Harpers Ferry Station

 

Harpers Ferry Station (mp3) (pdf) (pdf harmony)

There are many lovely, professional photos available online of the picturesque train station at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The photo above is not one of those. I took this photo on March 2, 2020 from my roomette window (or maybe from the observation car) while riding the Amtrak Capitol Limited, returning to Iowa after a great weekend playing music in the Washington DC area with my Contratopia friends. Passing through Harpers Ferry is always one of the highlights of the Capitol Limited trip because of the panoramic views you see as the train crosses the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers.

(You can see a few photos from our visit to Glen Echo Park at this post on our Contratopia blog.)

You may recall that the first weekend in March came shortly before the world of all performing musicians was turned upside down. Now it's nearly November and there is still no clear path forward on the horizon. This train trip seems somehow more significant than it should.

The tune that I'm presenting here today was actually written in 2013 as part of a larger piece that I composed for Louisville Mandolin Orchestra in recognition of the LMO's 25th anniversary. As an original member of the group I was honored that they would commission a piece from me and I titled it "Schroeder's Idea" in recognition of Mike Schroeder who founded the orchestra back in 1988.

I remember as I was writing the middle section that features this tune thinking that it would be a fine, stand alone waltz. I made a mental note to come back and extract it some day. That note popped up again in my aging memory this week and I finally retrieved the tune and turned it into a simple dance piece with the title "Harpers Ferry Station." It appears in the key of F sharp minor in "Schroeder's Idea" but I've cast in E minor here. I hope you'll enjoy it.

One for the Team

 

One for the Team (mp3) (pdf)

Today's tune title is meant to be a statement of appreciation and admiration for those folks who, for whatever reason, act in ways that benefit all of us. People who give more than they take. 

The truth is that we all (with rare exceptions, you can make your own list) behave this way from time to time. Usually we think "I should do this more often" but, for me at least, that's a hard lesson to learn. Maybe when I play this tune it will help me remember my better angels.

Winter is making an early appearance here this week, cloudy and cold. Brighter days to come.

Summer Suite, August, 2020 (for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello)

 

Summer Suite, August, 2020 (for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello)

(Octave Mandolin version pdf) (mandocello version pdf)

1. Queen Anne's Lace (mp3)

2. The Morning Glory (mp3)

3. Dame's Rocket (mp3)

4. The Sunflower (mp3)

5. Prince's Feather (mp3)

By chance, it was exactly one year ago today when I posted the announcement of my Spring Suite for Octave Mandolin or Mandocello. This followed the earlier Winter Suite and today's publication leaves me with the expectation that I will produce a Fall Suite (Autumn Suite?) soon.

Not a cutting edge naming convention but then the music I'm writing for these instruments is not wild and crazy either. I am definitely looking backwards for my inspiration here and my intent is to provide nice tunes for my friends who love to play the big mandolins.

While the first two Suites consist mostly of new music written particularly for these instruments this Suite (and I expect the Fall Suite as well) involves me re-working already existing short pieces taken from my Postcards From the Crater collection. Re-purposing earlier work is a time-honored tradition among composers but I have always tended to think of it as a kind of cheating.

However, while reading Christoph Wolff's recent book, Bach's Musical Universe, a light bulb went off in my head when he started describing in some detail Bach's own re-use of some of his older music (some of it now lost) in new ways. I knew Bach had done this sort of thing but Wolff's writing gave me the idea to use the same approach for this suite.

So I took five of my favorite sections from the Postcards and played around with them on my octave mandolin. I added short introductions to a couple of the pieces, I changed keys a couple of times and I added drones here and there.

The first piece, here titled "Queen Anne's Lace", has appeared in more than a couple of my other mandolin pieces. It's simply one of my favorite tunes and always reminds me of the great James Oswald. I've set it here in a different key with quite a few double stops and drones and even some brief division-like variations. It doesn't need to go too fast.

I have chosen not to present this Suite as an "album" on Bandcamp, mostly because it takes a while to put together. I may do something later though.

I've used wildflowers for titles, as Oswald might have done. The photo above is another shot taken on the trail that leads from Phelps Park out towards highway 52.