Voyage to Worlds Unknown

On March 17 1923 my grandfather, John Graham, set sail from Glasgow Scotland on the TSS Cameronia, ultimately bound for the coal fields of West Virginia. As Europe struggled to recover from the aftermath of the war to end all wars a generation of young immigrants looked to the USA for the opportunity of improved prospects and a better life.

Voyage to Worlds Unknown seeks to capture the mixture of emotions of this epic sea voyage and as such is unashamedly programmatic in character. The work follows a clearly defined timeline in five continuous sections:

•  1) TSS Cameronia -  the grandeur and majesty of the vessel
•  2) Full ahead – a Scottish jig and reel of increasing tempo
•  3) Ae Fond Kiss -  the haunting Burns song -  separation from a loved one
•  4) The Crossing -  in the teeth of an Atlantic gale -  memories
•  5) The New Colossus -  journey’s end as New York harbour and the Statue of Liberty emerge from the mists:

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

From The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus (1883)

Voyage to Worlds Unknown was first performed by Ronald Waiksnoris and The New York Staff Band in the Carnegie Hall New York, March 22 2012. This revised version was made for the Black Dyke Band.