Where the Waters Run

Solo harp/ chamber orchestra | Grade 5/4  |  Duration 9:45

My former colleague at St. Olaf College, Dr. Paul Niemisto was the founding conductor of the Cannon Valley Regional Orchestra in 1979, and he has led the ensemble to this day. The CVRO has developed into one of the artistic gems of the area and I was pleased to become part of this home-grown music making during the creation of this piece. Commissioned by the CVRO, with the support of the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council and The American Harp Society, Where the Waters Run is written for and dedicated to harpist Elinor Niemisto by her husband Paul on the occasion of their fiftieth wedding anniversary. The work was premiered on November 4, 2023 at a concert at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Northfield, MN with Paul conducting.

When discussing how this project might develop, we considered creating a work that a dedicated, capable harpist at the high school level could perform, one that would be found both challenging and attainable, as well as gratifying and engaging. No small order for this old trombonist (yikes!). I am indebted to Elinor for her patience and suggestions as I learned more about writing for harp.

My first thoughts for the piece turned to a consideration of a valley and its general function in creating communities, if not civilizations. Most valleys contained fresh, flowing water, and this is where people settled, created lives together, prospered and failed, and created cultures. I kept this larger concept in mind when thinking about the Cannon River valley in central Minnesota.

The beginning of the hymn tune It Is Well with My Soul, authored by Horatio Gates Spafford, showed up in my early explorations of the concept of a valley. It opens “When peace, like a river attendeth my soul…”. Not only did the melody by Phillip Bliss seem appropriate, but also its lyric. I knew I would quote it with some apparency when Elinor responded to this idea, saying that it was one of her favorite hymns, as well. 

I also knew there needed to be a moment when only the harp and trombone were allowed a quiet moment together. Paul is a trombonist. As this piece emerged, I found myself sensing a journey through a valley, at first my home valley of the Cannon River, and then any valley – in fact, the first working title for the piece was Consider the Valley. I tried to sense the various energy levels and types of motion in a valley, mentally following small streams as they became rivers flowing to sea level. I considered a valley’s human activity and culture throughout time within this locale. The images of spirited gestures and emerging light sparkling on water were counterbalanced by darker moments that shroud our environmental concerns.

I was amazed where my thinking travelled as I contemplated where the waters run.

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