Promised Land

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.

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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.

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Commissioned by Jonathan Campbell for the Voces Feminae series