Promised Land

Program Text

While this text has a historically religious context, I instead envisioned the text in the context of early immigrants to America. I was captivated by imagining these travelers, many of whom uprooted their entire lives simply based on the promise of a better life. These people had no photographs, data, or real proof that their lives would be an improvement, but they were drawn by the stories of the New World. When I visualize my own future, I’m operating on the same faith in the stories of what could be. 

Throughout the piece, there are repeated stutters that mimic the breathless anticipation of seeing a distant shoreline coming into focus after a long voyage. Frequent tonal modulations not only suggest the lack of a permanent “home,” they also mirror the emotional flip-flop between doubts and excitements. The melody reflects across the voices in the choir at different speeds, much like the journeys to a new land would have differed from one explorer to the next. For me, it’s not about conveying a triumphant achievement, certainty, or unbridled confidence, because these were (and are) rarely the case for immigrants. Rather, I hope my arrangement of Matilda Durham’s Promised Land taps into a buzzing sizzle of hope.

This is part of Jen’s series “Three Arrangements of Works by Early Female Composers”