Copland, Appalachian Spring

 

Aaron Copland, Appalachian Spring Part 1/4

Martha Graham, choreographer / Premiered 1944

Martha Graham, bride / Stuart Hodes, husbandman

Bertram Ross, revivalist / Matt Turney, pioneer woman

Yuriko, Helen McGehee, Ethel Winter, Miriam Cole, revivalists' flock

Film Directed and Photographed by Peter Glushanok

Produced by Nathan Kroll, Presented by WQED Pittsburgh

Filmed in 1959

 

1st Mov.: Very slowly.               Introduction of the characters, one by one, in a suffused light. 2nd Mov.: Fast.               Sudden burst of unison strings in A major arpeggios starts the action.               A sentiment both elated and religious gives the keynote to this scene. 3rd Mov.: Moderate.               Duo for the Bride and her Intended scene of tenderness and passion.

 

Copland used a Shaker tune called Simple Gifts as the basis for Appalachian Spring. Both Copland and Graham were deeply influenced by Shaker music and dance. Shakers are a celibate communal religious society that had very progressive ideas and a profound influence on the arts.

 

Aaron Copland, Appalachian Spring Part 2/4

4th Mov.: Quite fast.               The Revivalist and his flock.               Folksy feeling suggestions of square dances and country fiddlers. 5th Mov.: Still faster.               Solo dance of the Bride presentiment of motherhood.               Extremes of joy and fear and wonder. 6th Mov.: Very slowly (as at first).              Transition scene to music reminiscent of the introduction.

 

Aaron Copland, Appalachian Spring Part 3/4

 

7th Mov.: Celebration of marriage and newfound relationships.               This is the iconic use of the 'Simple Gifts' theme               that arguably makes this music piece famous. 8th Mov.: Fast and manic.              The revivalist warns the newlyweds of the perils of evil on the frontier. 9th Mov.: Dramatic and deep.              The husbandman seeks guidance from the pioneer woman. 10th Mov.: Fast and folksy as before.                A return to the flock admiring the preacher.

 

Aaron Copland, Appalachian Spring Part 4/4

 

11th Mov.: Fast and manic.                The bride worries about her impending life on the frontier.                 We see her suggesting childbirth and rearing. 12th Mov.: Slow and calm.                The husbandman comes to the bride to console her with his newfound guidance. 13th Mov.: Dramatic replaying of the theme.                The "Simple Gifts" tune is played once again dramatically                as all the characters celebrate the coming of the husband and wife to the frontier. 14th Mov.: Slow and resolute.                The characters' recessional.                We leave the bride and husbandman to their newfound future.

 

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Appalachian Spring, Concert Suite for Full Orchestra

 

Aaron Copland. Apalachian Spring (Orchestral suite) 25:07

Ulster Orchestra / Thierry Fisher, cond. 2006
Exlusive BBC Recordings / The BBC Music Magazine Collection

 

Appalachian Spring Orchestral Suite, 1944/1945 The story told is a spring celebration of the American pioneers of the 19th century after building a new Pennsylvania farmhouse. Among the central characters are a bride, a groom, a Pioneer Woman, a preacher and his worshippers.The orchestral suite is divided into eight sections, Copland described each scene thus: 00:00 - 1. Very slowly. Introduction of the characters, one by one, in a suffused light. 03:06 - 2. Fast/Allegro. Sudden burst of unison strings in A major arpeggios starts the action. A sentiment both elated and religious gives the keynote to this scene. 05:54 - 3. Moderate/Moderato. Duo for the Bride and her Intended -- scene of tenderness and passion. 09:18 - 4. Quite fast. The Revivalist and his flock. Folksy feeling -- suggestions of square dances and country fiddlers. 12:45 - 5. Still faster/Subito Allegro. Solo dance of the Bride -- presentiment of motherhood. Extremes of joy and fear and wonder. 16:48 - 6. Very slowly (as at first). Transition scene to music reminiscent of the introduction. 18:14 - 7. Calm and flowing/Doppio Movimento. Scenes of daily activity for the Bride and her Farmer husband. There are five variations on a Shaker theme. The theme, sung by a solo clarinet, was taken from a collection of Shaker melodies compiled by Edward D. Andrews, and published under the title "The Gift to Be Simple." The melody borrowed and used almost literally is called "Simple Gifts." 21:08 - 8. Moderate. Coda/Moderato - Coda. The Bride takes her place among her neighbors. At the end the couple are left "quiet and strong in their new house." Muted strings intone a hushed prayerlike chorale passage. The close is reminiscent of the opening music. The original ballet, scored for a thirteen-member chamber orchestra, was created upon commission of choreographer and dancer Martha Graham with funds from the Coolidge Foundation; it premiered on Monday 30 October 1944, at the Library of Congress in Washington DC, with Martha Graham (1894-1991).dancing the lead role. Copland was awarded the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for Music for his achievement. In 1945, Copland rearranged the ballet work as an orchestral suite, preserving most of the music. The ballet and orchestral work were well received. The latter was credited as more important in popularizing the composer. In 1972, Boosey & Hawkes published a version of the suite fusing the structure of the orchestral suite with the scoring of the original ballet: double string quartet, bass, flute, clarinet, bassoon, and piano. All three versions continue to be performed in full. Originally, Copland did not have a title for the work, referring to it simply as Ballet for Martha. Shortly before the premiere, Graham suggested Appalachian Spring, a phrase from a Hart Crane poem, "The Dance" from a collection of poems in his book "The Bridge." O Appalachian Spring! I gained the ledge; Steep, inaccessible smile that eastward bends And northward reaches in that violet wedge Of Adirondacks! Because he composed the music without the benefit of knowing what the title was going to be, Copland was often amused when people told him he captured the beauty of the Appalachians in his music, a fact he alluded to in an interview with NPR's Fred Calland. Little known is that the word "spring" denotes a source of water in the Crane poem; however the poem is a journey to meet springtime.

 

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Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring" / Boston Symphony Orchestra

 

Aaron Copland / Martha Graham / Merce Cunningham / Arthur Rodzinski

Shi Yeon Sung / Leonard Bernstein / Serge Koussevitzky / Charles Munch

Michael Tilson Thomas / Bernard Haitink / Leonard Slatkin / Oliver Nyuson

Nelson Pleisher / Andres P r e v i n

 

Korean conductor Shi-Yeon Sung, in her second season as an assistant conductor of the BSO, makes her subscription series debut with this thoughtfully conceived program of music from four countries. On the program is Aaron Copland's very American suite from "Appalachian Spring". This video takes a closer look at the composer and the music. Take the BSO's Podcast survey at: http://www.thinkvirtualsurvey.com/run...

 

Shi-Yeon Sung   The South Korean conductor Shiyeon Sung is characterised by a natural authority, a collegial and inspiring rehearsal approach and the ability to find the right nuance on the fine line between passion and ratio. With the Gyeonggi Philharmonic Orchestra, whose chief conductor she has been since January 2014, she will go on tour in Europe for the first time in the summer of 2015. Together, they will appear at the Philharmonie Berlin, in Wiesbaden and at the Musik Festival Saar amongst others. Shortly afterwards, she will conduct the National Symphony Orchestra Washington at the Wolf Trap Festival.   When James Levine appointed her as his Assistant Conductor at the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 2008, she already had a reputation as one of the most exciting emerging talents on the international music circuit: shortly before, Shiyeon Sung had won the International Conductors‘ Competition Sir Georg Solti and the Gustav Mahler Conductors‘ Competition in Bamberg. During her three-year tenure in Boston, she began a close collaboration with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra and conducted their season opening concert in 2007. In 2009, the orchestra established an Associate Conductor’s position especially for her, which she held until 2013.   In the meantime, the list of orchestras with whom Shiyeon Sung has worked is remarkable. Renowned European orchestras such as the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Konzerthaus Orchestra Berlin and the Bamberg Symphony are included as well as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which she led in a spectacular debut concert with Martha Argerich and Tongyeong International Music Festivall orchestra. In June 2010, Shiyeon Sung conducted the highly successful re-opening concert of the legendary Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. The Argentinian press enthusiastically praised the young conductor’s “virtuoso ability”. At the Stockholm Opera, she conducted Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orpheus und Eurydike amongst others.   Born in Pusan, South Korea, Shiyeon Sung won various prizes as a pianist in youth competitions. From 2001 to 2006, she studied orchestral conducting with Rolf Reuter at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin and continued her education with advanced conducting studies with Jorma Panula at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm.