PROGRAM NOTES: Cargo is a work for wind quintet in four movements, inspired by the intricate movement of cargo at ports and the aesthetics of maritime locations. The work opens with sounds of wind, waves, and fog horns, laid against unfolding harmony and the introduction of the work’s motifs. The second movement introduces the flourishing octatonic seagull motif, which gets expanded, transformed, and intertwined with itself. The movement ends attacca into the third, a setting of a north country folk song. The fourth and final movement recapitulates all of the presented motifs, and the work closes symmetrically as it begins, with sounds of wind, waves, and fog horns.
I have a personal connection with the third movement, which is a setting of “Mary Anne,” a north country folk song that I heard at the first NEC Chamber Singers concert of my freshman year. That arrangement of “Mary Anne” stuck with me, and after that concert, I knew I wanted to sing in the NEC Chamber Singers, which I joined a year later. I always wanted to incorporate the tune into my work but never found the right opportunity until Cargo.
Matthew Tirona, composer 