Previous Shows

Of Sailors and Whales by W. Francis McBeth

Our 2003 show is made up of 4 songs from W. Francis McBeth's Of Sailors and Whales. The 4 movements are Queequeg, Ishmael, Ahab, and The White Whale. Of Sailors and Whales is a five - movement work based on five scenes from Herman Melville's Moby Dick. The movement that is not included in our show is entitled "Father Mapple". The following quotes are the inspiration for each movement:

I. Queequeg - "It was quite plain that he must be some abominable savage, but Queequeg was a creature in the transitory state - neither caterpillar nor butterfly."

II. Ishmael - "I go to sea as a simple sailor"

III. Ahab - "So powerfully did the whole grim aspect of Ahab affect me that for the first few moments I hardly noted the barbaric white leg upon which he partly stood."

IV. The White Whale - "Moby Dick seemed combinedly possessed by all the angels that fell from heaven. The birds! - the birds! They mark the spot."

About the composer

Dr. Francis McBeth, born March 1933 in Lubbock, Texas, is Professor of Music and Resident Composer at Ouachita University, Arkadelphia, Arkansas. As the Conductor Emeritus of the Arkansas Symphony and composer for all media, his intense interest in the wind symphony has been a shaping force in its literature and his style is much reflected in the younger composers. Residing in Arkansas the past thirty years, he was appointed Composer Laureate of that state by Governor Bob C. Riley in 1975.