Both works were choral settings - Thompson adapted texts by Thomas Jefferson for his Testament of Freedom; Hanson drew upon Walt Whitman for Songs from "Drum Taps."
As always in this series, the orchestra was the Eastman-Rochester Symphony, led by Hanson, the director of the Eastman School of Music. The voices were from the Eastman School Chorus.
The background for this patriotic fervor was World War II, which had concluded just seven years before. But in the arts, "Americana" was not new, nor was it necessarily tied to the war. Realism of both the urban and rural varieties was a strong theme in the visual arts between the two world wars. And composers in the US (and elsewhere) assimilated elements of vernacular music into their works, seeking to bridge their world with that of the common folks.
In the realm of patriotic music, Abraham Lincoln was the key figure. Perhaps the best known work of this type is Copland's A Lincoln Portrait, but there also had been Roy Harris' setting of Vachel Lindsay, Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight. and Harl MacDonald's Builders of America, which depicted both Lincoln and George Washington.
These works are uneven. The text that MacDonald set is ludicrous, Lindsay's poem is contrived, and Copland's text has been widely derided (although I do like it). In all cases - particularly A Lincoln Portrait - the music is worthwhile, however.
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| Randall Thompson |
The New York Times piled on: "Opening with a fanfare and simulating the sounds of warfare in the third selection, The Testament pulls out al the stops. It is vigorous and, in its way, effective, but its way suggests a collaboration between the Department of the Army and Hollywood."
A dissenting view from The New Records, with which I happen to concur: "Mr. Thompson's work manages to be impressive without being melodramatically sensational and, from a technical standpoint, is quite well-wrought."
Thompson was a professor of music at Harvard. You'll find his enjoyable Symphony No. 2 here, in a performance led by Dean Dixon.
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| Howard Hanson |
High Fidelity was more measured: "Whitman's free verse is so musical in itself that musicians approach it at their peril. Nevertheless its very musicality constantly tempts composers, only one of whom - Frederick Delius in Sea Drift - has managed to do anything important with it. Hanson's drum taps behind Drum Taps are pretty obvious."
And the New York Times liked the work, contrasting it with Thompson's Jefferson settings: "Here, though, the music is less directly inspirational. Instead, it works to release the dramatic quality inherent in the poems. 'Beat! Beat! Drums!' is especially successful." I would add that "By the bivouac's fitful flame" is effective and beautifully done here by the chorus and baritone David Meyers.
Songs from "Drum Taps" dates from the mid-1930s.
Howard Hanson has appeared here many times as composer and conductor. In the American Music Festival Series we have him conducting the following:
- Edward MacDowell's Second Indian Suite
- Americana for Solo Winds and String Orchestra, including Hanson's Serenade for Flute, Strings and Harp
- His Symphony No. 4, along with an alternative recording led by Dean Dixon
- American Music for String Orchestra with works by Mennini, Foote and Canning
Also these discs:
- Hanson's Piano Concerto, with soloist Rudolf Firkušný
- Another version of his Serenade, from the Cleveland Sinfonietta and Louis Lane
The transfer of Music for Democracy was the result of a request. The sound is typical for Mercury classical recordings of the time, which many people love but I find it can be harsh and boomy. It is certainly vivid, which suits the music. The download includes reviews and scans of both the original issue and the so-called "Olympian" series reissue, which had the alternative cover below.
