Spirit of for Chamber Orchestra (2023)

Premiered April 30, 2023 with the Cape Cod Chamber Orchestra, Matthew Scinto, director.

Program Note:

This piece was commissioned in 2020 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower voyage, though the premiere was postponed due to COVID. Initially, I struggled to find a way to navigate such a complicated and fraught story, specifically the consequences of this voyage on the Wampanoag tribe. I decided to distill the events and attempt to capture the spirit of the Pilgrims, the Wampanoag, and their story in eight continuous movements.

Much of the musical material is derived from the Psalm tune, “Old Hundredth,” though some may know it as the Doxology (“Praise God, from whom all blessings flow”). Sources suggest that the Pilgrims sang the 100th Psalm as a prayer of thanksgiving upon first sight of the land now known as Provincetown. In many ways, this tune marks the beginning of the Pilgrim and Wampanoag story.

Sea is calm and understated, an attempt to capture its quiet power and tranquility.

Longing is an unaccompanied melody for strings only. The melody begins in the violas, gradually expanding out to include the cellos and violins. It is restless, as if searching fruitlessly; it rises incessantly, yet is doomed to fall again and again.

Faith begins with a simple chord progression in the low strings. Solo woodwinds sing out, initially in conflict with the string harmonies. As the woodwind melodies develop and grow, and the underlying progression extends through the entire string section, the woodwinds finally find their way to the harmony of the strings and join the faith.

Hunger interrupts the reverie of Faith with a deep, guttural growl in the cellos. This movement is marked by absence, of sound, of melody, of nearly any pitch.

Dance is an escape, filled with unbridled joy and humor, alongside a few moments of nostalgic sweetness. It begins lazily with pizzicato cello and bass, until a lilting tune is sung by the violins, gradually winning over the orchestra with its cheerful, quirky nature.

Death is grounded by a drone that sustains through most of the movement. Melodies referencing previous movements—specifically Dance and Longing—hover over the surface of the drone. The movement ends in an apotheosis, with solo winds keening over a whispering harp.

Hope is for the woodwinds alone. It begins somberly, with shy fragments of melody hesitant to overlap. As the movement progresses, the individual lines intertwine more freely, and the harmonies shift subtly; the mood becomes gradually sweeter and more comforting. Darkness sneaks in at the close of the movement; however, rather than be overtaken by it, the woodwinds grasp its dissonance and reclaim it, carrying it into the next movement as a new point of departure.

Light is a nod to the Wampanoag tribe, whose name translates to “People of the First Light.” It rapidly builds out of the last defiant pitches of Hope in cascades of sound that lead to the full orchestra embodying a beam of blazing light. The woodwinds continue the cascading lines while the horns resound a final melody.