Over the Whale’s Acre is a concert fanfare for brass and percussion and takes its title from a line in “The Seafarer,” and ancient Anglo-Saxon poem. “The Seafarer” was probably written sometime in the late 8th century and translated into modern English by Ezra Pound in 1930. The narrator vivdly describes the many hardships of life on the cold northern waves, as well as the powerful allure that continues to draw him back time and again. The piece, like the poem, is meant to portray a snapshot of life on the ancient sea, and is constructed as a sort of tone-poem in miniature, evocative rather than strictly programmatic. Over the Whale’s Acre was premiered by the United States Navy Band at the 2014 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, IL.

Engraved by David J. Miller www.sterlingmusiceditions.com

Cover Art: “Sea Venture in the Storm” by William H. Harrington (1957) courtesy of the National Museum of Bermuda, used with permission. www.bmm.bm