Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States. Above and beyond his own considerable accomplishments, Lincoln has inspired a lot of music. This Sunday on “The Lost Chord,” we’ll honor him on his birthday, with three diverse works.
Composer David Diamond set the Gettysburg Address as “On Sacred Ground,” a work for mixed chorus, children’s chorus, baritone solo and orchestra. The piece was given its first performance two days before the centenary of Lincoln’s delivery of the actual Address, which he spoke on November 19, 1863. We’ll hear it tonight, to start.
Then, as a bit of a palate-cleanser, we’ll listen to Paul Turok’s buoyant “Variations on an American Song: Lincoln and Liberty,” also composed in 1963. The melody is based on a traditional Irish fiddle tune, “Rosin the Bow,” which had been outfitted with new lyrics for use in Lincoln’s 1859 presidential campaign:
“Then up with our banner so glorious,
The star-spangled red-white-and-blue,
We’ll fight till our Cause is victorious,
For Lincoln and Liberty, too!”
Finally, we’ll return to Gettysburg and music by American composer Roy Harris, who shares Lincoln’s birthday, though born 89 years apart. Furthermore, Harris was born in a log cabin in Lincoln County, Oklahoma. If that doesn’t fill one with a sense of destiny, I don’t know what will!
In his day, Harris was regarded as one of America’s greatest composers, particularly renowned for his symphonies. His Symphony No. 3 is his most famous work; what we’ll be hearing is the Symphony No. 6, subtitled “Gettysburg.”
Each movement bears a superscription taken from the Gettysburg Address.
I. Awakening (“Fourscore and seven years ago…”);
II. Conflict (“Now we are engaged in a great civil war…”);
III. Dedication (“We are met on a great battlefield of that war…”);
IV. Affirmation (“…that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain…).
It’s all music in honor of the Great Emancipator. I hope you’ll join me for “Lincoln Portraits,” this Sunday night at 10:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and at wwfm.org.
