Benjamin Franklin and the Art of Music

Benjamin Franklin’s love for the art of music was well documented in American history. Robert W. Smith has selected three musical moments in Ben Franklin’s life and created this unique composition for the concert band. Beginning with a setting of “My Plain Country Joan.” a song composed as an anniversary gift to his wife, Franklin’s jovial personality is evident through the timelessness of his music. The second section is based on Franklin’s glass armonica. The delicate and ethereal sounds of this beautiful instrument provide a quiet moment of reflection for all. The finale is based on Franklin’s “magic squares.” an arrangement of numbers in a square where all rows, columns and diagonals add to the same sum. Robert W. Smith extracted the melody based on the numeric sequence in a 3 x 3 magic square. The resulting musical statement and fugue truly shows the close relationship between mathematics and music. An amazing concept, an amazing cross-curricular piece!