This tone poem utilizes music from an operetta composed in the early 1980s to a book and lyrics by historian Steve Davis. It was staged in 1983 during Hull’s sesquicentenary commemoration of the death of Hull-born William Wilberforce, who had played a major role in ensuring the passing of the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade (1807).

The opening is based on musical material associated with William Wilberforce’s struggle and sometimes disillusionment with the campaign to end Britain’s slave trade. The next section contains music that represents to growing awareness of the oppression and misery linked to slavery. This is followed by a calypso, which featured in the operetta to satirize the myths peddled about the joyful dancing and singing of enslaved labourers on sugar, coffee and cotton plantations. After the return of earlier music in denunciation of the slave trade, Wilberforce mocks the carefree sentiments of the calypso in a bitter and scornful calypso of his own.

The final section of the tone poem represents the growing support for the efforts of Wilberforce and others, such as Thomas Clarkson, Olaudah Equiano, and Granville Sharp, who were fighting to suppress the slave trade. These efforts proved successful when the Abolition of the Slave Trade Bill was passed in 1807. However, it was not until 1834 that slavery in the British Empire was ended, after the passing of the Slave Abolition Act in 1833.

Instrumentation

2 flutes (2nd fl. doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 1 (alt. sax.), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons – 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba – timps + perc. Harp – Str.
Duration 11 mins 30 secs
(Untuned percussion, 1 player: snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, cowbell, 3 tom-toms.)