Hello, friends. It is a quiet week for live music in Philadelphia, thanks to the holiday weekend and unofficial start to summer. As you gather with friends and family, or spend time in quiet remembrance of our service members who gave their lives for the country, here is a playlist of music by American composers to accompany you through the day. You can hear many of these pieces on the air at WRTI for Memorial Day, 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Peter Boyer, In the Cause of the Free
Commissioned by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra for the Cincinnati Pops, as part of the Grammy-winning project American Originals: 1918, “In the Cause of the Free” is a meditation on Veteran’s Day and the signing of the Armistice, which ended World War I.
Samuel Barber, Adagio for Strings
Originally the second movement of a string quartet, this piece has come to symbolize American mourning, perhaps beginning with the announcement of Franklin Roosevelt’s death over the radio in 1947.
Aaron Copland, Fanfare for the Common Man
Another commission from the Cincinnati Orchestra — this one from 1942, as the US prepared to enter World War II after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. As Copland said of this piece: “It was the common man, after all, who was doing all the dirty work in the war and the army. He deserved a fanfare.”
Morton Gould, American Salute
A tribute to America, composed on a tight deadline for a patriotic radio program and based on the Civil War era song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.”
John Williams, “Hymn to the Fallen,” from Saving Private Ryan
A memorial to all the soldiers who died in the Normandy invasion of 1944, harrowingly depicted in the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan. In the words of director Steven Spielberg, this work will “stand the test of time and honor forever the fallen of this war and possibly all wars."
William Grant Still, In Memoriam
A veteran of World War I, William Grant Still was commissioned in 1943 by the League of Composers to write a work reflecting patriotic themes and World War II. He chose to honor Black Americans serving abroad with this work, saying: “I also hope that our tribute to those who died will make the democracy for which they fought greater and broader than it has ever been before.”
Richard Rodgers, Victory at Sea
Victory at Sea was a TV documentary that aired on NBC from 1952 to ‘53, in tribute to the U.S. Navy and its role in winning World War II. Richard Rodgers wrote the musical themes for the program with the stipulation that neither he nor NBC would earn any money from the initial run.
Aaron Copland, Letter from Home
Written in 1944 on a commission from Paul Whiteman and the American Broadcasting Company, Letter From Home assumes the perspective of a homesick soldier on the front. Copland scored the piece for Whiteman’s radio orchestra, but later shortened the piece and expanded the orchestration to better suit performances in a concert hall.
Roy Harris, American Overture
Another piece inspired by the well known Civil War era song “When Johnny Comes Marching Home.” Roy Harris — born in Oklahoma and raised in California’s San Gabriel Valley in the early 20th century — wrote much of his music on American themes, including Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight and American Portraits for Orchestra.
