Beth Sanchez of Beth's Cakes - OKIE Magazine

The Daughter of Dawn: Restored to Glory
When the
Oklahoma
Historical
Society
discovered
“The
Daughter of
Dawn,” an
historic silent
the summer
of 1920 in
the Wichita
Mountains
near Lawton with a cast made
entirely of Comanche and Kiowa
Indians, it took measures to restore
imagery to its former glory, but
it also recognized the need for
a score that would represent its
drama, emotions, and meaning.
The Oklahoma Historical
Society commissioned Comanche
composer Dr. David Yeagely to
hunt scenes and hand-to-hand
Oklahoma City University Orchestra
to perform the score.
Such projects might prompt
some musicians to research the
but Dr. Yeagely preferred a pure
approach instead.
“I refused to give myself that
kind of orientation. I have seen
be clean,” Dr. Yeagely said. “I took a
phenomenological approach to this
generate its own power. Do not
bring any impositions into it.”
Dr. Yeagely said he proceeded
with the project by timing each
a stopwatch and matched moods
to melodies, but he was averse to
shifting the sounds too swiftly. He
also developed the theme for the
titular character with the imagery of
her name in
mind.
“You
feel what is
being felt by
looking and
following
the story
and having
in your own
emotions
and vicarious
participation,”
said Dr.
Yeagely.
“You have
to become
a character,
and this
is why I
selected
themes for
characters.
The Indian
Flute is
exclusive
to Daughter of Dawn; when she
appears, this is what you hear.”
In the beginning, Dr. Yeagely
heard other concepts for the
amended them in order to convey
the correct feelings.
the rising of the sun,” Dr. Yeagely
said. “Interestingly, in the beginning
score, I had the Hollywood mindset.
it was boom, big orchestra and big
excitement. Moving forward, as I
was writing other parts, I thought
‘this is the wrong way to begin.’
This is about dawn, and dawn does
not begin with a bang.”
He then started anew by
selecting instrumentation that
evokes the same feelings the
steady sunrise brings.
by Sarah Brewer
night, and we are awakening the
sun. So, how do you do that? With
a noisemaker. I selected the rattle
rather than the drum. The rattle
is the noisemaker, and the bass
and cello is the deep, rigorous
awakening out of the darkness. But
then the music calms down, and
technique on the violin there that
was shimmering and glittering. The
dawn begins,”
Dr. Yeagely
said.
However,
Dr. Yeagely
made the
decision not
imbue his work
with historical
songs still
sung among
the Comanche
and Kiowa
people; the
score does not
resonate with the sounds that are
inherent in Native American music.
“One thing I do not do is use
traditional Indian rhythms or songs.
To me, those are sacred. Lots of
people would have expected to
hear powwow drums, but I was
hired as a symphonic composer
and the music through which I
auditioned was symphonic music,”
Dr. Yeagely said. “You will not hear
was a conscious decision on my
part.”
Dr. Yeagely likened his score to
bare bones, but his collaboration
with the student instrumentalists
in the Oklahoma City University
Orchestra essentially breathes new
lost forever.
Photos courtesy of Oklahoma
Historical Society.
OKIE MAGAZINE www.okiemagazine.com Page 28