GEORGE S. CLINTON
Born June 17, 1947, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
THE ROSE OF SONORA: a concerto in five scenes
Scene 1: Escape
Scene 2: Love and Freedom
Scene 3: Ambush
Scene 4: Death and Healing
Scene 5: Vengeance
These concerts mark the first performances by the Wichita Symphony.
Holly Mulcahy and George S. Clinton provided the following program notes from the website RoseofSonora.com
From the soloist
My first memory of music came from the movies. Whether it was a daddy-daughter date night in theaters or sitting at home with my family in Colorado on a snowy Sunday afternoon watching an old Western with a big bowl of salted popcorn, the movie soundtracks were my first entry into the world of appreciating music.
I’ve secretly loved Western film music for years, but finally outed myself on Facebook in 2017 when I posted, “If there was an epic western soundtrack style violin concerto, I’d be all over it.” Posting that made me feel like I was sharing a side of me I wasn’t sure I wanted people to know. But I did it anyway and figured nobody would care or respond. The response surprised me!
The comments started rolling in as people were agreeing, commenting, and echoing my thoughts! I felt maybe there was something to this concept. I contacted Hollywood film composer and friend, George S. Clinton, to see if he had any interest in writing a Western-style violin concerto.
George and I spoke by phone several times, and we discussed and planned what kind of concerto this should be. We shared our observations of various concertos and concert pieces, and we talked about classical music and today’s audiences and concert atmospheres.
When George shared his idea of a story arc about a wild west outlaw woman compiled from real outlaw women, I knew we had something unique and very much needed. Not only was it a story that captivates, it gave me what was missing from just about every Western movie I’ve watched: A strong female lead.
From the composer
The Rose of Sonora is, first and foremost, a violin concerto. It is composed in five scenes (movements) for solo violin, symphony orchestra, and male chorus, but, per Holly’s request, in the style of an epic Western film score. One of the features of the solo violin part is the merging of traditional fiddle technique with classic violin technique, giving the main character, Rose, her voice.
As a film composer I am used to composing to a story. After researching the lives of outlaw women of the old west, including some with ties to Wichita (Big Nose Kate, Rose Dunn, Belle Siddons, Squirrel Tooth Alice, etc.) I decided to create my own story and heroine, “The Rose of Sonora.” Each of the five scenes tells part of her story.
I believe that listening to music can create images in our minds for most of us, and I decided to use that as a way of presenting the concerto. Rather than a passive listening experience, it will be an interactive one.
Before each scene being performed, a description of what is happening in that scene will be projected on a screen above the orchestra or read by a narrator. Inspired by the scene descriptions and the music they are hearing, by the end of the concerto, each member of the audience will have created his or her own mental movie of The Rose of Sonora.
Scenes
Scene 1 - Escape
The full moon has turned the Sonora desert an eerie blue. Rose rides quietly into town and makes her way to the jail house. She quickly subdues the guard and frees Jed from his cell. Together at last, they ride off into the night, the ill-gotten gold stashed in her saddlebags.
Scene 2 - Love and Freedom
They make their way to their idyllic mountain hide-out where they share the love and freedom denied them for so long.
Scene 3 – Ambush
The members of their old gang have tracked them down and sneak up on the cabin. Rose senses something is wrong, but before she can react, they attack in a sudden flash of gunfire. Jed is fatally wounded, and Rose is left for dead as the killers ride out into the night with the saddlebags of gold.
Scene 4- Death and Healing
The pain of her own wounds can not compare to the pain of losing Jed. She holds his lifeless body in her arms, gently kisses him, and weeps.
Scene 5- Vengeance
Rose buries Jed beside the cabin. She places a single yellow rose on his grave, loads her guns, saddles her horse, and sets out to find his killers. Showing no mercy, Rose hunts them down, out-riding and out-shooting them all. In a final act of vengeance, she shouts Jed’s name, grabs the saddlebags of gold, and triumphantly rides off into the red Sonora sunset.
