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). The public domain lyrics include references to Corinthians 3, Hebrews 11-13, and Psalms 39 and 119. Hagen’s arrangement combines elements from the musical variations made on the tune in his Piano Trio No. 3.

The Appalachian three-stringed Dulcimer and Bluegrass gospel hymn Angel Band was first arranged by William Batchelder Bradbury in 1862, with lyrics inspired by the 1860 poem titled “My Latest Sun Is Sinking Fast,” written by Jefferson Hascall. As with Wayfaring Stranger, numerous reinterpretations of the tune and public domain lyrics exits, including ones by the Stanley Brothers and Emmylou Harris. Hagen’s arrangement combines elements from the musical variations made on the tune in his Piano Trio No. 4.

In 2015 Hagen drew from the drawer both arrangements, which he had made for use when performing recitals with Gilda Lyons, who had sung them to their children as lullabies. After many years of inclusion (separately and together) on song programs, Hagen and Lyons formally premiered them as a pair in the music room at Yaddo, in Saratoga Springs, NY, on the evening of 12 September 2015.