Roy Harris, one of America's foremost composers in the middle part of the twentieth century, composers, always felt a strong connection to the martyred American president Abraham Lincoln, in part because Harris was born on Lincoln's Birthday in a log cabin in Lincoln County, Nebraska. IN late 1963, he had a commission from Broadcast Music, Incorporated, for a new piece to be played at the International Festival of Los Angeles County in spring of 1964. Another presidential assassination, that of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, determined the content of this eight minute orchestral work.

The work is a lyrical and grieving piece with considerable dignity and a sense of resolve. The title of the piece refers to a prize-inning book (authorship officially attributed to Kennedy), which told the inspiring stories of politically brave individuals from American history. It was premiered at the festival in Los Angeles, Franz Waxman conducting, and received its European premier under the baton of Charles Groves in London, at a concert honoring the memory of President Kennedy.



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