White Sand and Grey Sand

White Sand and Gray Sand was commissioned by oboist, Sara Fraker.

White Sand and Gray Sand is a three movement work that takes its name from an 18th Century street cry originating in England, later brought to the United States by English and Irish immigrants. Street cryers stood on street corners singing the song, selling sand that would help to blot ink for quill pens. White sand was unused and the gray sand was recycled. My first experience hearing the rich harmonies of the song was during my Kodály training. Coincidentally, Sara Fraker learned the song as a member of the Kodály Chorus in New Haven, Connecticut and shared that it later resurfaced, with different words, in a song collection that she shared with her own kids. “I have always loved this round and its tug of melancholy, despite all of its major thirds.”