Fitch Overture for chamber orchestra
Chamber Orchestra - Digital Sheet Music

The life of Fitch was so remarkable and has so much to teach us about the illusory "America" in which so many of us believe that it would make for a riveting motion picture if the novel could be turned into a film script. It would be lovely if the music could be used in such a motion picture project, but I doubt it will ever come to that. I rather think I'll end up pretty much like my "Uncle John" (Fitch really was my fifth great grandmother's brother) - broken and impecunious after a life of trying passionately to accomplish something worthwhile. The bitter irony is that Fitch's talent did lie in an eminently "practical" field, as steam-powered transportation and technology was cutting edge by the early nineteenth century when people like Robert Fulton profited handsomely from Uncle John's ideas. But Fitch was a visionary whose work far exceeded the narrow perceptions and self-interest of his countrymen - including such founding fathers as Franklin and Jefferson! Sadly, John Fitch intentionally -or perhaps accidentally -committed suicide by overdosing on an opium-based pain medication which, in combination with his drinking, proved to be fatal.

The pdf file contains score and parts

The sound sample is a live performance by the Octava Chamber Orchestra

The complete Fitch symphony (4 movements) will also be available shortly