ARLINGTON VIDEO
Arlington (click on the image above to watch the video)
Amidst the field of white and green, are those who fought land, air, and sea. They stood with strength, and now we sing – A soldier’s coming home.
A spiral of steel touches the sky, the fountains drip, like tears from eyes, a horse and carriage slowly go by. A soldier’s coming home.
They gather here, the different lives they’ve known, the heroes, the leaders, and those who in space have flown. There is the brother, the sister, and child now grown, and there’s the one whose name’s unknown.
A folded flag, a fallen troop, a wreath is laid, a last tribute. Silence is shattered from guns salute. A soldier’s coming home.
And there stand I, a passerby, amid the ones who fought and died. “For Liberty!” that is our cry. A soldier’s coming home.
The Inspiration
On Memorial Day, May, 26, 2014 I spent time thinking about the meaning of the day, as we all should. It is a solemn day, even though we engage in festivities. As I reflected on the day and those who served, I found myself thinking about my visits to Arlington National Cemetery.
Arlington is a powerful place – peaceful, emotional, and beautiful.
Walking the grounds one truly gains a sense of the sacrifice made by our country’s best. A sacrifice made on behalf of us and for us – for liberty.
It is easy for us to forget about liberty. You cannot touch it, feel it , smell it, or taste it. But we do live it, and should not abuse it.
About the piece
As I thought about the day and Arlington, I began to pen the lyrics. After a couple of hours, I had the words and began to set the music. I began with the vision of this being a choral piece, but as it unfolded it became evident that it should be a solo piece. As a personal reflection, it made more sense to be a single voice. An hour or so later, the melody and piano part were written.
From that Memorial Day to the following, I worked on the orchestrations, scoring, and the vocals. Been a long time since I’ve done some serious singing so rusty chops was hard to deal with. Still have a ways to go.
The Score
Arlington is scored for soloist and orchestra. The orchestra includes:
Violins (I & II) / Violas / Cello / Bass
Trumpet / Trombone / French Horn / Tuba
Flute / Oboe / English Horn / Clarinet / Bassoon
Piano / Snare Drum / Cymbals
Here is an audio version
Here is an instrumental version with Oboe on melody.
The Pictures
Since Arlington was on my mind when I wrote the piece, it only seemed fit to include pictures. Visiting Arlington is memorable in and of itself, however, getting pictures for this piece made for a wonderful day with my son. Michael is an aspiring photographer who took all the pictures. As stated in the closing credits, none of these pictures show any actual service. As we walked around the property we were fortunate to see the Honor Guards preparing or in between services.
Thank you for visiting and hope you enjoy the piece.