Curtis Stewart - Do You See the Flag

for Voice, Piano + Triggered Sound Samples | paraphrase of all verses of the US National Anthem - Commissioned for the NY Festival of Song | 2020 | 5’

Note from the composer:

Our National Anthem is based on a poem about war, about what we can see despite the chaos of the now, and who the fight to see hope through that wreckage is for.  We know the first stanza well, it is buried in our hearts and heads - the remains of the poem, paraphrased in this work, reveal a spirit of war, loss, gain and the meaning of conflict.  For those who have lost loved ones in battle, this work attempts to maintain respectful, and honorable memorial  - for those looking to our nation’s leaders for meaning and hope - it asks - Do you see it? Can you see the flag? Who is all this chaos for?