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      American Music Celebration

      American Music Celebration In this special feature, Classical Archives takes a moment to celebrate the unique and vital role that classical music has and continues to play in America – as a defining part of its culture and identity. The celebration here comes in three parts: the first two are musical programs that take a quick tour of some of the key classical composers of this nation's history; the third is a special feature highlighting the impressive work of celebrated baritone Thomas Hampson, who together with the Library of Congress, is helping to bring focus to the wealth of American song during the 19th and 20th centuries.

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      The common monikers of America as a "melting pot" and "the land of opportunity" are no less true for music than any other aspect of its culture. Indeed, if one adds in the popular forms of jazz and rock music, it may be said that music has played a dominant role in defining American culture and identity. From at least the early 20th century, when American composers began to shake off a requisite deference to the traditions of their European colleagues, a spirit of experimentation and uniqueness has marked much of American classical music. The Classical Archives here celebrates this rich history with a two-part program: Part 1 takes us from the Revolutionary era to the first wave of American modernists in the early 20th century; Part 2 continues the survey to the present day. Each program comes with brief commentary on the composers and works selected, and a variety of ways to enjoy the music – as individual Play buttons and as a complete One-Click™ Concert. Enjoy!

      American Music: Program 1

      • William Billings Composer
        Play
        2:18
        Chester (patriotic anthem) (1770) Work
        Play
        3:11
        Shiloh (1786) Work

        Music played a major role in Colonial- and Revolutionary-era American, and by the late 18th century music schools and societies were commonplace, especially in New England. Not surprisingly, choral music played a dominant role, and within this realm came perhaps the first great American composer, William Billings (1746-1800) of Boston. A friend of Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, Billings published several collections of sacred and secular choral music – the first publications of exclusively American music. The two works contained here were both quite popular – with the patriotic "Chester" becoming a sort of unofficial "national anthem" of the Revolution.

      • Louis Moreau Gottschalk Composer
        Play
        3:32
        Le Banjo, esquisse américaine, Op.15 (1854) Work

        Louis Moreau Gottschalk Most American composers of the 19th century revealed in their music a reliance on European models, and indeed fostered their education by studying in conservatories abroad. An early unique American voice was the New Orleans-born composer Louis Morieau Gottschalk (1829-69), who in his youth heard the syncopated rhythms of Creole music. Though he studied in Paris, his music was quite idiosyncratic and often draws upon the influences of American folk and popular music – prescient of things to come later in the century. Gottschalk was also a virtuoso pianist, and his piano works are what he is best remembered for today – few as distinct or fun as the one featured here.

      • Edward MacDowell Composer
        Suite No.1 in A-, Op.42 (1888) Work
        Play
        2:10
        2.Summer Idyll
        Play
        3:32
        4.The Shepherdess' Song

        Edward MacDowell Edward MacDowell (1860-1908) was the epitome of the successful American composer in the latter 19th century – trained in Paris and Germany, a friend of Liszt, who returned to States to considerable acclaim, earning a prestigious post as head of the newly created music department at Columbia University. MacDowell himself was a successful concert pianist, and his piano music is perhaps best known today (including such standards as "To a Wild Rose"). But he also wrote a number of orchestral works, including this orchestral suite – which in style and structure (as well as its original German titles), shows its European indebtedness.

      • Amy Marcy Cheney Beach Composer
        3 Robert Browning Songs, Op.44 (1900) Work
        Play
        0:58
        1.The Year's at the Spring
        Play
        2:48
        2.Ah, Love, But a Day
        Play
        2:41
        3.I Send My Heart Up to Thee

        Amy Marcy Cheney Beach Although trained in her native Boston (and self-taught in orchestration), Amy Beach (1867-1944) likewise displayed in her compositional output a decidedly European bent – a lush and lyrical melodic style, a highly chromatic approach to harmony, etc. Beach (born Cheney) is remarkable in part for the tremendous success she achieved in her lifetime – at a time when few women composers anywhere could hope to see their works performed, Amy Beach's works were consistently performed by the best musicians of Boston and beyond, including via prestigious commissions. Her strong literary interests are displayed in these beautiful settings of Robert Browning poems.

      • Charles Tomlinson Griffes Composer
        Play
        9:09
        Poem, for flute and orchestra, A.93 (1918) Work

        Charles Tomlinson Griffes As much as anyone, New York-born Charles Griffes (1884-1920) absorbed the various musical trends of late-19th century Europe, and beyond – of the Germanic lands where he studied, the new Impressionist language of Paris, and even non-Western styles of China and Japan – and then forged these disparate influences into his own very personal language. Though not terribly well known today, some scholars consider Griffes the most gifted of his generation, and his music warrants exploration. We here present one of his most celebrated works, an impressive showpiece for the flute that displays the influence of Debussy, though framed via the prism of Griffes' own unique voice.

      • Charles Edward Ives Composer
        Play
        6:19
        The Unanswered Question, for trumpet, winds, and string orchestra, S.50 (1906-1934) Work

        Charles Edward Ives As we consider American music today, the vision we hold owes an untold debt to a man for whom music was largely a pastime. Charles Edward Ives (1874-1954), a native of Connecticut, abandoned plans for a musical career in his late-20s for a hugely successful one in the insurance business. Composition thus became a sideline, but one to which he devoted his full creativity, employing a robust experimentalism that initiated a new American avant-garde – with techniques such as quotation (often American folk music), collage, tone clusters, and much more. The work presented here is one of his most unique, and underscores his deep philosophical (transcendentalism) interests.

      • Aaron Copland Composer
        Appalachian Spring, concert suite after the ballet (1943­44) Work
        Play
        11:28
        7.Doppio movimento (Simple Gifts)

        Aaron Copland To many, the music of Aaron Copland (1900-90) – particularly such favorites as Appalachian Spring – epitomize the sound of "American" classical music. Such was the genius of Copland that he could synthesize the tendencies of American folk music (open-spaced chords, robust "frontier" rhythms, etc.) and forge them into a universal language that was in fact the product of his own imagination. But the "Americana" works of Copland are but a portion of his prolific output, which also contains a strong "modernist" strain, particularly in his early works. Copland was also the first in a long line of American composers to study in Paris with the famed pedagogue Nadia Boulanger.

      • Samuel Barber Composer
        Play
        7:33
        The School for Scandal: Overture Op.5 (1933) Work

        Samuel Barber The music of Samuel Barber (1910-81) is generally marked by an unapologetic embrace of melody and lyricism, which throughout his career gained him both popular adoration and critical reproach for sidestepping the more stringent modernist trends of the day. Like Schubert, Barber was a prolific song composer whose innate melodic gifts infused a song-like aesthetic on much of his music; like Schubert too he surprisingly had little success in the theater. The work included here was in fact his first orchestral undertaking (a graduate piece from the Curtis Institute), and remains one of his most popular concert works, outmatched perhaps only by the famed "Adagio for Strings."

      • George Gershwin Composer
        Piano Concerto in F (1925) Work
        Play
        12:16
        2.Adagio. Andante con moto

        George Gershwin Among America's most beloved composers, George Gershwin (1898-1937) also embodies the "melting pot" moniker as well as any other – successfully infusing late-Romantic and early Modern classical with jazz, ragtime, and popular styles into his own unmistakable language. Indeed, few composers have combined such a successful career in the "popular" and classical realms, whereby he helped elevate the status of jazz and opened up new vistas for cross-style "fusion" that still exist today. The Adagio from his Piano Concerto perfectly exhibits Gershwin's flair for sultry jazz melody and vibrant syncopation, all within the context of a traditional concerto slow movement.

      • Virgil Thomson Composer
        Louisiana Story (suite from the film score) (1948) Work
        Play
        6:09
        1.Pastoral: The bayou and the marsh buggy

        Virgil Thomson Virgil Thomson (1896-1989), like Copland, spent the early 1920s studying in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, before returning to the States to begin a musical career. And yet, Thomson's most enduring legacy may more as an influential music critic than as a composer – where for 14 years (1940–54) he worked for the New York Herald Tribune, championing many American composers and their works – including Charles Ives. This is not to diminish his composing skills, such as found in the evocative film score featured here, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1949. Thomson's literary bent is also evidenced in his opera, Four Saints in Three Acts, with a libretto by Gertrude Stein.

      Notes by Nolan Gasser, Ph.D.
      Artistic Director, Classical Archives

      Part 2 of our American music survey looks at some of the trends and key figures over the past 75 years or so, including a number of composers still active today. We see a variety of trends: avant-garde, minimalist, and a newly emerging lyricism – all part of our musical "melting pot" over the past few generations. Clearly classical music is alive in well in America today! Again, we offer a variety of ways to enjoy the music – as individual Play buttons and as a complete One-Click™ Concert. Enjoy!

      American Music: Program 2

      • Leonard Bernstein Composer
        Candide (opera)...Act 1 (1956) Work
        Play
        4:03
        1.Overture
        Play
        5:43
        6.Glitter And Be Gay

        Leonard Bernstein The second half of the 20th century was an age of musical pluralism like none seen before – the start of a post-modern orientation, where the synthesis of any musical style or aesthetic was fair game. Few were better equipped to embrace the possibilities as Leonard Bernstein (1918-90), the long-time maestro of the New York Philharmonic (1958-69), teacher to generations through his "young people's concerts" (1958-72), and prolific composer. His works display a command of both popular and classical styles – ranging from the jazzy West Side Story to the austere Symphony No.3. The operetta Candide well exemplifies this blend, particularly its fiery and ever-popular overture.

      • John Cage Composer
        Concerto for Prepared Piano and Chamber Orchestra (1951) Work
        Play
        8:12
        Part 1

        John Cage The iconoclastic side of the American spirit had its most colorful musical embodiment in the figure of John Cage (1912-92) – part composer, part philosopher, whose works remain as controversial today as during his lifetime. Largely self-taught, Cage spent his career expanding the very notion of what music could be, incorporating notions of chance and randomness (informed by his study of Chinese philosophy and the I Ching), and widening the palette of available and acceptable sounds. Most celebrated perhaps are his experiments with the "prepared piano" – attaching nuts, bolts, pieces of rubber, etc. between and around the strings, as in the work heard here.

      • Ruth Crawford Seeger Composer
        String Quartet (1931) Work
        Play
        3:12
        1.Rubato assai
        Play
        2:04
        2.Leggiero

        Ruth Crawford Seeger Although she largely stopped composing in 1934, Ruth Crawford Seeger (1901-53; wife of famed musicologist Charles Seeger), was a dominant and prescient voice of the musical avant-garde during the late-20s and early 30s – at times foreshadowing effects used in the 1960s. She dispelled the stereotypes of women composers as writing only sentimental music, and incapable of writing dissonant, serious music like their male counterparts. The work presented here is considered her masterpiece, displaying a concentration of material on par with the advanced atonal works of Schoenberg and Webern – and suggesting the musical tendencies to come in post-War America.

      • Elliott Carter Composer
        String Quartet No.1 (1950-51) Work
        Play
        9:08
        1a.Fantasia: Maestoso

        Elliott Carter Perhaps the leading exponent of the post-War musical avant-garde, Elliott Carter (1908-) has astounded the world by his indefatigable energy, continuing to compose large-scale works even in his 101st year. Though he initially adopted a rather populist (neo-Classical) style, in the late-40s he began to embrace the more modern approaches found in the music of young European composers such as Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Among Carter's first acclaimed works of this new more strident style is his String Quartet No.1, featured here, which introduces the technique known as "metric modulation", a gradual shift of tempo by incremental changes in individual voices.

      • Steve Reich Composer
        The Desert Music, for chorus and orchestra (chamber version) (1984, rev.2001) Work
        Play
        5:51
        2.Moderate

        Steve Reich Through the 1950s and 60s, the musical avant-garde in America held sway with the complex, dissonant, and intellectual approach championed by composers like Elliott Carter and Milton Babbitt. In reaction, a younger generation of composers turned to a simpler style based on diatonic harmonies and repetitive groove-based rhythms that shifted almost imperceptibly; the style became known as "minimalism". Steve Reich (1936-) is recognized as among the movement's founders and leading voices, though his works, particularly in recent years, extend well beyond the stereotypes of the style, as heard in this work, adapted in 2001 for chorus and chamber group.

      • Philip Glass Composer
        Violin Concerto (1987) Work
        Play
        9:30
        Movement 3

        Philip Glass Philip Glass (1937-) met Steve Reich at Juilliard in the late-1950s and joined the latter (as well as Terry Riley) in developing the "minimalist" style, initially adopting a rather severe approach, often stretching a single melodic/rhythmic pattern into a lengthy discourse. Broader public success began in the late 1970s with a series of theatrical works – starting with the 1976 opera Einstein on the Beach. His style had become more melodic and varied, and fused with an increased spiritual dimension via his embrace of Indian and Eastern culture. The Violin Concerto featured here marked a new period of success in the concert hall, one that has only increased in the ensuing years.

      • John Adams Composer
        Harmonium, for chorus and orchestra (1980-81) Work
        Play
        10:37
        1.Negative Love

        John Adams Perhaps America's leading composer today, John Adams (1947-) began as a disciple of the minimalist school, but early sought to expand its scope to incorporate more experimental modes, after John Cage and others. The result has been a body of work founded on the motor-like pulse and musical economy of minimalism but enhanced with lush and innovative orchestration and high emotionalism – sometimes called "post-minimalism". Adams' greatest success has come through his operatic works, generally touching upon key American themes (such as Doctor Atomic from 2005). The work featured here is an early example of this creative expanse of minimalism.

      • Libby Larsen Composer
        Black Birds, Red Hills, for clarinet, viola and piano (1987) Work
        Play
        3:41
        1.Pedernal Hills
        Play
        2:06
        2.Black Rock

        Libby Larsen Among the most frequently performed composers of her generation, Minnesota-born Libby Larsen (1950-) illustrates the increased eclecticism of American composers over the past several decades, as well as a growing propensity toward unabashed lyricism and consonant harmony. Larsen has likewise expanded the profile of women composers in our time, being the first woman to hold a composer-in-residency with a major orchestra (the Minnesota Orchestra, in 1983). Larsen is celebrated for her songs and choral works, as well as for her creative orchestration. Featured here is a 1987 chamber work, inspired by the paintings of Georgia O'Keefe.

      • John Corigliano Composer
        Mr. Tambourine Man: Seven Poems of Bob Dylan, for voice and orchestra (2000) Work
        Play
        4:22
        1.Prelude: Mr. Tambourine Man
        Play
        4:52
        7.Postlude: Forever Young

        John Corigliano John Corigliano (1938-) has built a very successful career reconciling the serious demands of art music with an intense desire to communicate with audiences beyond the traditional classical crowd. His impressive output of orchestral and film scores (e.g., his Academy Award-winning Red Violin soundtrack) especially have made Corigliano among the most celebrated composers of his day – one who easily embraces the full palette of musical tools available: tonal harmony, microtones, minimalism, serialism, and much more. The voice has long held special importance to Corigliano, as seen in these unique settings of poems by Bob Dylan.

      • Jennifer Higdon Composer
        Piano Trio (2003) Work
        Play
        7:56
        Pale Yellow

        Jennifer Higdon We close our survey of American music with a chamber work by a young composer of great promise, Jennifer Higdon (1962-) from Brooklyn, NY, whose works are being performed with some regularity around the country. Higdon's blossoming career has benefited from the support of conductor Robert Spano, now of the Atlanta Symphony, whom she met while a student at Bowling Green University. Their collaboration, on orchestral works such as City Scape has led to a series of new commissions and recordings for Higdon, as well as several honors and awards. The work featured here is a recent chamber work, which displays her lyrical and accessible style.

      Notes by Nolan Gasser, Ph.D.
      Artistic Director, Classical Archives

      Thomas Hampson In 2005, famed American baritone Thomas Hampson joined forces with the Library of Congress to promote the rich tradition of American song, from colonial days to the present. The nationwide tour that ensued, combining a recital by Mr. Hampson with a lobby exhibition of priceless artifacts from the Library's collection, proved tremendously successful, and spawned the EMI Classics recording, Song of America. This year, Mr. Hampson resumes the tour, and in celebration the Classical Archives is pleased to feature a special presentation of this recording, along with information on the upcoming tour (starting July 9) and a special essay from the Library of Congress.

      Song of America
      Thomas Hampson

      Tracks: 20

      EMI Classics
      Rel. 8 Nov 2005

      Add to Cart
      $8.00

      The Song of America Tour: 2009-2010

      On July 9, 2009 Thomas Hampson resumes the enthusiastically acclaimed "Song of America" project he developed with the Library of Congress and introduced in the 2005-06 season. This season's national celebration additionally commemorates the 250th anniversary of what is recognized to be the first song written by an "American" ("My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free", composed in 1759 by Philadelphian Francis Hopkinson). Drawing on the unparalleled collection of American songs housed at the Library of Congress, Hampson will present a unique series of recitals, educational activities, exhibitions, recordings, cybercasts and interactive online resources.

      Stephen Collin Foster Hampson's first two "Song of America" recitals this summer are in the heartland of Minnesota and Wisconsin (Winona, MN on July 9 and Williams Bay, WI on July 12), and then he continues to two festivals: Ravinia (July 16) and Tanglewood (July 22). Other stops on his recital itinerary are San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, Santa Barbara, Boulder, Princeton and Atlanta. In separate stand-alone concerts at Tanglewood and the Grand Teton Music Festival, Hampson will perform orchestral songs by Virgil Thomson, Samuel Barber and John Adams that augment the "Song of America" tour without being directly linked to it.

      In the words of Thomas Hampson:

      "The 'Song of America' project has become a thrilling dream come true for me: criss-crossing our country singing the songs born of our life experiences as Americans in the language of our hearts and minds. These songs—our songs—say everything about the culture we call American. And when we sing our own songs, when we see through the eyes of our poets and hear with the ears of our composers the diary of our land, those who hear us will experience the best of what freedom of thought and purpose can achieve in the creation of great art. We need these songs in our cultural landscape."

      From the Library of Congress: "Art of American Song"

      Although the song tradition in the United States is fairly young compared to that of Western Europe, there are still over two centuries' worth of song composition in America. The birth of the American song coincided with the birth of the country; in fact, the first extant art songs in the United States are credited to Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791), a friend of George Washington and signer of the Declaration of Independence. The only American-born composer for whom there is evidence of having written songs prior to 1800, Hopkinson's first song "My Days have been so Wondrous Free" was penned in 1759. In 1788, Hopkinson dedicated his A Washington Garland (originally titled Seven songs for the Harpsichord or Fortepiano) to the future president. In this collection, which actually contains eight songs, Hopkinson modeled the pieces after those written by English composers, including Thomas Arne and Stephen Storace.

      As the dependence on the English style waned and American composers searched for a voice of their own, the African American spiritual captured the widespread attention of the nation roughly between the War of 1812 and the Civil War. The rise of the spiritual was facilitated by the advent of travel by steamboat, launched on the Mississippi in 1811, as well as by the formation of the minstrel show, the first national form of American musical theater. It was from these Mississippi steamboats that Northerners became acquainted with the work songs and spirituals of African Americans. Stephen Foster (1826-1864) was one such "northerner" enamored with the musical heritage of the South. Born in Pennsylvania, Foster composed over two hundred songs, set mostly to his own texts. While the most famous of his songs, such as "Oh! Susanna" (first performed in 1847) and "Old Folks at Home" (1851) were written for minstrel shows, Foster's later songs, notably the ballad "Beautiful Dreamer" (1864), were devoid of southern traits. Other composers influenced by African American songs include Ohio native Dan Emmett (1815-1904), whose "De Boatman's Dance" (1843) was later arranged by Aaron Copland. Ironically, Emmett is best remembered today for his tribute to the south, "Dixie" (1859), perhaps the most famous song from the Civil War era.

      Toward the turn of the century, composers became more ambitious, branching out from what became known as "popular song" and turning their creative energy to the more serious "art song." This trend was sparked by many American composers' decision to study in Europe; as a result, they were exposed to the German lied as well as the French mélodie, song forms that emphasized the fusion of poetry and music. European-trained composers, including Edward MacDowell (1860-1908), Charles T. Elinor Remick Warren Griffes (1884-1920), and Charles Loeffler (1861-1935), skillfully crafted songs that transformed European aesthetic values into works with uniquely American qualities. In addition, since pianos were found in most nineteenth-century homes, women typically burdened with domestic activities were also able to pursue careers in composition. Amy Cheney Beach (1867-1944), for instance, made significant contributions to the American song repertoire, thus paving the way for other female composers, including Florence Price (1887-1953) and Elinor Remick Warren (1900-1991).

      Harry Burleigh Indigenous music continued to serve as the basis for American song composition. Henry [Harry] T. Burleigh's (1866-1949) harmonized arrangements of African American spirituals, including his well-known adaptation of "Deep River" (contained in Jubilee Songs of the USA, 1916), were some of the first to be presented on the concert stage. His "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors" (1915), to a text by Walt Whitman, is a dramatic account of an African American woman and her chance meeting with a Union Soldier. Arthur Farwell (1872-1952), whose songs were relatively free of European influences, drew heavily upon American Indian melodies as the foundation of his songs. Due to his difficulty in securing a publisher for his music, he founded the Wa-Wan Press, which operated between 1901-1912, specifically for the publication and dissemination of music incorporating American folk material.

      Charles Ives Charles Ives (1874-1954) composed some of the most distinct songs to become part of America's song heritage; in fact, his song catalog is one of the largest produced by an American. A respected business executive, Ives composed mostly at night and on weekends. His financial stability as an insurance professional enabled him to privately publish his first collection, titled 114 Songs (1922). Ives's songs contain quotations from American hymns, war songs, popular songs, and cowboy ballads, and incorporate unusual techniques and effects that bear his distinctive and eclectic stamp.

      Notable composers of the American concert song from the first half of the twentieth century include Aaron Copland (1900-1990) and Samuel Barber (1910-1981). Copland, whose song opus is primarily defined by his Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson (1949-50), also arranged two sets of Old American Songs (1950 and 1952). Described as a diversified portrait of America, the former set contains Copland's arrangement of Dan Emmett's "The Boatmen's Dance" and the Shaker tune "Simple Gifts," whereas the latter set includes his adaptation of the gospel hymn "At the River," and the minstrel song "Ching-a-Ring Chaw," famous for its nonsense syllable-laden chorus. An accomplished baritone himself, Samuel Barber possessed one of the most lyric compositional voices of the twentieth century. Barber's family was a musical one: his aunt, Louise Homer (1871-1947), was a leading contralto with the Metropolitan opera, and his uncle, Sidney Homer (1864-1953), was a distinguished composer of art songs who served as Barber's mentor for over thirty years. While a large portion of his vocal works are set to texts by European authors and poets, Barber did set American texts, notably James Agee's "Sure on This Shining Night" (contained in Four Songs, Op. 13, no. 3, 1937-40) and Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (1947), scored for soprano voice and orchestra.

      After World War II, several developments had an effect on the composition of the American art song. First, American poetry flourished and, by the middle of the twentieth century, composers were afforded a rich resource of native texts and literature. Consequently, the poet's voice itself began to play an integral role in the creative process of song composition, a trend previously established in the settings of Gertrude Stein's texts. Among those whose effectively set Stein's poetry were Virgil Thomson (1896-1989) and John Cage (1912-1992). Another factor influencing the composition of American song after 1950 was the increased use of serial techniques. This style of composition, typically associated with the works of Arnold Schoenberg and Anton Webern, is found in the songs of Milton Babbitt (b.1916) and Ruth Crawford (1901-1953). Ned Rorem In addition to these trends, composers abandoned the traditional piano accompaniment in favor of more alternative sonorities, as in the case of Cage's use of closed piano in The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs (1942), or Babbitt's combination of voice and electronic tape in Vision and Prayer (1961) and Phonemena (1975). Other contemporary proponents of twentieth-century American song include Paul Bowles (1910-1999) and Ned Rorem (b.1923).

      Although a full account of the American art song is beyond the scope of this introduction, it is hoped that these highlights will serve as an inspiration to further explore and appreciate America's song tradition. The journey of the American art song has not traveled for very long but it has certainly traveled wide: from the Psalm settings and hymns of the East, hillbilly and cowboy songs of the West, to the work songs of the North, and the minstrel songs and spirituals of the South. While it is too soon to predict the impact the American art song will have on the twenty-first century, it is certain to reflect the varied and diverse musical and cultural heritage of the United States.

      “I see song as a fundamental blueprint of who people are, what they think, and what they have thought.”

      – Thomas Hampson

      On Wednesday, July 1, our Artistic Director, Dr. Nolan Gasser, caught up with famed American baritone Thomas Hampson – in London, rounding out a run of La Traviata at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden. On July 9 in Winona Minnesota, Mr. Hampson will resume his acclaimed "Song of America" Tour in collaboration with the Library of Congress – 14 cities over 7 months – celebrating "250 Years of American Song". In this exclusive Classical Archives interview, Dr. Gasser asks Mr. Hampson about his long-standing passion for American song, his experiences arising from the 2005-06 tour, the plans for the upcoming tour, and much more.

      Classical Archives Interviews Thomas Hampson (July 1, 2009)

      • Nolan Gasser: You've clearly had a love affair with American song and poetry, and a sense of mission to share your passion and knowledge, for quite some time – going back at least to the 1997 PBS program, "I Hear America Singing". What then was the impetus for the 2005 collaboration with the Library of Congress?

      • Thomas Hampson

        Thomas Hampson: The PBS project in the late 90s was in some ways a revelation for me. I've always sung a lot of songs. And I've always sung American songs. Like so many recitalists, I've had an American set – and some American sets are bigger than others. I've always been a big fan of singers who've gone before me within our American culture: singers like John Charles Thomas, Lawrence Tibbet, Robert Merril, and others of our generations who have sung the great American songs. I was always sort of sad, and still am kind of melancholy about our own love affair with our songs. So that sort of started then.

        Then it became clear – with the work I've done with Schubert, Schumann, Mahler, Wolf and all of that – you can't help but ask: where is our serious literature? And I think part of that question was always asked wrong. Because I think to go around and look for our Schubert or our Brahms or our Wolf is a waste of time. The key, it seems to me, to exploring song in America, or song of America, is to go into 10 or 15 year periods of our history, as we become more "America" – because the America of 1880 is not the America of 1980. You get my point? The point is to actually go in, as there have been so many songs and so many poems written, so many different kinds of music. Americans actually have been an astoundingly creative bunch of people through history. To quote Aaron Copland, the biggest responsibility of a composer or a creative person is to simply articulate what it is like to be alive now. And it seems to me that in order to understand this wonderfully conflicting, contradicting, eclectic, superficial, contentious kaleidoscope of cultural emotion called American culture, we'll do better by drilling down into particular times in our history. By looking at what our poets read and listening to what our composers wrote, rather than by trying to find this or that person that identifies something called the "great American composer".

        And once I shifted my work – my relationship to song in America on those slides, those guiding lines – I just felt like layers of an onion kept peeling off. It made much more sense to me how we've become "America", and what people have struggled to do to define themselves as American and to define America as "America". And then from afar – the other aspect of people who have dreamt of either being in America or even thought of themselves as American with never putting their foot on our soil. So, there's this idealism as well as this realism that is always inherent in the creative spirit in America. And this, I think is very fascinating and beautiful and something we should be much more proud of, and have a much more self-understood knowledge of, than making art song some eclectic thing that one is into or not into. I see song as a fundamental blueprint of who people are, what they think, and what they have thought.

      • NG: So, clearly, as you say, you were less interested in finding the Wolfs and Schumanns of America, and more in pasting together the full story of our country by finding great selections from the full body of American song.

      • TH: Yes, well put, well put. Without question: always as a narrative.

      • NG: That then leads to the notion of song selection. In looking at the songs, for example, on your EMI Classics CD Song of America, there are some familiar names – Foster, Rorem, Bernstein – but also some names that are not so well known (such as Elinor Warren and John Duke), and some famous composers I would have thought would be there (such as Ives and Copland) that are not. So, for the CD and the Library of Congress tour, how were the songs selected? Was it based on the Library's collection? Was it your choice? Or was it a combination?

      • TH: Very fair question. I have recorded a lot of songs, and a lot of American songs over the years. The Song of America album that came out in 2006 was actually a compilation of old songs re-sung, primarily EMI material. In fact, I go into the studio every once in a while and record songs that I've been singing for some time. But I haven't really bored down on creating a recorded legacy of the songs that I think are across-the-board important. Having said that, there's actually a pretty amazing collection of songs that I've already recorded and more that should be recorded. So, I don't mean it to sound like it's totally hodgepodge, but there is a little bit of that. I keep collecting things together and even this new album – that I'm putting out on my own label – has a wonderful thrust and a lot of unknown things, as well as known things... but it wasn't recorded with a concept or a strategy. It's just another collection. That's why I don't have much fun calling it Song of America 2, because as that implies, it's like a terrific film where you can smell the sequel by the end... (Laughter)

        So I hope to move forward every year demonstrably with recordings, and also put them online and that sort of thing. The fact that some of the great composers haven't had as much attention as perhaps they should have is because I've often been preoccupied with jewels I've found, or have found the public to be very responsive to. And somehow these ignite this whole relationship for people who don't know the repertoire. I may have been slightly tended more towards these "jewels" than some of our really fabulous song composers, like [Ned] Rorem. Of course, I did that big [Samuel] Barber project for Deutsche Grammophon – I'm glad they put it online now. You know, I've actually recorded a whole bunch of American songs over many years. It would be fun to get them into some sort of focus, because they do have a larger narrative. That's probably what this new website, SongOfAmerica.net, will do – which I'm currently building, and will eventually turn over to the Library of Congress.

      • NG: So this really is a lifelong project. And at some point we'll have a 12-volume Song of America box set...

      • TH: I hear the smile in your voice and it's appropriate. As long as Tom Hampson is singing and maybe even after he's stopped singing, there will always be a part of his life called "Song of America". If somebody is interested in having me come and do some concert work or recital work, an option they will always have, amongst other things, is "What about that Song of America thing he does"?

      • NG: That is very interesting about the first Song of America CD. There's so much wonderful music. But I was curious about the selection of the Haydn Wood, "Roses of Picardy". I didn't quite understand that connection. There must be a story that I don't know.

      • TH: Haydn Wood was an English composer. And "Roses of Picardy" came from Old Song Re-Sung, which was about songs that were really well known on the American radio waves, though often written overseas. This song was so beloved on both sides of the Atlantic after WWI that I thought "why not". I have yet to sing it – I don't care whether it's a park concert in San Francisco, or a recital in North Carolina – when there isn't a collective sigh in the audience. It's just one of those iconic songs. So, I decided to make it a "mis-born" part of the American folk iconography – since it meant so much to American troops after WWI.

      • NG: Obviously therein lies its place as a "Song of America". Now, thinking back on the 2005 series – you went to twelve cities over a seven-month period. From Carnegie Hall to Oxford, Mississippi to San Jose, California... What were some of the biggest takeaways that you had as a performer and as an "evangelist" of American song?

      • TH: (Laughter) Well, my son, as an evangelist I can yell you... There was not an evening where you did not get, feel, understand, realize... a collective experience, for whatever public it was – in Oxford, New York, Philadelphia, West Palm Beach. This collective epiphanal sigh, this sort of "wow". That's ours? Oh, that's cool. I like that. Why don't we hear those songs anymore? Oh, that "Flanders Fields", I've known that poem. Oh, "Shenandoah", I've always heard that song – my mom used to sing it. Oh, "Ethiopia", my dad used to sing that... There was some point of connection by every audience. Also, I've sung American programs for non-American audiences, which is also a wonderful experience; because a lot of non-Americans don't realize that we have this body of literature, either as song or as poetry. And that's quite exciting.

        But in our own country, there has yet to be a concert where people don't smile, weep, feel good... but more importantly, connect the dots. That's why we're working so rapidly to get yet another website up and really get all of this cross-reference data so people who have this experience... well, gee if I like that would I like this? This sort of connecting the dots thing that one can do on the net for one's own enrichment. And that is, quite frankly, my work with the Library of Congress. The goal is to have a functioning cross-reference database of poetry, poets, composers, music, epochs, etc, as a time-frame, as a narrative of American culture and where [the songs] came from. And it's still evolving; the story is still being told every day. Song alive and well: there are more songs being written today than ever. It's very, very exciting.

      • NG: For you it has thus been a touchstone and an impetus for conversation with the audience. For them to understand the stories of their own lives a little better.

      • TH: Without question.

      • NG: You've spoken and written about the significance of song in America: as a vehicle whereby poets and composers have been able to define themselves, and in turn us, as Americans. I'm wondering how you would say, through your experiences as a performer, that the insights have been amplified specifically by the musical component. In other words, what truths have you found that you can convey to an audience with the music, which perhaps you could not do with the poetry alone?

      • TH: That's very interesting. That actually is a question that belies the very relationship between a poem and its music. A poem inspires a composer to do what he does. And that musical language very often fleshes out this almost psychological, maybe even subconscious context of the metaphor of that poem. So, sometimes we hear a song and sometimes we read a song. What we certainly do, is experience a song. And I think that balance of metaphoric information and its relationship to your knowledgeable realization – whatever that proportion is – is almost particular to any given song. And that is a challenge and is also fascinating to me. An example would be a ballad like the [Harry Burleigh's] "Ethiopia Saluting the Colors" [Track 20]. There's a lot of very direct information in there that the song musical elements carry forward. You hear "Mary Had a Little Lamb", we hear a little bit of Wagner, we hear a lot of march, and we hear different colors depending on who's talking. It's a ballad narration. It's terrific.

        When you have a song like [Charles Naginski's] "Look Down Fair Moon" [Track 18], you have more the feeling in the music that you're hearing this steam – pardon the gruesomeness of this, – but you're seeing the steam rising from the dead bodies in the field. And you're wondering what that's all about. And you have these highly metaphorical natural images by Walt Whitman: "Look down fair moon and bathe this scene, ... on the dead on their backs with arms toss'd wide." You can't really tell that song. You have to just sing it, let it be there, let everyone imagine what that moon looks like. And that's something you can't narrate.

        If you look back on things that happened over your life and your years, and you talked to someone who was there at the same time, you'll both agree on what the event was. But then you start getting down into the weeds and the particulars, and you could each be of a completely different mind: it was a Tuesday; no, it was a Sunday. But you never ever forget how you felt at that experience. To me, that's the stuff of song. I want to know what people who lived before and after the Civil War felt about life. I want to know what the Depression was like. I want to know what it was like to be an outsider in the Harlem Renaissance. I want to know why we allowed a society to breed a generation of disingenuous personalities like those shown in John Steinbeck's novels and E.A. Robinson's poetry. I want to be able to understand my country. And I think it's that fundamental: we have that blueprint in songs.

      • NG: That's true. One of my favorite songs on the Song of America CD is [Leonard] Bernstein's, "To What You Said". With its evocative music, it does seem to capture a truth about the American spirit that would be difficult to grasp purely from a reading.

      • TH: I agree.

      • NG: So, obviously you are soon to embark on a resumption of your collaboration with the Library of Congress. What was the impetus for the resumption?

      • TH: Well, I think there will always be collaboration with the Library of Congress. But there's a lot of behind the scenes restructuring since the first tour. This one's a private endeavor; it's now a true collaboration, versus the first time around when the Library got stuck producing a lot of this. The Library of Congress should not be producing anything. They should be doing what they do best: being a library, and cooperating with educational institutions, educational endeavors and non-profits. Everything that is commercial is totally out of their hair this time around. It throws light back onto their massive archival resources and the beauty of this greatest of public libraries ever known to man... that is the focus. So it's been a tremendous reorganization. The Library will always be a collaborative partner, as a kind of relay point, in case somebody in the audience wants to know more. Sure, they can go to Tom Hampson's website. You can go to all the websites in the world, but in fact the greatest public library, the greatest source of information, the home of copyright for the world, is the Library of Congress. It's just a massive, wonderful place where someone can enrich their own sense of who they are. I have nothing but the deepest admiration for [chief librarian] James Billington and the people who work for him at the Library. It's the largest public shoebox in the world. It's our artifacts. It's our library and our things. Our thoughts are written down in our books living in that library. And that is really wonderful.

      • NG: So, just a great opportunity to shine the light on American song and the Library of Congress at the same time. And eventually you'd like to tour this to all 50 States?

      • TH: My dream would be a tour – some sort of massive thing, to universities, to establish a curriculum and integrate with the one that's already there; endless ideas that you could build on. But we'll take it one step at a time. I think it would be a wonderful goal: I'm more than halfway through all of the States. I'd like to sing in all 50 States, like Marilyn Horn... Now, I'm gonna have to find a Rotary Club in North Dakota... (Laughter)

      • NG: I think that they've got one... So there is going to be a CD which is coming out in conjunction with this?

      • TH: Yes, and I've produced it independently on my label, Thomas Hampson Media. It's called Wondrous Free, a quote from Francis Hopkinson. It's got everything from Francis Hopkinson to Paul Bowles to Leonard Bernstein to Charles Ives to Stephen Foster to Elinor Warren. It is the great casserole of American song.

      • NG: And when is that due to come out?

      • TH: We will have it physically in our hands for the Ravinia Concert [Highland Park, Illinois] on the 17th of July. And we will get you a copy of this as soon as we have it released for digital processing.

      • NG: We'll obviously feature it in conjunction with this special. Last question: You sing such a broad repertoire. I'm wondering what impact your experience with American song has had on your approach to other repertoires, lied or operatic?

      • TH: The specific impact on the repertoire may be less than taking the general "thesis" of how I look at American song. If you apply it reversely to German or European literature, there's a great deal to be understood about the mindsets, psychology, sociology, and history of thought in Europe. It's a chicken and egg thing for me: we've been so preoccupied with song as a "composer thing", that the poetry – not just poets because they're good poets, but also poets as a literary manifestation of the times – has been taken a little too lightly. So, I like going back and really giving Schumann's poets, or even Schubert's poets, a good hard look at where they were coming from, who they were ... Why did they write what they did, or collect ancient texts as they did? And then how did that inspire Schubert or Schumann? I think there's a richer story there than just being either being fascinated or enchanted by a Schubert melody, to actually take to grips why this poem was written. And sometimes it's just about a great moment to put your feet up and say, "Wow, doesn't it feel good to be a human being because I've heard that?"
       
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