PERUSALSCORE
for Soprano Saxophone and Piano 2021
PIANO
Candlewood (2021) was commissioned by Jeff Siegfried for his album, Shades, which features themes of nature and the supernatural. This piece sits at the intersection of those two concepts by exploring the inherited mythology of Candlewood Lake, one of multiple supposedly haunted lakes in my hometown. Candlewood Lake is manmade, Connecticut Light and Power having seized the town of Jerusalem through eminent domain to be filled with water, turning a large valley into a lake for hydroelectric power to support five surrounding towns. The idea of this underwater town fascinated and terrified me as a child, and the lore of the lake was whispered from child to child as I grew up. Some say if you dive down far enough, you can touch an old church steeple. Some say they never moved the bodies that were in Jerusalem’s cemetery before the valley was flooded, so they’re still down there, ready to float up with just the wrong jostle of a boat motor on the surface. Candlewood musically weaves these tales of the lake, examining how a story transforms over time and how that story might transform us, the ones who inherited it decades ago.
Thank you to Jeff Siegfried for his constant support of contemporary music, his friendship, and his extraordinary playing.
The Legend of Candlewood Lake
You’re a child—constant fun, constant adventure, exciting days at the beach. Occasionally the seaweed or the sand or a rock covered in algae bother you, but you’re hanging out with your friends and your parents are right there, so you’re unconcerned. Lackadaisical. Carefree. Intrepid.
But the adventurousness sparks stories of the deep parts of the lake. You learn what “manmade” means, and nobody will tell you why they did it, but they flooded a town. There’s a whole town down there. Did the people get out before they started pouring the water in the valley? The older kids tell you no. The people had to run for their lives, leave their clothes and books and cars and houses and flee, out of the valley, up the mountain. Mountain. That’s why the lake is so deep, they tell you. You can dive down and touch the church steeple (so watch out when you cannonball off Chicken Rock that you spring right back up. Your feet could touch anything if you sink down too low). Someone claims they’ve seen the steeple themselves—there’s a big old cross, and they could make out the roofs of nearby houses, too.
And then they start talking about the graveyards. Did you know they didn’t move the bodies before they flooded the place? they ask conspiratorially. They’re all still down there. Church Steeple Kid says they saw the headstones too. Another commandment to pop right back up after diving in or you’ll come face-to-face with a decayed body. Someone says they were preserved in the ground underwater, and sometimes, with all the boats and people swimming, a body’ll get shaken loose and float slowly to the top.
Oh, it’s happened dozens of times, they just keep it quiet, otherwise no one would swim here again!
PERUSALSCORE
Then why are we swimming here?
Well it doesn’t happen that often...but we know the truth.
You’ll be fine as long as you stay near the surface.
And don’t get tangled in the seaweed either! That stuff catches little trinkets when they float up—old children’s toys, maybe even valuable jewelry.
So do people go treasure hunting down there?
Definitely. There’s tons of stuff left down there—an old car, gold, money—they just can’t bring it all up.
Or if they already have, it’s sold by now.
But you may have to fight the dead bodies for it!
And the ghosts of the people who couldn’t escape in time are still down there, guarding their houses, waiting for their friends and family to come back to them. And if you go down there and they see you, they’ll make you stay with them forever. Keep them company.
Until their town is whole and above the surface once more.
Instrumentation
Approximate Duration: 8 minutes
PERUSALSCORE
Copyright © 2021 Gala Flagello (ASCAP). All Rights Reserved. Program Note Copyright © 2021 Gala Flagello. All Rights Reserved. For more information, visit www.galaflagello.com
printing, November 2021
—Gala Flagello November 2021
Soprano saxophone Piano
PERUSALSCORE
PERUSALSCORE
forearm cluster (any low pitches)