portrait of the area and its wildlife.
Anasazi -- Bandelier National Monument in Frijoles Canyon just south of Los Alamos was the home of the Anasazi -- now referred to as the Ancient Puebloans (note: this song was written before the name change) -- and was likely an outlier of the great Chaco Canyon civilization. The lyric to the song tells of the people who once lived there and their environment. The music is written based on the musical forms of the Acoma, Isleta, Cochiti, and Zuni Pueblos as described and catalogued by Densmore (1928 -- from The Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 165 published 1957).
The Lone Spanish Chapel -- Throughout North Central New Mexico you will find lovely old Spanish style churches and chapels. La Capilla de la Familia Sagrada which sits at the base of Black Mesa, a sacred mountain on the San Ildefonso Pueblo reservation, is one of these and served as the inspiration for the song. However, the chapel in the song serves as a lyrical portrait of the tri-cultural history and reality of New Mexico.
Most of the music and lyric for the collection have already been written -- though there are a few pieces still in process. I'm still in the process of doing the live recording of the lyric versions of the songs -- however -- you can listen to the instrumental versions on my soundcloud page.
What follows, then, a list of the song titles and a brief description of what the song is about.
Pilgrim --- In 1803-06 the Lewis and Clark expedition charted the length of the Missouri River crossing over the Rockies and on the Pacific Coast. Their reports helped fuel the westward expansion. In our story, an elderly pioneer recalls leaving home in 1825 to cross the prairie and become a trapper/mountain man.
Hawken (guitar solo -- also in the Guitar Solos collection) -- this was the rifle most favored by the trappers of the early to mid-1800's. Each rifle was hand made. Imagine our Pilgrim crossing the plains with his trusty Hawken rifle.
Argonaut Tide -- the lure of gold and silver has always been a strong incentive driving exploration. The first verse of this song speaks of Coronado seeking the fabled seven cities of gold. The second verse refers to the Colorado silver strikes. Mining camps blossomed often to be abandoned when the gold or silver played out. Yet some camps became real towns that grew to become major cities -- and that is the thrust of the song -- "El Dorado lies deep in the mind -- seekers of gold discover more than they find. Opening new lands for the builders behind .... "
Jemez Overture (orchestral work) -- The Jemez mountains of North Central New Mexico and the Valles Caldera which they contain is one of America's super volcanos. This piece was written as a musical portrait of the Jemez and its wildlife --- as a hawk (the clarinet) flies over the caldera you may hear a bear or badger ambling along, or a herd of elk in stately motion across the caldera.
Butterfield Line -- The last rendezvous of the Rocky Mountain trappers was in 1838. By that time the demand for beaver and otter furs -- often used for top hats - had declined along with the number of beavers and otter available to trap. So what was an unemployed mountain man to do? Some became scouts for the US Army, some became guides for the wagon trains that began to roll West, and others found work with the freight and stage lines. The Butterfield Line was one such freight and stage line.
Snake Oil. -- Throughout the period, and particularly after the wagon train migrations of the 1840's, as people settled far from small towns that were themselves just getting started merchants would load up wagons with various goods needed by the far-flung settlers. Most of these were legitimate businesses -- however -- there were also the "medicine wagons" which sold elixers of dubious content and result.
The Gun of Samuel Colt. -- Shortly after the Civil War, gunsmith Samuel Colt introduced a 44 caliber hand gun that would become a mainstay of the West. The "Peacemaker" it was called and it was said that "God didn't create all men equal -- Col. Colt did".
Pistolero -- a man who made his living with his gun was not referred to as a "gunslinger". He was a shootist or a pistolero and he lived, and died, by his own code.
Season of the Wolf (guitar solo -- also available in the Guitar Solos Collection) -- Imagine a wolf in the high country. Carefully he makes his way through the aspens, ponderosas, firs and spruce forest then comes to an open meadow which he dashes across to then disappear into the forest on the far side. The full moon of December is also referred to as the "Wolf moon" and deep winter is the season of the wolf when game is scarce and wolves prowl.
Legend on the Run -- There is also the other kind of wolf -- the two-legged kind. Men who robbed banks and trains or who hired out as "enforcers" to cattle barons and anyone else who could afford them. Frontier justice was a harsh thing and sometimes it went awry.
Saga of the D&RG - In 1869 a group of very important people gathered at Pomontory Utah to watch two men drive a golden spike into rails of steel joining the Union Pacific and the Southern Pacific rail lines together. Tied the nation east to west. After that other railroads made their own attempt to cross the nation east to west. But General Palmer had a different notion - to bring the rails to the mining camps of the Rockies. In 1870 he started the Denver and Rio Grande railroad. She was a different kind of line -- she had a narrow stance. And Gen. Palmer hung her rails on the sides of cliffs and mountains like you hand tinsel on a Christmas tree. This is her story and the story of her battle with the Santa Fe line for control of the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas river which lead to the mines of Leadville, Colorado.
High Desert River (orchestral) -- The Rio Grande Rift runs from the Arkansas River in Colorado south through the center of New Mexico to Mexico. Likely the most famous section is the Rio Grande Gorge near Taos NM. There are 5 main basins to the rift one of which is the Espanola Basin -- known locally as The Valley which lies between the Jemez mountains to the west and the Sangre de Cristo range of the Rockies to the east with the Rio Grande running through the center. The Rio is bordered by a riparian section called the bosque with upper Sonoran desert beyond. "High Desert River" is a musical portrait of the area and its wildlife.
Anasazi -- Bandelier National Monument in Frijoles Canyon just south of Los Alamos was the home of the Anasazi -- now referred to as the Ancient Puebloans (note: this song was written before the name change) -- and was likely an outlier of the great Chaco Canyon civilization. The lyric to the song tells of the people who once lived there and their environment. The music is written based on the musical forms of the Acoma, Isleta, Cochiti, and Zuni Pueblos as described and catalogued by Densmore (1928 -- from The Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 165 published 1957).
The Lone Spanish Chapel -- Throughout North Central New Mexico you will find lovely old Spanish style churches and chapels. La Capilla de la Familia Sagrada which sits at the base of Black Mesa, a sacred mountain on the San Ildefonso Pueblo reservation, is one of these and served as the inspiration for the song. However, the chapel in the song serves as a lyrical portrait of the tri-cultural history and reality of New Mexico.