What’s this program about?
Professor Carol discusses the history, customs, and geography of America that inspire our diverse choral music, from Colonial times to the present, emphasizing texts of John Stirling Walker and Eric Johns, tunebooks and hymnals, liturgy, folk song, and spirituals.

Works Discussed: Leonard Bernstein: Mass; Aaron Copland: The Tender Land; Randall Thompson: “Alleluia”; Choral works by David Conte, Hubert Bird, Ned Rorem, William Billings, Stephen Paulus

Where you can find:
Bernstein Mass
Copland The Tender Land
Randall Thompson “Alleluia”

 Music of the American Spirit 2 [14:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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What’s this program about?
John Gibson’s choral work “Mockingbird Sings” utilizes Native American texts of the Yuma, Zuni, Laguna, and Apache tribes. The title refers to the individual charged with remembering events and traditions and his recounting of this oral history in songs and stories. In this interview, Gibson explains his approach to setting these unusual texts to music and factors that distinguish American music from its European roots.

Works Discussed: John Gibson’s “Mockingbird Sings”

 Music of the American Spirit [18:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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