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American Journey


American Journey (originally titled The Unfinished Journey) is a six-part orchestral composition by the American composer John Williams. The piece was commissioned by U.S. President Bill Clinton to accompany a multimedia presentation titled The Unfinished Journey directed by Steven Spielberg for the 2000 "Millennium" celebrations. The work premiered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. on New Year’s Eve, 1999.

Lasting approximately twenty-five minutes in performance, American Journey is composed in six short movements:

The first movement, "Immigration and Building," contains quotes from Williams' score to the 1992 film Far and Away. Additionally, the style of the music would heavily anticipate his score to the 2000 film The Patriot.

American Journey is scored for three flutes (II doubling on Irish flute, III doubling on piccolo), two oboes, English horn, three clarinets (III doubling on bass clarinet), three bassoons (III doubling on contrabassoon), six French horns, four trumpets, four trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (bass drum, chimes, cymbals, field drum, orchestral bells, small triangle, snare drum, suspended cymbal, tambourine, tamtam, triangle, vibraphone, xylophone), harp, piano, and strings (violins I & II, violas, violoncellos, and double basses) with optional accompaniment by two narrators.


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