Last
time we looked at Aaron Copland’s Fanfare
for the Common Man, composed for the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra during
WWII. He also wrote another piece one year earlier that our local orchestra
premiered—do you know which one?
On
May 14, 1942, Copland’s Lincoln Portrait was
first performed by the CSO. It was commissioned by prominent conductor Andre
Kostelanetz, who instructed Copland to choose a distinguished American figure
as the basis for this work intended to boost American morale. Copland initially
wanted to use Walt Whitman but after receiving advice from Kostelanetz to use a
political figure, he decided to choose Abraham Lincoln.
In
Lincoln Portrait Copland sought to
convey the American spirit during a difficult time of war. Among his own
original material, he also incorporated several period pieces including Stephen
Foster’s “Camptown Races” and an 1840 ballad titled “Springfield Mountain.” Lincoln Portrait’s text famously uses
Lincoln’s own words, including excerpts from the Gettysburg Address.
Below
you can hear a wonderful performance of Lincoln
Portrait from the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra’s 2014 Hallowed Ground CD featuring narration from the late Dr. Maya
Angelou.
