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I. Boston
Harbor (2:10) – In
search of religious freedom, John Winthrop from the
Massachusetts Bay Company led eleven vessels full of Puritans
into the area now known as Boston. More followed. As the years
passed, the harbor would see the Boston Tea Party, the
Revolutionary War, piracy, and a wealth of goods nearly beyond
measure. Boston was the maritime center of America in colonial
days. In the late 1800’s, thousands of immigrants,
especially from Ireland, poured into the city and permanently
changed its face. Many a long and perilous journey began or
ended in the waters of Boston Harbor, which, to this day, has
yet to share all of its secrets. I present this movement in a
"traditional seafaring" and lighthearted swagger.
II. "Facts
are Stubborn Things..." (1:15)
– The killing of five men by British soldiers on March 5,
1770 referred to as the "Boston Massacre" is the
basis for this movement. "Facts are Stubborn
Things..." is a quote from John Adams’ legal papers,
the speech that he presented to the jury. The music is divided
into two sections with identical melodies. The melody
represents "the facts." I twisted the accompaniment
as far as I could without changing the melody (the facts),
like two different people giving very different accounts of
the same thing. I established the first "telling."
The conductor, however, has total interpretive authority over
the second.
III. Granary
Grounds (2:15) –
Granary Burying Grounds is where many notable Americans are
interred, including patriots John Hancock, Paul Revere, James
Otis, Robert Treat Paine and Samuel Adams. Also buried there
are the victims of the "Boston Massacre," as well as
whole families of settlers killed by fire and plague. This
movement is a reflection of my own time spent wandering the
grounds of historical cemeteries where I am always left with
more questions than answers. Though some of the names are
known, there are many that are not. I wonder what they looked
like – what their lives were like. I wonder if they were
loved, and if they loved. Mostly, I wonder if they have found
peace. For my own peace of mind, and in this work, I pretend
they all have.
IV. A Penny a
Ton (3:25) – Boston
Light was the first lighthouse built in North America and, in
1998, was the last one to be automated. If it had not been
demolished in the Revolution, it would be the oldest, but
today, it is considered the nation’s second oldest. The
first lighthouse keeper, George Worthylake, lighted the tower
for the first time on September 14, 1716. Worthylake was paid
50 pounds a year and also kept a flock of sheep there on Great
Brewster Island. A storm caught his sheep on the long sand
spit off Great Brewster and they drowned when the tide came
in. Worthylake, his wife, and three others drowned when their
overloaded canoe capsized. Benjamin Franklin, 12 years old at
the time, wrote a poem about it.
Following
Worthylake, Robert Saunders, a former sloop captain, became
the second keeper. He also drowned within days of taking the
appointment. The third keeper, John Hayes, was described as
"able-bodied and discreet." Hayes asked for a fog
signal of some kind and a cannon. And thus, America’s first
fog signal was placed on the island in 1719.
In July 1775,
Boston Harbor was under the control of the British. American
troops were sent to burn the wooden parts of the lighthouse
and they did so. The British began repairing it. Later that
same month, more troops were sent, and again, burned the
lighthouse. When they tried to leave, they found their boats
stranded since the tide had gone out. American troops fired on
British ships until the men could safely escape the island.
The British finally left the lighthouse in 1776, but as a
farewell present, set the lighthouse with charges and
completely destroyed it. John Hancock ordered a new one to be
built in design as close to the old one as possible. The
federal government took over the lighthouse in 1789.
This
programmatic movement depicts the mishaps, fog cannon,
explosions, ship horns, rebuilding and constant operation of
the tower, reflecting the determination of a people and a
nation. The original Boston Light was financed by a tax of
"A Penny a Ton" on all vessels coming into or
leaving the harbor.
J.G.
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