Ghost Ranch

Ghost Ranch is a 21,000-acre (85 km²) retreat and education center located close to the village of Abiquiú in Rio Arriba County in north central New Mexico, United States. The conference center and lodgings at Ghost Ranch are run by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) but open to the general public.

History

Ghost Ranch is part of Piedra Lumbre (Spanish, "Shining Rock"), a 1766 land grant to Pedro Martin Serrano from Charles III of Spain. The Rito del Yeso is a stream that meanders through the canyons and gorge, providing a drought resistant source of water for life to thrive.

The canyon was first inhabited by the Archuleta brothers, cattle rustlers who enjoyed the coverage and invisibility that the canyon provided as well as their ability to see for miles down the valley. They created two jacal homes and would move stolen cattle throughout the night to Box Canyon. By transporting the cattle through streams, footprints would be lost and they could not be tracked. Stories of people staying with the Archuleta brothers who had gone missing (and their clothing on the men) circulated around the area. One day one of the brothers made a transaction without the other, and claimed he had buried the gold for safety. Out of anger, the second brother killed the first who had hid the gold, and kept his wife and daughter hostage until they admitted to knowing where the gold was hidden. Though the mother and daughter feared the rumored spirits of the canyon, they mustered up the courage to sneak away at night through the Chama Valley. A group of local men then came to the ranch, fighting through their fear, and hung the remaining brother and his gang from the cottonwood tree by one of their casitas. Other visitors who stayed in the casita later on noted that they could hear voices of a man and a woman fighting.

Ghost Ranch (composition)

Ghost Ranch is a three-movement orchestral composition by the American composer Michael Daugherty. Inspired by the life and work of artist Georgia O'Keeffe, the title is derived from the name of O'Keeffe's New Mexico summer home, Ghost Ranch. The piece was commissioned by BBC Radio 3, completed in 2005, and premiered February 8, 2006 in Poole, United Kingdom, with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Marin Alsop.

Composition

Ghost Ranch is composed in three movements: I. "Bone," II. "Above Clouds," and III. "Black Rattle." The composition of the piece was designed to musically illustrate the visuals of O'Keeffe's paintings, such as the rattle of animal bones, barking coyotes, and the rigid, vast landscapes of the American West. A performance of the complete work lasts approximately 24 minutes, though the second movement "Above Clouds" is sometimes performed as a standalone piece.

Instrumentation

Ghost Ranch is scored for two flutes (piccolo), two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four French horns, three trumpets, two trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, three percussionists (I=chimes/glockenspiel/bass drum/small slapstick/large slapstick/small woodblock; II=vibraphone/African rattle/bongos/crash cymbals/tambourine/small triangle/large woodblock; III=glockenspiel/xylophone/piccolo snare drum/suspended cymbal/medium triangle/metal wind chimes/medium woodblock/vibraslap), and strings (violins I & II, violas, violoncellos, and double basses).