This is what Rosephanye Powell says about her setting of “I Dream a World”

“I Dream A World is a setting of the poem “To You” by Harlem Renaissance jazz poet, playwright and social activist Langston Hughes (1902-1967).  In this song, the composer depicts musically Mr. Hughes’s juxtaposition of the world that is and the world that could be.  The world of which Langston Hughes dreams is characterized by joy, peace and freedom; yet the one in which he lives is full of the “wretchedness” of racial prejudice and avarice.  

…  The beginning of the song is, for Hughes, a pleasant dream, in which “our world” is one where love, joy and freedom rule.  However, as the song develops, the dream becomes dark, representing the present state of being.  This is heard in a shift from consonant chords to the use of dissonance in the piano, as well as rhythmic agitation in both the vocal and piano parts. As Hughes’ dream develops further, the poet chooses to believe that “joy, like a pearl” will one day “attend the needs of all mankind”.  Because of this, he will continue to dream for a better world, heard in the passionately repeated phrase “I Dream” near the end of the song.  “I Dream A World” ends with a final climactic statement of “our world,” followed by two accented and strident piano chords which depict the poet startled awake–only now aware that he has been dreaming.”