People not familiar with the “Old American Songs” of composer Aaron Copland will nonetheless recognize many of the melodies. The tunes are beautiful and often considered symbolic of the freedom and blessings that are the hallmark of living on these shores. Marin Alsop conducts the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra in a presentation of “Copland’s America: Appalachian Spring” Friday evening at the Music Center at Strathmore. As part of the BSO’s Off the Cuff Series, the program offers a fresh take on classical music by exploring the pieces performed along with the lives (and often the all-too-human foibles) of the composers who wrote them.
Baritone William Sharp joins Alsop and the orchestra as he performs seven of 10 songs arranged by Copland and placed in a two-set volume that he called “Old American Songs.” These were pre-existing tunes of the day that Copland set to rich and full orchestration between the years 1950-1952.
| Onstage |
| Off the Cuff: Copland’s America: Appalachian Spring |
| Where: The Music Center at Strathmore, 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda |
| When: 8:15 p.m. Friday |
| Info: $28 to $88, 410-783-8000 or BSOmusic.org |
“These are iconic, very well known pieces,” Sharp explained. “I think we tend to take them for granted because they are so familiar. These are hymns, Shaker songs and minstrel songs.”
Sharp notes that “Simple Gifts” is perhaps the most recognizable — one heard all of the time and in just about every imaginable setting.
“But Copland made it famous, placing it within the context of orchestral accompaniment,” he continued.
The six additional songs from Copland’s volumes will be delivered in Sharp’s rich, baritone voice, one he says, “matches the place where most people speak and therefore conducive to clarity when it comes to handling words.” These arrangements include “The Dodger,” a campaign song and “The Little Horses,” a famous lullaby that begins, “Hush a bye, don’t you cry.” Another instantly recognizable song, “At the River,” (as in “Shall we gather …”) is a hymn written by another musical composer, but arranged so magnificently by Copland that his score is the one that actually defines the piece for most Americans.
So too, with Copland’s symphonic masterpiece, “Appalachian Spring.” Here is a piece that, for most listeners, embodies the definitive “American” sound. Ironically, Copland, who is so identified with rural America, grew up in New York, never to venture far from home.
