Lincoln Portrait

Lincoln Portrait (also known as A Lincoln Portrait) is a classical orchestral work written by the American composer Aaron Copland. The work involves a full orchestra, with particular emphasis on the brass section at climactic moments. The work is narrated with the reading of excerpts of Abraham Lincoln's great documents, including the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln Portrait was written by Copland as part of the World War II patriotic war effort in 1942.^{[citation needed]}

History

Copland was asked to write a musical portrait of an "eminent American" by the conductor Andre Kostelanetz. Originally, Copland had wanted to portray Walt Whitman, but it was decided^[who?] that a political figure was needed: "From this moment, Lincoln seemed inevitable." (Copland)^{[citation needed]} Copland used material from speeches and letters of Lincoln and quoted original folk songs of the period, including "Camptown Races" and "Springfield Mountain".^{[citation needed]}

Copland finished Lincoln Portrait in April 1942.

The first performance was by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on 14 May 1942, with William Adams as the narrator.^{[citation needed]}

Instrumentation

Lincoln Portrait is scored for a speaker and an orchestra, preferably including:^{[citation needed]}

• 2 flutes (doubling 2 piccolos)
• 2 oboes
• English horn (optional)
• 2 clarinets in B-flat
• bass clarinet
• 2 bassoons
• contrabassoon (optional)
• 4 horns
• 3 trumpets in B-flat (two required; one optional)
• 3 trombones
• tuba
• timpani
• snare drum
• cymbals
• bass drum
• tamtam
• glockenspiel
• sleigh bells
• xylophone
• celesta (optional)
• harp
• strings

Note that the English horn, the bass clarinet, the contrabassoon, the 3rd trumpet, and the celesta were deemed not essential for performance^{[clarification needed]} by the composer and may be omitted from the performance ensemble as necessary.^{[citation needed]}

The composition has also been transcribed for other ensembles, such as wind ensemble.^{[citation needed]}

Famous narrators

Famous narrators of Lincoln Portrait have included:

• Marian Anderson, Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Seiji Ozawa and Aaron Copland, both times at Saratoga Springs (1966 and 1977)
• Alec Baldwin, Philadelphia Orchestra 2009^[1]
• Richard Butler (Governor of Tasmania), Sydney Symphony
• Walter Cronkite, U.S. Air Force Symphony Orchestra
• Clifton Davis, Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Fabio Mechetti, at Times-Union Center for the Performing Arts Florida, USA, 2009
• Frankie Faison, Montclair State University Orchestra, Spring 2000
• Henry Fonda, London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Aaron Copland, at Walthamstow London, 1968^[2]
• Danny Glover, Appleton West High School Wind Ensemble, Fox Cities PAC, December 2002
• Al Gore, New York Philharmonic
• Tom Hanks, U.S. Armed Forces Symphony, at the We Are One celebration, 18 January 2009^[3]
• Katharine Hepburn, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
• Charlton Heston, Utah Symphony Orchestra^[4]
• Samuel L. Jackson, Orchestra of St. Luke's conducted by James Levine
• James Earl Jones has performed the piece several times, including with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra^[5], San Francisco Symphony, and at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration in February 2009
• Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, Symphony by the Sea, at the Newburyport Yankee Homecoming, 29 July 2006^[6]
• Walter Mondale, Minnesota Orchestra
• Paul Newman, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra^[7]
• Barack Obama, Chicago Symphony Orchestra^[8]
• Gregory Peck, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra^[9]
• Vincent Price, Yale Symphony Orchestra
• Esther Rolle
• Carl Sandburg, New York Philharmonic, conducted by Andre Kostelanetz
• Norman Schwarzkopf, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra^[10]
• Willie Stargell
• Adlai Stevenson, Philadelphia Orchestra^[11], conducted by Eugene Ormandy (and recorded by Columbia Records)
• James Taylor, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
• Margaret Thatcher, London Symphony Orchestra^[12]
• Gore Vidal, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, at Hollywood Bowl, 2 August 2007
• William Warfield, several orchestras and conductors
• Frank J. Williams, Rhode Island Philharmonic, February 2009^[13]

Popular culture

The composition was lampooned by Peter Schickele ("P. D. Q. Bach") in his piece Bach Portrait on the album 1712 Overture and Other Musical Assaults.

References

1. ^ http://www.philorch.org/performance/8672/2009/08/05/
2. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEFDF1E3EF93BA3575BC0A965958260
3. ^ http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/isnt-time-live-blogging-sundays-inaugural-concert
4. ^ http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/May01/Copland_Gould.htm
5. ^ http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000006YT/
6. ^ http://www.tedkennedy.com/mass/1067/kennedy-narrates-copelands-a-lincoln-portrait-at-newburyports-symphony-by-the-sea
7. ^ http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4790854
8. ^ http://www.millenniumpark.org/newsandmedia/documents/BlockbusterWeekendUpdatedRelease.pdf
9. ^ http://www.npr.org/programs/pt/features/lincolnportrait.html
10. ^ http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/May01/Copland_Gould.htm
11. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEFDF1E3EF93BA3575BC0A965958260
12. ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE3DA173BF935A25751C0A965958260
13. ^ http://www.projo.com/music/content/philrerv_03-01-09_34DGDJQ_v6.3af4cd8.html

External links

• NPR interview and broadcast of Lincoln Portrait -- contains the original text for the narration.
• CarlSandburg.net: A Research Website for Sandburg Studies