In 2021 I was fortunate to be chosen as an Artist In Residence by the historic, Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I was given a grant to write and record two songs associated with Mount Auburn.
Louisa May Just five months before he would give his Consecration Day address, Joseph Story lost his beautiful daughter, Louisa May, age
In 2021 I was fortunate to be chosen as an Artist In Residence by the historic, Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I was given a grant to write and record two songs associated with Mount Auburn.
Louisa May Just five months before he would give his Consecration Day address, Joseph Story lost his beautiful daughter, Louisa May, age 10, to scarlet fever. He had lost seven children previous to her, and of his ten children, only two survived to adulthood. It was clear that this man was well acquainted with tragedy and grief. I couldn’t help but wonder what he must have been feeling on that September day in 1831, as he spoke those beautiful words in Consecration Dell.
I knew right away that this was a story I wanted to tell. It contained all of the elements I intended to investigate. Loss, grief, hope, faith, and undying love. Through Joseph Story’s own writings, and the accounts given by his son, William, I was able to gain glimpses into some of what Joseph was feeling and thinking during those months following Louisa May’s passing, and leading up to Consecration Day. I worked hard to stay true to those accounts, and only extrapolate in ways that felt honest and realistic.
The bridge of Louisa May, which begins, “Farewell, farewell, my darling child...”, is inspired by a beautiful and heartbreaking poem written by Joseph Story after Louisa May’s death. The full text of the poem appears in, “Life and Letters of Joseph Story”, Volume 2, by William W. Story.
Sweet Auburn Early in my research I stumbled upon a Boston area newspaper article written after Consecration Day, in 1831. The article explained that, in the late 18th century, prior to being known as Mount Auburn, the area had been affectionately referred to by visiting Harvard students as “Sweet Auburn.” The nickname coming from the poem, “The Deserted Village”, by Oliver Goldsmith. Almost immediately, I knew that one of the songs I would write would be entitled Sweet Auburn.
For songwriters, a good title can often provide a creative launching pad, allowing one to visualize a fledgling song as a completed whole. Not word for word, of course, but conceptually and directionally. I thought to myself, what if this beautiful place could tell us a bit of its own story? What would it want us to know? What would it say? This idea provided me with a clear framework to work within as I wrote my own version of Sweet Auburn.
Treating Mount Auburn as a living, breathing, sentient character allowed me to look at the landscape and its history in a more empathetic and personal way. Over the course of a few verses I could treat the love and respect, felt by so many for Mount Auburn, as a two way street. Doing so opened creative avenues that would have been harder to access had I taken a different tack. I’d never before taken this approach in my writing. I thoroughly enjoyed the process.
I hope you find as much enjoyment in these songs as I have in creating them.
On a personal side note: over the course of this past year, and while I was deeply embedded in my work for this project, my mother was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of cancer. After only a four month battle, she passed away in late October of 2021. My own experience during this time of personal grief could not help but inform my writing. I know that my mother would be pleased that my immeasurable love for her, along with the shared pain of her passing, might be transformed into something meaningful and beautiful. Something that may even have a life beyond us both. I’d like to dedicate these songs to my beloved Mom.
Dedicated with love to: Susan Jane Thibaud August 5, 1943 - October 31, 2021
Todd Thibaud Spring, 2022