Under the Willow

Grade 4
by Julie Giroux

Composed for The U.S. Army Field Band,
Lieutenant Colonel Jim R. Keene, Commander

     When given the opportunity to compose a work commemorating the Civil War I won't lie, I was excited. I have worked on many Civil War television events including North & South the mini series, its sequel Love & War, and The Blue and the Gray. Among the many finds during my research for those projects was the poem The Blue and the Gray written by Francis Miles Finch. His inspiration for the poem came from an article he had read published in the New York Tribune during the Civil War which spoke of women praying and placing flowers on graves with no prejudice as to which side the deceased may have fought on. That poem has stuck with me and has come to symbolize for me the tragedy of all war. That poem is also the inspiration for the title of this work.

     I wanted to harness the flavors of both the north and the south, a simpler time, with particular attention given to African-American nuances which later went on to become the blues, and present it with a contemporary feel in my own musical language.

     This work was written to commemorate all souls lost to the Civil War: Young and Old, Black and White, the Blue and the Gray.

- J.G.

MP 99134
Duration: 5:30
Score & Parts: $120.00
Score only: $16.00