Cripple Creek

In the summer of 1891 Bob Womack discovered gold in the Cripple Creek region of Colorado near Colorado Springs, setting off the Cripple Creek Gold Rush. In his euphoria (otherwise known as a drunken stupor) he sold his claim for $500 in cash. By the fall of 1891 the Cripple Creek Gold Camp had grown up around the area and was teeming with hopeful miners. The first movement of this work, Poverty Gulch (so named because Bob Womack had search the area for 12 years without ever finding gold), is a depiction of one womanis accidental discovery in that area (while elk watching, of all things) of a particularly rich veiniending with her sneaking back to town with her hidden samples to stake a claim. A Chuisla Mo Chroi (the pulse of my heart) is an impression of the prospectoris emotions as they search for their heartis desire. There is a longing and heartache that all prospectors feelisometimes for the strike they never make, or for the girl they left behind. Mining the Mollie Kathleen is more march than jig. It is a simple description of the elation all prospectors must feel when they make that first discovery of gold. A challenging work for a high school wind ensemble, but every section gets their chance to shine!