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I first conceived this work after attending the premiere of my Thy Distant Fire by Nancy Wood and Paul Safar in Eugene, OR in November 2010. I had been intending to set some verse by my friend Norman Newton for a while, and having witnessed Nancy's dramatic abilities? In the recent performance, I decided to fuse the two talents. In Norman's Selected Poems 1948-1989 (Janus Press, Victoria BC) is an extended 15 page prose-poem entitled The Coast of Oregon containing the legend of Montezuma I's expedition in search of the land of his ancestors, - it was the perfect vehicle for Nancy and Paul. The composition went quickly - I had already set Norman's poetry in our opera Seabird Island. At the beginning I wrote for voice and piano, but as the piece progressed, I quickly realised that a broader instrumental palette was needed, and so I decided to include parts for flute, cello and percussion. The basic story of the work consists of 4 sections, the first finds the poet musing on the Oregon coast about the possibility of this being the Aztec's Aztlan (variously translated as the place of whiteness, the place of the heron, the seacoast). The second section tells of their preparation for the trip northward, the third the journey and their arrival in Aztlan and their meeting with Monteznma's ancient mother on an island in a lake, and the fourth section deals with the journey home to Mexico, and the final section is by way of being a partial recapitulation of the opening with the poet musing on the Oregon coast. Norman together with his wife Beryl made the trip to Oregon in the mid 1980's and the poem was completed upon his return to Vancouver. The story is based mainly on ancient Nahual and Mexican texts, which he merged with other folk elements. The work was completed on c. July 15th 2011. © Derek Healey Instrumentation Mezzo Soprano flute 'cello plano percussion (for 2 players) Glockenspiel (or Triangle) Marimba 3 Tom-toms (A, D, F - or approximate pitches) Snare Drum (light) Bass drum Large Cymbal (suspended) Claves (pair) Maracas (egg-shells)