In honor of Presidents’ Day, here is Lincoln Portrait by twentieth century American composer Aaron Copland. Listen to the way Copland combines music and Lincoln’s eloquent words to create a monument to the 16th president. Besides the use of popular early American songs like Camptown Races and Springfield Mountain, do you hear anything else in the music that seems distinctly American?
Listen to Copland talk about Lincoln Portrait and get some background on the piece here. You can find a recording on iTunes and Amazon.
Here is a great old recording with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. Adlai Stevenson is the narrator:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cs6cIi_mKfg