Enjoy!
Calico Jack and the Revenge
"This piece is stands for both John Rackam and his ship. Originally, I had planned to make them two different songs, but I changed my mind to reflect Calico Jack’s role in the play. Although I feel that he is a stand alone character, I felt that he was more of a vessel for both Anne and Mary and wanted to reflect that in the music. His piece starts out as tumultuous to give an image of The Revenge at sea as well as his relationship with Anne, but in the middle, it changes into a sort of dance. It’s meant to remind the listener more of the idealism of pirating rather than unpredictability that comes with it. Overall, when I wrote the piece, I admittedly didn’t focus solely on Jack and The Revenge, but more on the piratism that he stands for and his relationships to both Anne and Mary."
Anne Bonny of the Sea
"Anne’s song doesn’t really have an intro or a lead in to her themes. At her first introduction, Anne is shown as very intense and self assured, and although her song doesn’t start intensely, it is meant to throw the listener directly into her theme. However, the entire song is meant to reflect more of her personality rather than her story. It’s meant to sound somewhat witty and clever, and at the end, it is stubborn as the piece tries to return to her main theme but is forced back into the secondary theme without an interlude. I tried to capture what I thought truly defined Anne Bonny. Not only her intensity and stubbornness, but also her wit and her passion."
Mary Read
"Mary Read is definitely my favorite of the pieces I’ve written for Pirate Queens. It’s also the one that I put the most work into. That’s not to short-change “Anne Bonny of the Sea” and “Calico Jack and the Revenge,” but Mary is my favorite character as well, and I feel like I put a lot of thought in exploring her identity through song. As a reflection of this, the unofficial - sort of affectionate - title for this piece is “Mark to Mary (Or There and Back Again).” The first theme is supposed to be an introduction to who she is and how she grows from faking an identity to survive into who she becomes as a pirate, but the second theme is meant to specifically explore her identity as both Mary and Mark. Her song is also meant to be smoother and a little more consistent than both Anne’s and Jack’s in a representation of her differences from them. The piece is meant to show both her personality and her story in Pirate Queens."
Thank you Tania for this insight into the motivation and inspiration behind each piece. And if you liked these samples, the full pieces will be used when Pirate Queens gets put on stage! Maybe even there will be a soundtrack for sale!
Remember that you too can be a part of helping to put this original three-act piece on stage! We have an incredible group of extremely talented people that have come together to help make this happen, but we still need your help!
So once again, thank you, Tania! And thank you to everyone who has helped make this possible!
The story of Anne and Mary, and to a lesser extent, Jack, is one that should be told. Pirate Queens is an original play in three acts that entertained audiences at seated readings and now needs to be put on stage. And we can do it with your help!
Please click on the link above and visit our GoFundMe page to see how you can help and how we will gladly reciprocate your generosity! Also, visit the links below to learn more about this original work, Pirate Queens!
