ISBN 9781491133651. 9 x 12 inches.
THE SOLITUDE OF STARS is a 5-minute work for solo piano. It depicts the composeras awe at experiencing a nighttime view of the starry heavens, shining brightly over the vast expanse of the Wyoming prairie. The slow passage of time is evoked by slowly rocking eighth-notes, creating a gentle texture. THE SOLITUDE OF STARS is a powerful depiction of celestial beauty, technically within the reach of intermediate pianists.
In 2014, I enjoyed a wonderful residence at the Ucross Foundation in Clearmont, Wyoming. Ucross is an artist colony that gives writers, composers, and visual artists the gift of time, space, and support to follow their artistic pursuits; we are provided with studio space, housing, and meals so that we can work almost continuously on our projects. I have been in residence at numerous artist colonies; however, nothing in my previous experiences prepared me for living in such isolated, wild country. Ucross is situated on a 20,000-acre cattle ranch at nearly 4,000 feet in elevation with fewer than 150 people living within the town. But what Clearmont lacks in population, it makes up for abundantly and spectacularly in wilderness and wildlife. I composed the sextet Postcards from Wyoming to poetry three glimpses of what I found to be the most striking aspects of my residence. The Solitude of Stars, the third and final movement of the original sextet, was inspired by the stunning nightly display of the heavens above. Without city lights dimming the night sky, countless stars shone brightly over the vast expanse of the prairie. In 2020, I arranged the solo piano edition for my husband, Joseph Francavilla. -S.G.
