Ives, Songs My Mother Taught Me If I had it to do over again, I might argue in favor of including this song in our collection of traditional songs Hurrah and Hallelujah. No, it’s not really a traditional song. It was written by the American … Read more
Schuman, New England Triptych (Chester) When it comes to American patriotic tunes, Chester sits pretty much at the top of the list. Col. Jim Keane, director of the U.S. Army Field Band and a contributor to some of our courses, remarked in one of Carol’s … Read more
Down in the River to Pray The origin of this well-known song is not clear. It has been described as a Spiritual, a Gospel hymn, and an Appalachian folk song. Musically it seems to have elements of all of those genres. Perhaps its popularity comes … Read more
Berlin, Alexander’s Ragtime Band Irving Berlin (1888-1989) contributed as much to American music over his long lifetime as anyone. It’s hard to imagine a more famous collection of songs—God Bless America (1938), White Christmas (1942), There’s No Business Like Show Business (1946), just to name … Read more
Sacred Harp, I’m Going Home For Thanksgiving, I have selected music that is quintessentially American. Of course, the Shape-Note singing tradition did not spring up spontaneously in America. It draws on various older traditions. But the style that survives (and thrives) today developed in American … Read more
Ungar, Ashokan Farewell I like to choose something American when the Fourth of July rolls around, and this year I decided on a folk tune that has achieved a sort of iconic status. It’s not a true folk song because it’s newly composed and we … Read more
Daniel Elder, Ballade to the Moon I ran across a couple of news articles about the composer Daniel Elder this week. Perhaps you’ve seen them. Elder is (or was) an up-and-coming choral composer living in Nashville. Listening to Elder’s work, it’s clear that he is … Read more
Copland, Danza de Jalisco Our Composer of the Month Series features Aaron Copland this month. Carol and I select composers for this series who are, of course, well known and beloved by us. Still, in presenting the materials, we “start from scratch” and spend a … Read more
Gottschalk, Souvenirs d’Andalousie During his lifetime, Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) was acknowledged as the preeminent American piano virtuoso and composer of music for piano. Born in New Orleans to a Jewish father and Creole mother, he absorbed numerous musical influences during his upbringing. He went … Read more
Ives, The Unanswered Question I have inserted Charles Ives’s The Unanswered Question this week into the sequence of performance picks that I had planned. Somehow, unanswered questions seem appropriate at the moment, but I will leave it at that and let you make of it … Read more