Petroglyph Dances

Petroglyph Dances was composed in 1999 at the request of saxophonist Dr. Jackie Lamar for the 2000 debut recital of the Cross-Town Trio (Jackie Lamar, saxophone; Karen Griebling, viola; and John Krebs, piano). The instrumentation is for viola, tenor saxophone, and piano.

Six of the nine movements of the suite were inspired by mysterious artwork depicting animals, insects, birds, lizards, and shaman left by the Anasazi, ancient Native American cliff dwellers in the desert southwest. The three interludes were inspired by the duende of Flamenco brought by the Spaniards who settled the area in the sixteenth century, and include Soleares (solitude), the expressive Siguiriyas, and the playful Bulereas. The final movement, Rain in the Mountains, was inspired by a more contemporary work of art, an etching by the same title by New Mexico artist Gustave Baumann that depicts an ominous sky and heavy rain falling on Taos pueblo, a Native American village nestled in the mountains.