"Goin' Home" with The Tabernacle Choir and Alex Boye

The song “Goin’ Home” is based on Czech composer Antonin Dvorak’s Symphony no. 9—specifically the Largo movement. The song was written by William Arms Fisher, who was one of Dvorak’s student’s. Fisher arranged and adapted Dvorak’s Largo theme and wrote his own lyrics.

Many of Dvorak’s themes were inspired by African-American spirituals, which he heard in America. “I am convinced that the future music of this country must be founded on what are called Negro melodies. These can be the foundation of a serious and original school of composition, to be developed in the United States. These beautiful and varied themes are the product of the soil. They are the folk songs of America and your composers must turn to them,” said Dvorak.

In this video, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square, and featured soloist Alex Boyé perform the poignant spiritual “Goin’ Home.”