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(2002)
William D. Pardus, composer
New Hampshire composer William D. Pardus composed The Mills of New
England in 2002.
This four-movement work paints a musical picture of the many mills and
mill towns of New England, and the workers of the mills.
The boldness of the enormous millsmost of brick with thousands of
windows to provide light for the workersis captured in the opening
movement, "Of Bricks, Windows, and Workers."
Included in this section are excerpts from the 19th century labor song,
Hard Times at the Mill.
"Rows of Gray Houses" depicts the multi-family tenements, generally painted
a dull gray and arranged in many rows.
In the third movement, "The Strike," the rumbling of the workers’ unrest is
heard in the opening portion followed by the call "We Must Strike."
The atmosphere becomes very chaotic, violent, and dissonant.
The final movement, "At the Clubs of the Immigrants," incorporates excerpts
of several folk song melodies from Quebec, Portugal, Eastern Europe, and
Ireland.
published score
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