"Susquehanna"

The River

I didn't start out writing this about a river, but as it took shape, it reminded me of how a river flows and grows.  Starting out as a seep or trickle somewhere in the hills, gathering speed and strength as it moves downhill, sometimes meandering lazily through broad flat plains, and eventually being dissipated into a larger body of water.

The Susquehanna River is the largest North American river that flows into the Atlantic Ocean.  It starts in the rural reaches of New York and Pennsylvania, runs down through the Allegheny Plateau, and empties into the head of the Chesapeake Bay.  It drains an area the size of Ireland - over 27,000 square miles.

The west branch of the Susquehanna Rover flows northeastward from western Pennsylvania, and joins the north branch flowing south out of New York before flowing into the Chesapeake Bay.

The Susquehanna is one of the world's oldest rivers, and predates the mountains through which it currently flows.

The Music

The piece starts in a contemplative mood and ends up that way, too.  Various things happen in the middle.

"Rain on the Tarn" - more original music

This is music about a place I have never seen.  A tarn is a high pond or lake that rests in a cirque scoured by glacial action, and filled with rainwater or runoff from the surrounding mountains.

The tarn that is the subject of this tune exists, and I hope to reach it this summer.  Until then, this is my impression of a day where clouds swirl around the mountain peaks but down in this sheltered bowl, you can watch the rain drops splash into the calm surface of a pure mountain lake.

A bit of classical: "Aspenglen"

When I was growing up, my parents and two sisters and I lived in a pretty small house.  But it had an unfinished basement, and my Dad gradually built that out into a family room, workspace, laundry room, and a bedroom and bath for me.

When I was about six or seven years old, he was completing his Ph.D. in physics, and would always study in the new bedroom, often well past my bed time.  So I often fell asleep with him just a few feet away, his books illuminated by a small desk lamp, and with the radio always tuned to the classical FM station.

Mom was the musical talent in the family, sang in a semi-professional choir, and was often called upon to sing at weddings at our church.  Dad couldn't carry a tune, but loved listening to music.  Mom was the one that made the kids take piano lessons, but I wonder if Dad's contribution to my love of music was having the radio on as I was falling asleep.

Anyway, I have always liked a lot of classical music, especially Handel and Bach.  I worked out this tune many years ago when I was learning to play guitar, and finally sat down and recorded it.  It's a very straight-laced Baroque-sounding piece.

It really never had a name, but I decided to name it after a favorite hiking spot - a place where the morning sun filters through a grove of Aspen trees.  So now it's called "Aspenglen".

"Flying Cloud"

Here is a new tune I wrote and recorded.  It has a bit of a rolling feel to it, and reminds me of the motion of a sailing vessel, so I named it "Flying Cloud" after the famous clipper ship that set the record for the fastest passage between New York and San Francisco.  "Flying Cloud" made the record passage in 1853, taking 89 days 8 hours.  She held this record for 135 years, until 1989!

Image Source: Lubbock, Basil. The China Clippers (4th ed.). 1919 Glasgow: James Brown & Son. The image is in the public domain.

Anyway, the song "Flying Cloud" has a bluegrass flavor, featuring resophonic guitar accompanied by piano, pipes, and mandolin.  Hope you like it.

[Click on the "play" triangle at left below to let 'er rip.]

"Last Light" remix

I added a bit more video footage and did an audio remix of my "Last Light" video.  I really like the way music and imagery can work together to convey how I feel when I look at the majestic scenery of the Rockies.