This is an entirely new and original look at a folk song that dates back to the early 19th century. Arranged for solo soprano with piano accompaniment by Gay Santerre. Full of musical imagery, the accompaniment very vividly imitates a river throughout the 1st and 2nd verse. At first soft and murmuring, it becomes a tumultuous series of rapids in the 2nd verse. The third verse restatement of the text is full of longing wonderfully executed by a wistful soprano, with lots of sustain in the piano creating a distinctly surreal atmosphere. A very expressive rendition of the well known American folk song expressing a pioneer’s nostalgia for the Shenandoah River Valley in Virginia. Great for a scene in a history show about the growing west.
