Program Note:

The American folk spiritual Wayfaring Stranger is thought first to have been arranged as a hymn by John M. Dye in 1935, and may be found in The Original Sacred Harp (Denson Rev., 1936 ed.), paired with words from Bever's Christian Songster (1858). It has been reinterpreted by artists as diverse as Jerry Garcia and Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash and Anonymous 4. Commissioned by Musicians' Accord for the Sweet Plantain String Quartet, this arrangement of the gospel tune Wayfaring Stranger began first as a setting for voice and piano, then evolved into a stand-alone movement for piano trio, then served as the thematic heart of my third piano trio, and finally, as this tender movement inspired by the countryside around the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. It is dedicated to Craig and Sheila Pleasants.