[[[[[[[[[[ "Hometown Miniatures" Program Notes ]]]]]]]]]]

Select the text below, copy it and then paste it into your program document.





"Hometown Miniatures" is a single-movement work, divided into four distinct episodes.  All are motivically linked by a single theme, plaintively stated by the horn at the outset.  What follows is the descriptive narrative for each of the four segments.

Every little town seems to have a statue, perhaps memorializing the founding fathers, or veteran heroes.  My hometown of Ford City, Pennsylvania does.  You never really notice it until you are visiting the park on Memorial Day or Independence Day, but it’s always been there.  And with the exception of that ever-increasing tarnish and the perennial visits from birds, it never really changes.  It is the ideal representative of the town and her people.

Like the aforementioned memorial, most small towns seem to have a festival – a celebration.  In my little town, it is called “Heritage Days.”  There are lots of crafts for sale, food, games and there’s always a parade.  You run into a lot of people you know at these events.  Some people seem to have changed, but no one really does: they are the same good people you always knew – and that is as it should be.  Just like the town, her people are solid, strong and unchanging.

The sun sets on the little town.  Few things compare to a walk through a small town at dusk.  You see people you know walking along, others sitting on their front porch, and children playing, mere silhouettes, in the fading light.  There is a choir rehearsing at the church.  It is quiet and wonderfully peaceful.

Nothing creates excitement in a small town quite like a firework display.  No matter the lure of the show put on by the larger town down the river, the fireworks in your little town are always the best (even if they aren’t, really).  Those few minutes when the sky is alight are almost sacred. Everyone is joined by a palpable sense of patriotism, pride and genuine awe.

Duration: approximately 7 minutes
– Drew R. Fennell
(March 13, 2002)