The American Road (2025)
fOR SATB, SSAA, SOLOISTS and piano
Movements:
1. Prepare Me One Body | baritone (or tenor) soloist, SATB
2. Little Cuckoo | soprano soloist, SSAA, piano
3. He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands | SATB, piano
4. Left Food, Peg Foot | SATB, piano
6. Shall We Gather | SATB, piano
7. Shine! | baritone (or tenor) soloist, SATB
Text: Mvts. 1, 3, 4, 6 – Traditional; Mvt. 2 – Rhiannon Giddens; Mvt. 5 – Text by Robert Lowry, Tune: Hanson Place
Duration: 30 minutes
Premiere: July 24, 2025, Santa Fe Desert Chorale with conductor Joshua Habermann, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Commissioned by the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, this choral suite reimagines six folk songs, hymns, and spirituals to reflect America’s complex journey through sacrifice, oppression, healing, and hope. It can be performed as a complete six-movement work or with individual movements standing on their own. From the solemn invocation of Prepare Me One Body to the triumphant finale Shine!, each movement tells a vivid story—ranging from lullabies of quiet resistance to the urgent rhythms of the Underground Railroad. Through intimate solos and powerful choral textures, the suite transforms collective memory into a shared musical testimony of resilience.
Perusal Score
Buy Printed Copy (Full Set or Individual Movements)
Buy Digital Score- The American Road Full Score [1 Score]
Buy Digital Score - The American Road Full Score [10-Copy Print License]
INDIVIDUAL MOVEMENT PURCHASE
Buy Digital Score - Prepare Me One Body [10-Copy Print License]
Buy Digital Score - Little Cuckoo [10-Copy Print License]
Buy Digital Score - He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands [10-Copy Print License]
Buy Digital Score - Left Food, Peg Foot [10-Copy Print License]
Buy Digital Score - Shall We Gather [10-Copy Print License]
Buy Digital Score - Shine! [10-Copy Print License]
**To hear a recording of The American Road, listen to the Santa Fe Desert Chorale’s album Roots & Rivers, available wherever you stream music.