Burning of the Gaspee (music video)

Two hundred and forty-nine years ago, when Rhode Island was still a British colony, several disgruntled colonists conducted an ambush raid on the British customs ship H.M.S. Gaspee and burned her to the water's edge. The Gaspee Affair anticipated the better-known Boston Tea Party by a year and a half and constituted a far more serious act of civil disobedience against the British Crown than just dumping tea in a harbor.

This is my own retelling of the incident, for solo piano. The accompanying cartoons were a collaborative family effort - huge thanks to my family!

Music composed and performed by Benjamin Nacar

Animated segments

Update June 9th, 2022

In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Gaspee Affair, and as a companion to the original music video, here is the orchestral version of the music!

Orchestrated and remixed by Benjamin Nacar using Ableton Live and the East West Quantum Leap Symphonic Orchestra library


Posted June 13 2021 by Benjamin Nacar