The People Could Fly
Trevor Weston
About this work:
The People Could Fly was Commissioned by the Starling Chamber Orchestra to celebrate the opening the opening of the Underground Railroad musem un Cincinnati, OH. The instrumentation is solo violin, String orchestra and narrator. The story is a beautiful tale about freedom with definite symbolic reference to the Underground Railroad. In this tale, we learn that there were people in Africa that possessed magical powers including the ability to fly. They, like many Africans, were brought to the Western Hemisphere during the Atlantic slave trade, but they looked like other Africans so no one knew of their special powers. One day, an overseer whipped a young mother in the fields for working too slowly. She decided that she could no longer take slavery's abuses. Her father remembered the magical African words the enabled his people to fly. He recited them and she flew away. Soon, her father helped all of their people to fly away to "Freedom". They left those who could not fly to tell their story to others.
This folktale is considered to be Gullah and it originates from a specific version recorded on John's Island S.C. The story points to the universal ability of all humans to transcend, or fly away from adversity. We also know that many slaves did not use the Underground Railroad, (those slaves left behind in the story) but those that did accomplished mythical goals in the 18th and 19th century America. Finally, the story tells us that African Americans left Africa with a culture and heritage (magic) that empowered them to fight adversity. Considering these thoughts I believe the story is truly inspirational and empowering.
Musically,the piece recreates the beautiful imagery and emotion found in the story; despair, anger, violence, and flying. The music also uses performance practices common in Gullah music and the piece quotes a Gullah Spritual.
Year composed: 2004
Duration: 00:15:00
Ensemble type: Orchestra:String Orchestra with Soloist(s)
Instrumentation: 1 Strings (General), ,1 Violin soloist(s), 1 Narrator