Gold Rush (Yee-Haw!) (2022)

for saxophone trio​

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Duration: 11 minutes

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Program Notes

Arguably, the most famous gold discovery in the United States took place at Sutter's Mill in California in 1848. However, Sutter's Mill was certainly not the only place that gold
was discovered in the U.S. In fact, it was not even the only place in California. Bakersfield was the site of a gold discovery in 1851 and it was this event which drew White settlers to
the land (Native Americans had lived there for many generations, perhaps as many as 3000 years). I chose to make this saxophone trio about that gold discovery and the
subsequent Bakersfield Gold Rush, though the musical depictions made in these movements are universal.

The first movement, "Rushin'" is fast, a representation of the speed at which people from all over the U.S. changed their lives, in some cases, forever, uprooted themselves and
made their way to Bakersfield to stake their claims.

The second movement, "Glitterin'" is a musical expression of the glittering of the gold, stones, mud and water one would encounter in the process of looking for gold as well as
the emotions one might experience during the process.

Where there is gold, there is often someone trying to steal the gold, in one way or another. A common way in the 19th centure was claim jumping where someone would illegally
occupy another person's land in order to extract the gold from it and keep the owner from doing so. Oftentimes violence would ensue. The third movement, "Ambushin'",
portrays the true story of the Ambush at Long Tom. In this historically documented incident the Yoakum Brothers accused Hamilton Tucker and William Johnston of trying to
claimjump the Yoakums' property. As Tucker, his wife and children, Johnston and his associate, Sarah Burdette were driving their wagons on Long Tom Granite Station Road in
Kern County, CA (near Bakersfield) on April 13, 1878 they were ambushed by the Yoakum Brothers. Tucker and Johnston died at the scene. In this movement the listener can
hear and feel the wagon drivers and passengers proceeding down the road happily, ignorant of what is about to befall them. One can also hear the birds chirping along the path.
The drivers' and their passengers' pleasant drive down the road is unexpectedly interrupted by shots from behind large boulders. The listener will hear the commotion of the
other riders running around on the ground, trying to learn who fired the shots. Finally, there is a motive meant to evoke the sense of screaming both external and internal - first
only a little bit, but upon the realization that loved ones are dead, the screaming is longer and more intense.

After sundown is the time for gold miner partying. The fourth movement, "Dancin'" is a hoe down, or in this case, a "Pan, Pick and Shovel Down". A hoe down is a dance with two
beats to the measure in ternary (ABA) form. The dance steps are marvelously derived from the movement of the hoe. That's exactly what I did here. Well, sort of. This dance is
mostly in 2/4, but also in 7/8 and 3/8. "Dancin'" is in arch form (ABCBA) with a coda. What dance steps might be derived from the movements of pans, picks and shovels will just
have to be left to your imagination!!

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Purchase

To order score and parts for Gold Rush, please contact the composer here.

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