“Under Our Own Vine” – from Promised Land: a Voting Rights Folk Opera

Format: Octavo (manuscript)
SATB, Piano, Violin 1, Violin 2, Viola, Violoncello, String Bass, Bongos, Maracas


($2 per singer + $45 for accompaniment)

This product includes manuscript versions of the full score, piano-vocal score, strings section score, percussion section score, and individual string scores.

Inspired by biblical texts, this poem by William Augustus Hodges describes the goal of those who seek racial equality. This joyous song has a highly rhythmic setting that can be programmed as a finale in a choral concert.

Promised Land: a Voting Rights Folk Opera –
In the 1850s, abolitionist Gerrit Smith (with John Brown, Frederick Douglass and others) gave away over 120,000 acres of Adirondack farmland to 3,000 free blacks in an attempt to fulfill New York State’s onerous property requirement necessary for blacks to vote. This opera brings this complex struggle to life with deeply emotional melodies, driving 19th century dance rhythms and the dramatic struggle for racial equality and inclusive democracy.

Audio Recording –