Chamber Music Cello,
Piano, Violin
SKU:
PR.114423360
Composed
by Stacy Garrop. Set of
Score and Parts. 24+12+12
pages. Duration 8:30.
Theodore Presser Company
#114-42336. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.114423360).
UPC:
680160686285.
When
the Newport Music
Festival commissioned me
for a piano trio in honor
of their 2021 season, I
looked for a topic that
would celebrate an aspect
of the Newport community.
While researching the
area, I was struck by the
nine lighthouses situated
around the island. The
dual nature of
lighthouses was
particularly appealing to
me: not only do they
serve a vital role in the
navigation of ships
around rocks and land,
but they are also a
beautiful sight,
particularly at night
when their blinking
beacons are clearly
visible to the eye. It
occurred to me that
lighthouses link the past
with the present, and
will endure long into the
future, with their
beacons serving the same
purpose for every
generation.I became
fascinated with the
lighthouse on the
property of Castle Hill
Inn, located at the
opening of the East
Passage of the
Narragansett Bay. This
squat thirty-four foot
granite structure was
erected in 1890 on a very
picturesque spot, right
at the water’s
edge. Its
“characteristic,â
the nautical term
for each
lighthouse’s
unique light sequence
that allows ships to
identify the lighthouse,
is to alternate on for
three seconds, then off
for three seconds. The
lighthouse has also
served as the starting
and finish line for
numerous high profile
yacht races, as well as
survived a massive
hurricane in 1938, though
the lighthouse
keeper’s nearby
residence wasn’t
so lucky. American
novelist Thornton Wilder
wrote much of his 1973
novel Theophilus North
while staying at the
Castle Hill Inn; a
passage from the book
perfectly captures the
dual nature of
lighthouses:“At a
later visit I was able to
engage the pentagonal
room in a turret above
the house; from that
magical room I could see
at night the beacons of
six lighthouses and hear
the booming and chiming
of as many sea
buoys.â€In Beacon of
the Bay, we first hear
the lighthouse’s
characteristic as its
ruby light blinks on and
off. This is followed by
a simple theme that
represents the lighthouse
performing its solitary
duty. As the piece
progresses, we hear waves
playfully lapping around
its base, then yachts
gracefully floating by;
this is followed by a
violent storm that churns
the waves with so much
force that they crash
against the
lighthouse’s
granite body. But the
steadfast lighthouse
holds firm to the rocks,
grandly blinking its ruby
light. The music quiets
back down to its simple
theme, with yachts
sailing by once more as
the piece concludes.
