Grandfather’s Seahorse
for solo harp
About
When I was a child, I had a small wooden box that contained my most prized possessions. At the heart of this collection of movie ticket stubs, trinkets, and coins was a leather pouch. Within it I stored a memento from each of my closest family members: these included such things as a ribbon from my sister, a broken plastic dinosaur leg from my brother, a leather Native American necklace from my mother, and a St. Christopher medal from my father. The most fascinating item to my young mind was a pendant given to me by my grandfather. An infantryman in WWII, my paternal grandfather returned from the European campaign to eventually find employment in a pharmaceutical factory. He was a stoic man, perhaps even somewhat cold. He died when I was six. Although I have numerous memories of him, I cannot recall him speaking to me. I am sure that he must have. When I was five, my father gave me a red plastic medallion and told me it was from my grandfather. Around the top of the plastic oval were inscribed the words, “New York,” and along the bottom, “Aquarium,” in raised plastic lettering. Protruding from the center of the pendant was a clear plastic bubble. It was backed with foam green paper and depicted a seafloor scene printed in white. I remember staring with amazement at the pendant sitting in my open palm. The bubble enclosed at its center a small dried seahorse, no bigger than my juvenile pinky nail. Its alien beauty enthralled me.
Grandfather’s Seahorse explores the concept of memory as a metaphor or inspiration for musical form. Using my remembrances of this vivid collection of past events in my childhood, I have constructed this work as a response to the many emotions such a vibrant memory can bring. This event in my childhood held no extraordinary sway over my psychological development or emotional growth, yet it has become elevated to a place of particular importance simply because I remember it. This memory has lasted for some reason when so many others – at the time perhaps more important – have been forgotten. This snippet of my past has become precious because for some reason it remains in my mind. I lost my childhood treasure box in the shuffle of growing up, so I have not seen this trinket in my adult life – yet the memory remains.
In the act of deep, vivid remembrance, our mind summons forth disparate thoughts, memories, and emotions that are nevertheless interrelated in our subconscious. In this work, small fragments of musical ideas ebb and flow in the manner of remembering. These motives advance and recede within the musical framework, occasionally beckoning another related gesture for a time. They may be heard fleetingly or they may return in variation. Inevitably, the form of this work freely explores the interplay of these musical fragments.
Details
Duration: ca. 6:15
May 28, 2012
License
Copyright © Adam Vidiksis 2011 (ASCAP)
