Distant Land was originally written in 1991 as a choral piece inspired by the release of Nelson Mandela from prison. Rutter was encouraged to make a purely orchestral version, from which this band arrangement has been adapted. Rutter says: "Listeners who know the original versions may miss the texts, but looking at it another way, your imagination can be set free with no words to constrain you and tell you what the music is 'about'". Distant Land will surely become a tribute to the life of Nelson Mandela, who was a leader of the anti-apartheid movement who eventually became South Africa's first black president to be elected in a fully democratic election.
