Corfiot Sea Scenes

Duration: Six minutes
Difficult: Medium
Description/Program Notes: This piece was inspired by the composer’s many trips to the island of Corfu, Greece, which sits in the Ionian Sea, west of mainland Greece and east of Italy. The piece is written in five sections. The first section, “Sunset at Acharavi,” is a lullaby capturing the beauty of a sunset as seen from the shore of the Ionian Sea in the coastal town of Acharavi. Acharavi is on the northern coast of Corfu, Greece, and its sandy shore and mountain backdrop make for a picture-perfect-postcard sunset. The second section, “The Road to Logas,” captures the excitement of a drive from Acharavi to Logas Beach, which is a westward journey along narrow mountain roads, often filled with many near-misses with oncoming traffic (including large tour busses that seem to take up the entire road). The third section, “The Cliffs of Logas Beach,” a location also known as the “Sunset Beach,” is a musical snapshot of the soaring cliffs that meet the Ionian Sea in this area. A glass skywalk allows visitors to walk out several feet from the cliffs and embrace the majesty of the view. The fourth section, “The Paddleboats of Canal D’Amour,” takes the listener into the blue waters of the Ionian Sea, with stunning views all around. The fifth section, “Return to Acharavi,” returns to the opening melodic material, this time transposed up one whole step.