Philadelphia composer Romeo Cascarino wrote “Epitaph for a Soldier” in 1942-43, when he was around 20-years-old and serving in the U.S. Army.
The recipient of two Guggenheim Fellowships, Cascarino taught for many years at the now-defunct Combs College of Music. His opera, “William Penn,” was given its world premiere at Philadelphia’s Academy of Music and most of his orchestral works were recorded by JoAnn Falletta for the Naxos label.
This one, however, fell through the cracks.
According to his widow, soprano Dolores Ferraro, “It’s never been performed, just was among the scores in the basement. Romeo never talked much about the war and I was remiss in [not] asking him more about this piece, though I have my ideas. …[I]t’s stunning; dark with angst, thunder and lightning; yet lyrical and hopeful, too.
“We all know a work of Romeo’s would be beautiful, masterfully written and orchestrated, and it is, but different. Of course, the subject matter calls for this. It’s upsetting, moving and exciting! …What a thrill it gave me to hear what a 20-year-old Romeo composed! How painful to think of what he was feeling during that time….”
The impetus for its composition was the death of a friend, who had been killed on a mission.
I posted about the work’s rediscovery last year, after listening to a computer realization of the piece made by Cascarino’s pupil, Joe Nocella. You’ll find a biographical profile of the composer beneath the audio file at the link.
Cascarino’s “Blades of Grass,” for English horn and string orchestra, seems to have become his most-frequently encountered work, after perhaps the Bassoon Sonata and maybe some of the songs. The piece, which has been recorded twice, has, in addition to its other qualities, brevity on its side (at approximately nine minutes), so it gets the most radio air play. The work was inspired by a well-known poem of Carl Sandburg, “Grass,” a somber reflection on the nature of conflict and the futility of war, which makes it a good fit for any Memorial Day concert or radio show. (I myself included it on yesterday’s broadcast of “The Lost Chord.”)
In 2023, “Blades of Grass” came to the notice of the U.S. Marine Band. Interesting that it was the Marines and not the Army that revived the work!
“Epitaph for a Soldier” is a valuable addition to the composer’s catalogue and another piece wholly suitable for Memorial Day performance. Is there anyone out there in a position to give it its world premiere?
PHOTO: Cascarino (left) with Army buddy Sol Schoenbach, for whom he composed his Bassoon Sonata in 1947. They recorded it in 1962. Schoenbach was principal bassoonist of the Philadelphia Orchestra from 1937 to 1957.
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