Product Description
Link to complete recording:
https://soundcloud.com/geoffrey-peterson/sets/the-edmund-fitzgerald-concerto
On November 9th, 1975, the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald left port in
Superior, Wisconsin. The 729-foot-long iron ore carrier, loaded with 26
thousand tons of taconite pellets for the auto industry, was bound for Detroit.
Earlier that day, the weather service had issued a gale warning. This was not
unusual, considering that gale storms are typical during November on Lake
Superior. The Fitzgeralds Captain, Ernest McSorley, and her 29-member crew
headed northeast unaware of the maelstrom they would soon encounter.
At around 2 a.m., Bernie Cooper, captain of the Arthur M. Andersen,
another freighter which was following a few miles behind the Fitzgerald,
radioed Captain McSorley to consult with him about the worsening storm. They
had both decided to take a more northerly route along the Canadian shore, which
they hoped would provide some shelter from the violent gale winds and waves.
The Fitzgeralds long-range radar stopped working the following day and was
needed in order to avoid Six-Fathom Shoal, a shallow area of Lake Superior that
could rupture the ships hull. McSorley soon radioed the Anderson to report
that the Fitzgerald had "sustained some topside damage...a fence rail down, two
vents lost or damaged, and a starboard list." A list meant that the Fitzgerald
was taking on too much water and was causing it to lean to one side. The
short-range radar also stopped working, and the radio direction beacon from
nearby Whitefish Point vanished. This would make it impossible for the
Fitzgerald to reach the lee waters of Whitefish Bay and escape the 80 mph winds
churning 20 to 30-foot waves.
At 7:10 p.m. that night, First Mate Morgan Clark of the Andersen
radioed the Fitzgerald to see how they were doing. Captain McSorley replied,
"Were holding our own." This was the last contact anyone would have with the
Fitzgerald. Shortly thereafter, the Edmund Fitzgerald disappeared from the
Andersons radar screen. All 29 of her crew were lost on November 10th, 1975.
The Edmund Fitzgerald chronicles the tragic final voyage of the well-known shipwreck in 4 movements; Embarkment,The Gales, Six-Fathom Shoal ("Were holding our own.") and Entombment-Dirge. The concerto makes use of several musical quotes. The first is Spanish Ladies, an English sea chantey, which appears in both the 1st and 3rd movements. The second is the funeral march theme from the 2nd movement of Beethovens 3rd Symphony which is heard in the 4th movement of the concerto. In addition, a chime is rung 29 times during the final bars of the concerto to memorialize the men who lost their lives.
The Crew of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald:
Michael E. Armagost, Frederick J. Beetcher, Thomas D. Bentsen, Edward F. Bindon, Thomas D. Borgeson, Oliver J. Champeau, Nolan S. Church, Ransom E. Cundy, Thomas E. Edwards, Russell G. Haskell, George J. Holl, Bruce L. Hudson, Allen G. Kalmon, Gordon F. MacLellan, Joseph W. Mazes, John H. McCarthy, Ernest M. McSorley, Eugene W. O'Brien, Karl A. Peckol, John J. Poviach, James A. Pratt, Robert C. Rafferty, Paul M. Riippa, John D. Simmons, William J. Spengler, Mark A. Thomas, Ralph G. Walton, David E. Weiss, Blaine H. Wilhelm.
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