"Bridge between Worlds” is scored for:

String Section : 1st and 2nd violins, viola , cello and bass.
Wind section: 2 x flute, Oboe, Clarinet and Bassoon.
Brass Sections: Percussion and Kettle Drums
Featured Piano on two pieces.
Solo ‘cello

The tradition of singing is at the core of Xavante culture and is practised daily in groups and by individuals for ritualistic purposes and as a recreational activity.

Particular songs are rehearsed by the whole village perhaps in preparation for a festival. A festival which might be to mark the coming of age of the boys in the village, a naming ceremony or in the procurement of an illness in combination with healing techniques.

The village community, men , women and children stand hand in hand in an enormous circle, their heads bowed as they chant in unison singing themselves into a different world. Singing is a bonding force that strengthens the unification of the tribe.

A song is often accompanied by a dance. The rhythmic stamp of feet upon the dry earth providing the beat and rhythm within the song

1. Adolescents
The production opens with a recording of the Adolescents choir and develops into a lively and exuberant orchestral theme reflecting the pride of the young Xavante warriors.

The adolescents are a Xavante age set of boys who between the age of twelve and fourteen enter the Bachelors hut. They live together at one end of the village under the tutelage of the elders until they are between the ages of seventeen to nineteen when they have passed through a series of initiations and they become men..

One of the activities is the boys choir. At night the Adolescent Choir gather in a circle at pre-ordained areas of the village and under the direction of an elder they sing traditional songs.


2. Greeting
The recordings of the Xavante within this piece were made on a festive day when relatives of the villagers arrived in all sorts of vehicles. On arrival they joined an ever expanding circle of singers greeting one another and unifying themselves through song.

3. Maria’s Prayer
Each evening the Chief of the village gathers everyone together and leads the entire community through a series of songs. After the songs they always finish with a prayer. The prayer is in the Xavante language and the only word that is recognisable is the word Maria which reflects the influence of the missionary and the Roman Catholic faith. The whispers of the prayer resonate within the music.

4. Inauguration
The Xavante song in this piece features predominantly older men and boys singing. Gathered in a large circle, each man linked with arms around shoulders , heads bent to the ground the stamp of the feet providing the beat. They are triumphant warriors.

5. Praying for Rain
The Rain Man took up his rattle and through song communicates with the elemental beings of rain and thunder.. The result was the most awesome storm with direct over head crashes of thunder. An extremely magical moment revealing a very ancient connection which the Xavante have with their landscape and natural environment.



6. Hunting Song
In preparation for the hunt the group gather together and sing a song. Afterwards rushing off into the Savannah in pursuance of their prey.

7. Dawn Song
Dreams are very important to the Xavante for it is through dreams that they innovate and experiment with life. The lyrics of a song are derived from their dream time. On this occasion I recorded the Chief singing a song at dawn which he informed me he had just dreamt.

8. Thunder This piece is in continuation of Praying for Rain

9. Children’s Chant
The Chief has gathered together a small group of young children to practise songs (below). As an elder he is concerned that he imparts the tradition of song to this new generation.

The Xavante tribe are indigenous to the Mato Grosso region of Brazil.

It was Emily’s love of the natural environment of this region which inspired her first CD “Earth Songs” and it was at a performance of this music at the Earth Summit in 1992 that Emily first became acquainted with members of the Xavante tribe; Shortly prior to her show some Indians were walking past the theatre and she invited them in.

After the show they introduced themselves as Xavante and indigenous to the region that she was talking and singing about.

It was an extraordinary meeting between these Xavante elders and this English female musician.

In England, some time later, Emily received a letter requesting aid to implement a small health clinic. She responded by saying she would come and visit and see what she could do to help.

In 1994 she was living in Rio and decided to set out on this odyssey. The journey in itself was an adventure as she set out alone by bus from the Docks in Rio travelling on various buses until two days later she was set down on the edge of the Xavante reservation.



Guest in the family hut of a Chief she was accepted into their world. She witnessed daily life, rituals and recreation. Bathed in the river, ate ant eater, snake and tortoise. Slept in a hammock hanging in a roof of thatch with countless insects. Dreamt….


Above Emily (far left) records the children singing

In a practical way she set about collaborating with the community in drawing up a design for a health centre and making a list of materials necessary for the construction so as a preliminary budget could be made.

This also entailed riding into town on the back of beat up truck with a tyre for a seat and being accompanied by a Xavante warrior into the hard ware store in the nearest town .
The initial result of this visit was that on returning to England Emily founded a registered charity “The Indigenous People’s Cultural Support Trust” no. 1050461.

For the next four years in collaboration with the Chief and members of the Xavante community she organised a project, Xavante small clinic / medicinal garden.

The project gained financial support from the ODA and various organisations and individuals.

Emily annually visited the community and made preparations for the centre to be implemented. In January 1998 the health centre and medicinal gardens were inaugurated amidst festive singing and dancing (below).


Please visit “The Indigenous People’s Cultural Support Trust” at www.ipcst.org for details of ongoing projects.

All photos © Emily Burridge unless stated