The painting: Washington Crossing the Delaware, by Henry Mosler
The soundtrack: Sam Redd, MA student in Georgetown University’s CCT Program
“I began to think about the 6-7 hour crossing as the men in the painting (and not in the painting) would have experienced it. These men were cold and scared; some of them were likely under the age of 18 and most of them were probably no older than 30. They had seen their friends and fellow soldiers die in battle and lived every day with the knowledge that they could soon join the dead. They had been away from their homes and families for weeks, even months, and on Christmas day they were again away from the ones they loved.
A six hour river crossing leaves a lot of time for thinking, even if it is very cold. The tone of the track for this painting is sincere and somewhat sweet. Particularly with the addition of the Dobro (resonator guitar), it possesses a feel that is similar to that of the blues. Without going too much into the topic of “the blues” (on which I have written a different paper), this feel has something to do with the acceptance of unpleasant circumstances, without panic or extreme sorrow, and with a knowledge that one must continue on.” ~ Sam Redd