Cherokee Morning Song

Cherokee Folk Song / arranged, with additional words and music, by Michael Yannette

2-Part (any combination)

Equally suited for mixed, treble, or tenor-bass choirs, this flexible arrangement opens with a Native American flute, the sound of flowing water, and tuned singing bowls. Next, two robust solo voices introduce the core sections: the traditional melody with Eastern Band Cherokee Indian lyrics; and an original English-text refrain that later pairs with the authentic tune. This arrangement premiered at the ACDA Southern Region Conference in 2022.

Continue reading for performance suggestions and background information on the music and arranger Michael Yannette.

Performance Notes

• Vocal parts may be assigned to any section, with tenors and bass singers down one octave.
• The original lyrics of “The Cherokee Morning Song” have been changed to reflect the Eastern Band Cherokee Indian (EBCI) singers for whom this arrangement was written. These were the descendants of the native people who stayed in the mountains during the horrible Trail of Tears period when the US government relocated the Cherokee to Oklahoma which included a multi-state trek that ended in horrible conditions, disease, and genocide. There is great pride throughout the EBCI in their heritage. Their language is the only written Native American language in the US with its own alphabet (or syllabary).
• Fire and water are very important elements in Cherokee cultural and spiritual life. Water is a symbol of healing and purification. Fire represents the burning away of things that are not truthful to the individual or situation. During the introduction, water may be audibly poured into two tuned singing bowls, F and C. Fire may be represented by using an incense holder burning sage (a sacred Native tradition to clear the air of negative energies).
• Consider projecting relevant video content on a large screen during the performance.
• Invite Native Americans in the school or community to participate in the preparation and performance of this work, especially if they are able to be soloists, drummers, or bowl performers.
• It would not be considered culturally sensitive for non-Native performers to wear traditional Native attire as part of the performance.

Background Information by Michael Yannette

My final teaching job in my 34-year career was spent as the Director of Choirs and Musical Theatre at Cherokee Central Schools (Middle School and High School) in Cherokee, NC. I taught there for seven wonderful years and had the most incredible experiences for so many reasons.

When I first arrived, I was only vaguely aware of Native American culture. I knew only that the kids themselves were just like any other I had taught except for a few distinct things. For one, they were very reserved vocally. Cherokee culture, in general, is very reserved. Singing was something that my students really wanted to be a part of but was also a much more fearful thing to them. It took a tremendous amount of courage at first to enable the students to feel comfortable with singing. I had to be more patient and encouraging than ever before in my teaching career.

I began with only three middle school students in one 40-minute class. I would run around the school asking student after student, “do you sing? Would you like to sing?” This was generally met with the “deer in headlights” look. But by the end of the first semester enrollment grew to 10 great, courageous kids who really enjoyed it.

During that first semester, Laura Pinnix, the head of the Cherokee Cultural Education Department asked if my choir could sing at an annual school event called “Honor the Elders.” Students nominate their grandparents, community leaders—anyone they felt was a remarkable person. Five elders were chosen to be honored in front of all of the students and faculty. It was an absolutely incredible event that happened at CCS every year.

One by one, the life stories of these remarkable people were read—stories of incredible hardship and tragedies but also very real-life triumphs and life realizations highlighting a key virtue that Cherokee people are very proud of: resilience!

Ms. Pinnix wanted a Cherokee piece featured on the program and so I went on the hunt to find something that not only would fit the cultural bill but would also be something that these shy young singers could feel successful in performing. I came across the “Cherokee Morning Song” which was a more contemporary Native American musical take on this traditional piece. It was sung in unison and then in a 3-part round to a simple background that included a traditional drum rhythm.

The lyrics repeated the word wendayaho which means, “I am one with the Great Spirit.” I thought it was a perfect selection and so I presented it to Ms. Pinnix. She liked the piece but was concerned that the words were in the language of the Western Band of Cherokee Indians and, of course, the students I represented lived on the Qualla Boundary in the mountains of North Carolina and were members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). The EBCI takes particular pride in the fact that their language is the only Native American language in the United States with its own alphabet (or syllabary). It was important to Ms. Pinnix that this be distinguished.

At the time, I honored her request to change the lyrics to ah-yee-oh-wah to reflect the EBCI language. I also added the crystal singing bowls to the introduction because the sound of them is filled with a certain sacred presence that I thought was appropriate for the event. I asked our wonderful local Native American flute artist, Matthew Tooni (a graduate of the school system) to perform the opening solo, which, at first, was improvised beautifully. We cast a scenic video background at that performance and the whole event was the kids’ first real singing success at the school. An awesome experience!

Years later, after retiring from teaching, I was music directing a show at Western Carolina University called “Seeing Sound.” It was a concert with a variety of music that I was able to choose. I invited a few alumni from my program, Matthew Tooni, and the Cherokee baritone Yona Wade to participate in the concert. I was concerned that the audience would not understand all of the implications of the phrase ah-yee-oh-wah, so I created this arrangement which included the additional melody and English lyrics. I added:

I am one spirit with you. I am one soul within you. Shine a light up ahead and guide me, creator, light my path today.

Take the water and heal me. Burn the fire and reveal me. Shine a light up ahead and guide me, creator, light my path today.

Cherokee Morning Song was a great hit at that concert! It was just crazy serendipity that Tim Peter, the director of the incredible choir from Stetson University, happened to call me on my way to a rehearsal for this concert to ask me if I knew anything about the Cherokee piece called “Cherokee Morning Song.” He had heard that I was teaching in Cherokee and wanted to make sure that the ACDA concert, in which his group was performing, was inclusive of the Native American population in the area. I was completely blown away by the amazing coincidence of it all and offered the piece to him for perusal.

The Stetson choir, along with the North Carolina Master Chorale Chamber Singers (a professional choir in Raleigh, under the direction of Al Sturgis), had been invited to perform an ecumenical service for the ACDA Southern Region Conference in Raleigh (2022). They extended an invitation for us to be a part of that performance, which turned into the first time a Native American ensemble was invited to sing at an ACDA event.

This led to me re-arranging the work for three of my students, Yona Wade, the Stetson University Choir in one choir loft, the North Carolina Master Chorale in the other loft, plus organ, five strings, drums, and two crystal bowls. Unfortunately, Matthew was not able to join us, so I wrote a Native flute part that I would be able to play, the part in the printed arrangement. Then, at the request of Tim Peter, I conducted the work with the entire ensemble—a career highlight and an enormous honor for me!

The performance of the work began with my Native American flute solo. During the solo, two of my former students walked to the crystal bowls, poured water into them, and began to perform a sort of water-cleansing ceremony. They lightly washed their hands and forehead in the water, dried off and when the flute solo ended, they rang the two crystal bowls and sang “ oo ” on their respective bowl pitches as if tuning into the sacred vibrations of the bowl. Yona entered from the back of the church with an incense holder which was burning sage (a sacred Native tradition to clear the air of negative energies) while he sang the traditional Morning Song solo as he approached the stage. Former student and tenor Billy Bailey followed with the English solo lyrics. We taught the entire audience the traditional “Cherokee Morning Song” and had them sing the piece in a round. Then we launched into the full-scale arrangement with this tremendous ensemble.

We wanted this published arrangement to be much more accessible to younger choirs, community choirs, and older singers by doubling SA with TB to make an SATB arrangement. Any configuration of choirs would be effective with this arrangement. Many thanks to the brilliant Andy Beck to assist in this!

I would encourage choirs to invite Native Americans from the school or community to participate in the preparation and performance of this work, especially if they are able to be soloists, drummers, or bowl performers.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me in any regard to the performance of this work. It is important that it is performed in a manner that is culturally respectful. Contact me if you have any questions in this regard. I would love to hear about your group’s performance.

Michael Yannette michaelyannette@aol.com

About Michael Yannette

Michael Yannette brings a rich and varied background to all of his artistic endeavors. As a professional pianist and accompanist, music educator, music director, composer, arranger, actor, and playwright, Mr. Yannette has music-directed and performed in professional, collegiate, and community theater nationwide. He wrote, produced, and starred in the title role of An Evening with George Gershwin, a one-man show about the life of the great composer, which played to rave reviews. Mr. Yannette is currently finishing work on his second play entitled Fantasia on Mysterium: The Epic Theatrical Recital about the life of Russian composer/pianist Alexander Scriabin featuring a choreography of live piano performance, storytelling, immersive visuals, and aromas. As an educator, Mr. Yannette recently retired from 34 years of teaching music, a career in which he was twice honored as Teacher of the Year at Grandview Preparatory School in Boca Raton, FL, and Cherokee Central Schools in Cherokee, NC. He was also the 33rd recipient of the Frell Owle Award for distinguished service to children and families of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI). The Cherokee Chamber Singers from Cherokee High School, under his direction, recently performed world premiere performances of William Britelle’s Si Otsedoha (We’re Still Here), a symphonic work with mostly Cherokee text based on the writings of the CCS students with both the North Carolina Symphony Orchestra and the Charlotte Symphony. Yannette is currently performing and teaching as a music director, vocal coach, and accompanist at Western Carolina University. Mr. Yannette has always enjoyed his work with choirs. He is the co-founder and previous director of the Men’s Chorus of the Young Singers of the Palm Beaches, a nationally recognized community choral organization in West Palm Beach, Fl. He has performed at various American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) state, regional and national conventions and was a frequent accompanist for Florida All-State Choirs. Mr. Yannette is a graduate of Florida State University, where he received various honors, including the Ernst von Dohnanyi Prize, the winner of both the FSU Concerto Competition and the Florida Collegiate Artist Competition, and was also named the 1986 FSU Presser Scholar.