Curtis Stewart - The Gilded Cage

piano quintet | based on the music of the residents of Newport, RI | commissioned by The Newport Classical Festival | 2023 | 10’

Note from the composer:

Music, for me, can be a reflection and meditation on the histories of my family and community.  My dad happened to be a church kid, growing up in Newport for a time within the Baptist AME church - hearing his stories got me thinking about the people of Newport and the culture of living there versus “having residence.” 

I became intrigued by the nature of the Breakers, the spirit of the place. I began to gather music from when my dad lived in Newport - historic themes and songs from the Baptist churches he went to in the area, the music of the people that were likely servicing the Breakers, as well as research on the Vanderbilts that lived there and were eventually removed once the place was deemed unlivable.  My favorite quote in this research comes from Paul and Gladys Szápáry’s cousin, Jamie Wade Comstock who said ‘the gilded cage was much more interesting when it still had the birds inside it.’ 

This strikes me as ironic, given that for much of the time the Breakers existed, it may have been empty, or just for  “holiday”… I wonder which “birds” truly enlivened the house…the ghosts of now old money - or - the people who lived in Newport, taking care of the space - another type of ghost, free of that Gilded history.