Chapel Further Down - Thom Hasenpflug [DIGITAL]

The Chapel Further Down is a keyboard-forward piece inspired by various sites of historic importance throughout the British isles. In many cases, there is a small church or chapel featured secondarily, set off to the side as a seeming afterthought to a castle, historic abbey, manor house, or even a great cathedral. This piece travels through musical ideas and emotions selected from those sites which made a lasting impression on me.

Genre: Percussion Ensemble | # of Players: 9
Series: N/A
Level: Medium Advanced | Duration: 10:20

Instrumentation
Vibraphone 1
Vibraphone 2
Marimba 1 [4.3-octave]
Marimba 2 [4.5-octave]
Marimba 3 [5-octave], Crotales [upper octave], bass bow
Chimes/Bells, Udu Drum, Splash Cymbal, Claves

Percussion 1: 3 Timpani (32", 29", 26"), Snare Drum, Floor Tom, Woodblock, Triangle, Medium-Small Gong, Small Cymbal (e.g. large splash or small crash)

Percussion 2: 2 Medium-Low Toms, Bongos, Cajón, China Cymbal, Suspended Crash, Vibraslap, Resonant Metal (e.g. kitchen mixing bowl)

Percussion 3: Small Drum Chamber Bass Drum (18-20", non-pedal), Suspended Crash, Ride Cymbal (flat or standard), Tam-Tam, Mark Tree, Mounted Tambourine, Triangle, Small Shaker

Program Notes
In my visits to the British Isles over the years, I’ve noticed at historic sights that there always seems to be a small chapel set down a ways or over to the side from the primary attraction. I have seen this at castles and manors, and even cathedrals and larger abbeys themselves. In many cases, they are overgrown ruins, shrouded in mystery; in others, they are newer, or preserved by local historical societies. I am typically overcome by a sense of nostalgic anemoia and sadness in this experience – I think there is a more obscure word, saudade, which describes something we don’t really have the emotional vocabulary for.

The work considers this perspective primarily at three chapels of my experience — one Irish, one Scottish, one English: The neo-Gothic church, at Kylemore (Connemara) – a cathedral in miniature constructed of love as a final resting place for Margaret Mitchell, who died soon after the completion of their Kylemore estate; The sorrow chapel ruins in the forest at Dunstaffnage (Argyll), where in 1462 Sir John Stewart was en route from the castle to marry his bride, but was ambushed just outside – he was carried in to the chapel to seal his vows before he passed; The King’s Own Royal at Lancaster Priory (Lancashire), a chapel within the Church of St. Mary, commemorating the regimental soldiers who fought during the wars at the turn of the century. You will find one of the most complete collections of historic flags here, many hanging down from the rafters.

– T.H.