Shenandoah

The Shenandoah Valley and the Shenandoah River are located in Virginia. The origin of the name for this river and valley is obscure. The origins of the folk song are equally obscure, but all date to the 19th century. Many variants on the melody and text have been handed down through the years with the most popular telling the story of an early settler’s love for a Native American woman. The composer writes:

In my setting of Shenandoah I was inspired by the freedom and beauty of the folk melody and by the natural images evoked by the words, especially the image of a river. I was less concerned with the sound of a rolling river than with its life-affirming energy -- its timelessness. Sometimes the accompaniment flows quietly under the melody; other times it breathes alongside it. The work's mood ranges from quiet reflection, through growing optimism, to profound exaltation.

• Program Note by Frank Ticheli

The Shenandoah River and the valley that bears its name are located in Virginia. It is claimed that the river and valley were named in the 1750s by the Cherokee as a friendly tribute to a visiting Iroquois chief named Shenandoah.

The origins of the haunting folk song named for this valley are obscure, and lyrics offer a variety of stories. Some tell of a roving trader in love with the daughter of an Indian chief. In this interpretation, the rover tells the chief of his intent to take the girl with him far to the West, across the Missouri River. Other interpretations tell of a pioneer’s nostalgia for the valley in Virginia, and still others describe a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War dreaming of his home in Virginia.

This setting for concert band was commissioned by Hill Country (Texas) Middle School Symphonic Band, Cheryl Floyd, conductor, as a tribute to Jonathan Paul Cosentino, a horn player in the Hill Country band whose young life ended tragically in December of 1997.

• Program Note by the Austin (Texas) Symphonic Band concert program, 7 February 2015

The Shenandoah Valley and the Shenandoah River are located in Virginia. There is disagreement among historians concerning the origins of their names. Some claim that the river and valley were named in the 1750’s by the Cherokee as a friendly tribute to a visiting Iroquois Chief named Skenandoah. Others suggest that the region was named not by the Cherokee, but by the Senedo Indians of the Virginia Valley. In the Senedo tradition, Shenandoah means “daughter of the moon”, and bears no relation to the Iroquois Chief Skenandoah.

The origins of the folk song are equally obscure, but all date to the 19th century. It has been attributed variously to a coal miner in Pennsylvania, a young protégé of Stephen Foster, and to a housewife in Lexington, Kentucky. Many variants on the melody and text have been handed down through the years, the most popular telling the story of an early settler’s love for a Native American woman.

Program Note from State University of New York, Potsdam, Symphonic Band concert program, 17 November 2016