Wawshishijay (Our Beginning)

• The Kronos Quartet commissioned this piece for their 1992 album, Pieces of Africa.¹ This album won the 1993 Edison prize for classical music.²

“My father…told the future and healed the sick with music and dance, and I was born into that.  When I’m writing a song I always think about when I was little…and sounds come back to me.  I always imagine I’ve heard the sounds before, sounds like my father’s traditional, spiritual music.”

Obo Addy³

1. Craig Harris, “Obo Addy: Artist Biography,” AllMusic, accessed August 25, 2021, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/obo-addy-mn0000042027/biography.  
2. “Pieces of Africa: Kronos Quartet, 1992,” Kronos Quartet, accessed August 25, 2021, https://kronosquartet.org/recordings/detail/pieces-of-africa/. 
3. Liner notes, Pieces of Africa, Kronos Quartet et al, Elektra Nonesuch 9 79275-2, 1992.