James Barnes

Hunter Park

This tone poem for band is dedicated to Gayle. The composer says about the work, 'Almost everyone has a place where he can go to be alone with his memories. For me, a little park in my home town is that place. There, I can walk in the beauty of nature and recall my childhood joys - playing cowboys and Indians, or conquering the world with one swoop of my wooden sword. But that park also forces me to recall those things I have lost that I loved. It stirs in me the realization that everything one loves must ultimately be lost. Yet I can feel a rather pleasant sadness through it all since I can identify my fate with that of all mankind. Then I find the strength to continue, for I know ultimately peace comes only in death.'