Garrop, Stacy - Beacon of the Bay

Responding to a commission from the Newport Music Festival, Stacy Garrop turned to the historic lighthouse at Castle Hill as the inspiration for BEACON OF THE BAY for piano trio, honoring and celebrating a distinctive fixture of the coastal community’s culture. The piece achieves a remarkably dramatic arch for its small stature, from colorful, effervescent effects and delicate textures, to grand and sweeping ensemble gestures. Throughout, Garrop translates the lighthouse’s various characteristics and duties into sound: we hear it as a solitary beacon against the vastness of the empty sea, the play of waves around its base, yachts passaging gracefully on a calm day, and its steadfast, illuminating presence through a violent storm.