Chamber Music Piano
SKU: PR.110418160
Composed by Stacy Garrop.
Performance score. With
Standard notation. 16
pages. Duration 8:30.
Theodore Presser Company
#110-41816. Published by
Theodore Presser Company
(PR.110418160).
ISBN
9781491114049. UPC:
680160640393. 9 x 12
inches.
Stacy
Garrop began hiking in
northern
Colorado’s Rocky
Mountain National Park in
her early 20s. From the
start, she was drawn to a
jagged stretch of rock
formations linking Longs
Peak to Pagoda Mountain,
at over 13,000 feet.
These formations are
called the
“Keyboard of the
Winds,†as their
thin, spindly peaks
suggest splintered keys
of an old, broken piano.
Inspired by one
particular journey the
composer took through the
Keyboard of the Winds en
route to Pagoda’s
summit, this work is a
tribute to the Keyboard
of the Winds. Its fast,
whirling gestures depict
swirling clouds above,
and the musical high
points represent a hiker
reaching the peak of
Pagoda Mountain. These
sections are set in
contrast with quiet,
introspective material
embodying the hiker
quietly surveying the
grandeur and beauty of
the valley below, as well
as the soaring pinnacle
of Longs Peak
overhead.
I began
hiking in the Rocky
Mountain National Park in
northern Colorado when I
was in my early twenties.
RMNP is home to some of
the most gorgeous
mountains in North
America, encompassing
265,000 acres of
wilderness, flora, and
fauna. Among the
park’s numerous
summits is Longs Peak, a
mountain that is 14,259
feet high (the highest in
the region). From my
earliest days of hiking,
I was drawn to Longs
Peak, as well as to a
jagged stretch of rock
formations that link
Longs Peak to Pagoda
Mountain (which stands at
13,497 feet). These
formations are called the
Keyboard of the Winds, as
their thin, spindly peaks
loosely suggest the
splintered keys of an
old, broken piano.One
summer, I made the ascent
to Pagoda Mountain using
a route that took me
along the right side of
the Keyboard of the
Winds. My hiking partner
and I started up the
trail in the pre-dawn
hours, and the weather
was stormy. Dawn had
broken by the time we
reached the base of the
Keyboard, but its peaks
were still surrounded by
clouds. As we climbed
higher and higher, the
Keyboard’s thin
spires became visible,
along with the top of
Pagoda Mountain. We
reached the summit of
Pagoda, admired the view
(what we could see
through the clouds), and
made our descent.My piece
is a tribute to the
Keyboard of the Winds.
The fast, whirling
gestures depict swirling
clouds, and the musical
high points represent a
hiker reaching the peaks
of the Keyboard. I have
contrasted these sections
with quiet, introspective
material; these embody
the hiker quietly
surveying the grandeur
and beauty of the valley
below (on a cloudless
day), as well as the
soaring pinnacles of
Longs Peak and Pagoda
Mountain overhead.
Above the Clouds
