This sheet music is part of the collection of crosby3145 :
If you’ve seen any of my
hymn arrangements on this site
before, you can probably tell
I love music. What may not be
so apparent are two of my
other loves—Maryland and
trains. I was born in Silver
Spring and grew up in
Rockville, and though I’ve
since moved away, the state of
Maryland will always be the
one I consider home. As for
the trains…well, I’ve just
always loved those. When I
was a child, I remember my
mother would take me to plays
at a park in Gaithersburg that
was right next to the railroad
tracks—once those CSX horns
started blaring, the train was
the only show I cared about.
There was a parking garage up
there with a bridge over the
tracks, and on particularly
fun occasions, I’d stand on
it and watch trains go by
underneath, feeling the
vibrations created by the
immense power of the diesels
as they bore their heavy load.
Thus, when I was trying to
come up with names for the
latest set of pieces I was
working on, it seemed only
natural for me to use a naming
system that paid tribute to
something I enjoyed. MARC, or
the Maryland Area Regional
Commuter Service, operates
three train routes throughout
the state of Maryland, and the
Brunswick Line runs right
through my hometown. I still
remember seeing those orange
and blue engines pulling into
Rockville station sometimes
when I was downtown. There
are 19 stops on this line, and
if I get this collection
finished, there’ll be a
piece for every one of them in
it!
Now, these pieces aren’t
specifically about the places
they’re named after. I’m
not like Liszt, who’d name a
piece after a painting he
enjoyed. There’s no way you
can tell from music (which is
all sound) what a painting
looks like! Similarly, you
can’t tell from listening to
these pieces what
Rockville’s like, or
Germantown, or
Kensington—that’s a role
music can’t fill.
No, the titles are merely a
name so that you’ll have
something to refer to the
music by—and maybe, if these
pieces ever become famous,
you’ll remember the Maryland
city just by hearing them. In
some cases, though, the titles
will dictate properties of the
piece. For instance,
Washington—it’s the seat
of our nation’s government,
and people can’t help but
think of the United States
when they think of that city.
Considering all the wonderful
patriotic tunes out there, it
seemed only natural to let an
arrangement of one serve as
the Washington piece. Same
with Washington Grove—why
not use a composition that
evokes patriotism? Frederick,
meanwhile, was Francis Scott
Key’s hometown, so it seems
only natural that the piece of
music he’s most famous for
surface in that composition.
Finally, Monocacy isn’t
actually a town—it’s a
second stop in Frederick, and
“Monocacy” itself is
actually the name of a river
that flows through several
towns in Maryland.
Considering that this is a
term often associated with the
state itself, it seemed
appropriate to do a theme and
variations on the state song
of Maryland—though you’ll
no doubt start thinking of
Christmas when you play
through it. Yes,
folks—“Maryland, My
Maryland” is merely “O,
Christmas Tree” with
different words. On the
bright side, this might make
it a perfect selection at your
next Christmas party!
Anyway, I hope you enjoy
these pieces!