The Lighthouse Concert Overture A Classical Study for Orchestra: woodwinds: 2,2,2,2. brass: 2,2,2,1. 2 timp. 2 perc. standard string section.

The Lighthouse concert overture is a musical tribute to the Back River Lighthouse (also known as the Grandview Light Station) on the Chesapeake Bay in Hampton, VA. The lighthouse was built in 1829, and destroyed by hurricane Flossy in 1956. In the 1950's it served as a meeting place for local and visiting artists. Today, all that remains is an assortment of large granite boulders in the surf marking the spot where the tower once stood. The Lighthouse concert overture is a classical study, written in a form and style prevalent during the Romantic period - the period in which the Back River Lighthouse was constructed. The Romantic concert overture was often a descriptive or commemorative piece. Many were programmatic. The earlier concert overtures adhered strictly to classical forms, but later in the 19th Century the form became more free and eventually evolved into the symphonic poem. This work is a rondo form with an expanded coda. The principal theme, built on an ascending then descending arpeggiated motive, is perhaps suggestive of a rotating beacon piercing dark wind-driven waves. But, rather than a programmatic depiction of specific events, this music pursues the more ineffable atmospheric qualities surrounding the symbolic image of the lighthouse. The lighthouse is a monument that withstood time and the elements to bring its light into the world.

The Lighthouse Concert Overture (2006) pdf score

mp3 recording duration: [08:15]
photo © James Guthrie, 2003 All Rights Reserved Information and photographic tour of Grandview Nature Preserve
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