Score [ePDF]
Stones : [eScore] / Jim Coyle.
Work Overview
Memorial stones in a Cornish Chruchyard.
One is sacred to the memory of
John Chubb, a little boy who died by choking on a pebble. The
gravestone has inset a facsimile of that
pebble and eight lines of verse in
a naive, vernacular style
lamenting little John's
passing.
Half hidden by brambles
against a wall is a double
headstone whose inscription begins
"Here lies two tars". It
memorialises a middle-aged sailor and
his much younger mate. The
inferenceis that the older man took it
upon himself to be the young lad's
'sea-daddy' and, quite literally, to
show him the ropes. The
fact that they are buried together
indicates an accidental death as well as
a close relationship. The inscription
almost seems to beg the Almighty to give
these two lovable rogues the benefit of
the doubt.
At the bottom of John Chubb's headstone are two addenda.
These are in memory of two further sons in the Chubb family both of whom died in infancy. The second reads 'also a second William'. One wonders how much heartbreak the Chubb family could endure; and what comfort they derived from the beauty and permanence of this memorial to their lost sons.
Work Details
Year: 2023
Instrumentation: Flute, guitar.
Duration: 8 min.
Difficulty: Medium
Commission note: Commissioned by Bridget Bolliger.. Commissioned by the Sydney Chamber Music Festival, Bridget Bolliger, Artistic Director.
First performance: 10 Sep 23.
Performances of this work
10 Sep 23.
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