UK-born music composer Adam Walters' preview performance of his River of Freedom, staged by the UTT Musicians at NAPA on March 28, raised the curtain on a moving and enchanting musical treatment of the T&T Merikin story.
The story of the Merikins relates to the 19th century arrival and settlement of freed and escaped slaves who had become soldiers fighting on the side of the British in the War of American Independence and other conflicts on the North American mainland and who were promised land and opportunity in the Caribbean following their service.
The production is as much historical narrative as it is a musical treatment of the social and cultural evolution of the new settlers and those among whom they were made to reside.
A full performance will be premiered in May and cannot be missed by anyone with an interest in quality orchestral music, or in an infrequently told narrative based on the freeing of African slaves and their movement southward to colonial Trinidad from North America.
Related in three orchestral sections/movements, River of Freedom tells the story of slavery, emancipation and migration against the backdrop of three contexts that are American, British and Trinidadian in character–each movement matching the story through adapted musical styles.
"For part one," UTT music lecturer Walters told the NAPA audience, "I listened to lots of American folksongs from the 1800s to try to get a feel for that style. There are also influences from American film music."
In part two, the composer draws heavily from European influences, especially the work of 19th century Russian composer, Igor Stravinsky.
"Here the music has very little in common with Trinidadian styles," Walters said.
"And this feels right to me because the section symbolises the way the Merikins would have felt at the time of joining the British army: in the same way that the music may at first seem very different to what came before, the former slaves found themselves in a situation quite unlike anything that they had previously experienced," Walters said.
Part three is not yet complete, but, according to the composer, is "based on the hymns, choruses and structure of Spiritual Baptist church services."
"This way I hope to ensure that the score, like the story, really comes home to Trinidad," Walters said.
"I have spent many hours in Spiritual Baptist church services in an attempt to absorb the music and understand its context," he added.
"I fell in love with the style of singing, at times beautifully reflective, and at times bursting with an overwhelming energy. I'd experienced nothing like this before and it made a deep impression on the way I decided to approach the score of River of Freedom."
The production was scripted by US-born UTT music teacher Caitlyn Kamminga, who performs on the double bass on River of Freedom.
The poetic paean to the spirit of the African slave was eloquently delivered by accomplished dramatist, Michael Cherrie and baritone singer, Krisson Joseph.
The performance, minus the third section, was conducted by UTT lecturer, Kwame Ryan, with a stunning artistic backdrop created by visual artist, Che Lovelace.
For Walters, the project has been something of a musical journey of his own. "Since arriving in Trinidad I have become increasingly fascinated with finding ways to write music for our Western classical ensemble that is both enjoyable for us to play and also resonates with Trinidadian audiences," he told the small audience.
"So when Caitlyn and I first discussed the idea behind this project, I could see that it was the perfect project for me to explore this musical fusion in more depth than I've done up till now."
Walters has performed on the French horn with the Orchestra of the Royal Opera, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, English National Ballet, Glyndebourne on Tour, BBC Concert Orchestra, and London Mozart Players.
His use of Trinidadian folk themes in his score for the 2011 Ibis Ensemble production of Little Red Riding Hood is highly regarded and has been published as a book illustrated by Lovelace.
There are plans to publish an e-book version of River of Freedom which, according to Kamminga, will fill an important void in telling the story of the people of T&T.
"We bolted down the River of Freedom/and settled on the living waters/of the River of Hope./I shall go when and where I please, Lord./Yes, Lord, I shall go when and where I please", sings Kamminga's chorus of hope.
At the end of the preview performance there were few who had not already committed to being there when the full version is delivered.
River of Freedom might not have been listed among the official programme for Shouter Baptist Day observances, but it quite adequately fit the bill.