Said and Dvorak are Going Home

In Heirs of Columbus, Vizenor's use of Dvorak's New World Symphony is so perfect it's almost hilarious. The piece is most famous for the theme of its second movement, and more specifically for the theme that plays in the first three minutes of it, which is also used in the folk tune "Going Home." Vizenor is correct when he says that the symphony was inspired by Native American (and African American) songs, although he is apparently not correct in saying that its themes were based on specific Native American tunes.  Dvorak is often quoted as saying the following:

 I have not actually used any of the [Native American] melodies. I have simply written original themes embodying the peculiarities of the Indian music, and, using these themes as subjects, have developed them with all the resources of modern rhythms, counterpoint, and orchestral colour.1

Which, I think, is perfect when we bring Said into the picture.  Dvorak has created this symphony (which is so beautiful, especially in the 2nd movement's recapitulation at around 9 minutes, that it makes me want to cry) to represent the New World to his white American and Western European listeners, but there is nothing particularly Native or American about his work  He has used Western instruments to represent Native tunes (usually the oboe and flutes) and Western chords to tug at their heartstrings (Dvorak is, after all, a Romantic). Finally has ended his symphony with this movement, in which the Native tunes (again, oboes and flutes) fight with and eventually submit to the stronger, louder, more rigid Imperial voices (French horns, trumpets, strings when they get loud). Seriously, listen to that movement. It's like the story of colonization. 

So what we have is an image of Native American culture that the West has created in order to demonstrate (and enforce) the subjugation of a non-dominant culture. Vizenor knows his music. It all does more to point out white America's insecurity about its identity (Dvorak was commissioned and paid a fortune to write this by a wealthy American woman) than to reveal anything real about Native Americans. This article, if you're interested, says a bit about that.

Like Said, though, I have trouble dismissing the piece because of its inherent imperialism.  It's still great music, and though I can't find any recordings of Said's orchestra playing it, I have no doubt that they would.