Gwyneth Walker

The Promised Land

The Promised Land is a set of arrangements and adaptations of traditional American folk songs and spirituals. The common element is the yearning for, or celebration of, the life beyond death-the 'next life. ' The songs express a variety ofemotions, ranging from the sorrow of leaving this world, to the release from a life of suffering, and finally, to the joy of walking up to heaven.

Every Night When the Sun Goes Down is a sorrowful yet hopefully song, expressed in thelyrics 'True love dont weep or mourn for me. The Lord has come to set me free. ' The sustained, chordal accompaniment emphasizes the heaviness of the mourning. Ascending arpeggio patterns express the rising to heaven. Near the end of the song, thetonality shifts upward from Eb to E major to reflect the lyrics 'And when I rise up to the sky... on wings of silver I will fly. ' The voice and accompaniment ascend and fade away.

The Morning Train starts where the previous song ended -in the high range, softly - and then grows in dynamics and speed, like a train gathering energy. Special joy was taken in creating this accompaniment with glissandi and active rhythmic underpinning in the style of a train speeding past! Trainwhistles may be heard in the minor thirds floating above the ensemble (either played by the trumpets or sung as vocal 'ooh' sounds). The music takes a dramatic turn near the end when the vocal line rises to a high C, with glissando, on the words'Lord God Almighty, please hold my hand!' This use of virtuosic singing within a folk song is characteristic of the approach taken in The Promised Land.

All My Trials is the most poignant of the songs in this set. Phrases such as'hush little baby, dont you cry, you know your mama was born to die' or 'Oh my brothers, I must leave you here behind' view the approach of death in terms of those left behind. And indeed, the final notes in this song are held in the accompanimentrather than by the singer (who has departed).

Walk On Up to Heaven is a thoroughly joyous song. Therefore, it is presented in a 'strutting' style, walking/bouncing steadily on up to heaven. The singer presents an evergrowing list of thethings she is planning on doing when she arrives: 'put on my shoes, shout the glory, follow my dreams, spread my wings and fly. ' She is filled with dreams, hope, joy and life-all of these to enjoy when she arrives in The Promised Land.
Duration: 16 minutes