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Frostiana
''Frostiana: Seven Country Songs'' is a piece for mixed chorus and piano composed in 1959 by Randall Thompson. It premiered on October 18, 1959, in Amherst, Massachusetts. Thompson later scored the piece for chamber orchestra and chorus; this version was first performed on April 23, 1965. Thompson was commissioned by the town of Amherst to write a piece commemorating its bicentennial in 1959. The town was known for its association with Robert Frost, who had lived there for some years. Frost had known Thompson for some time, and admired his music; accordingly, it was decided that the commemorative work would be a setting of some of Frost's poetry. The town suggested " The Gift Outright"; Thompson, however, feared that the text was inappropriate for the occasion, and asked to be allowed to choose his own texts. In the end, the composer selected seven poems, with which he constructed a seven-movement suite of choral art songs: *"The Road Not Taken" *"The Pasture" *"Come ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Randall Thompson
Randall Thompson (April 21, 1899 – July 9, 1984) was an American composer, particularly noted for his choral works. Career Randall attended The Lawrenceville School, where his father was an English teacher. He then attended Harvard University, became assistant professor of music and choir director at Wellesley College, and received a doctorate in music from the University of Rochester's Eastman School of Music. He went on to teach at the Curtis Institute of Music (serving as its Director 1941/1942), at the University of Virginia, and at Harvard University. He is particularly noted for his choral works. He was an honorary member of the Rho Tau chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity at Appalachian State University. Thompson composed three symphonies and numerous vocal works including ''Americana'', '' The Testament of Freedom'', '' Frostiana'', and '' The Peaceable Kingdom'', inspired by Edward Hicks's painting. His most popular and recognizable choral work is his anthem, ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Frost
Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. His work was initially published in England before it was published in the United States. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New England in the early 20th century, using them to examine complex social and philosophical themes. Frequently honored during his lifetime, Frost is the only poet to receive four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. He became one of America's rare "public literary figures, almost an artistic institution".''Contemporary Literary Criticism''. Ed. Jean C. Stine, Bridget Broderick, and Daniel G. Marowski. Vol. 26. Detroit: Gale Research, 1983. p 110. He was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 1960 for his poetic works. On July 22, 1961, Frost was named poet laureate of Vermont. Biography Early life Robert Frost was born in San Francisco to journalist William Prescott Frost J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
"Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" is a poem by Robert Frost, written in 1922, and published in 1923 in his ''New Hampshire'' volume. Imagery, personification, and repetition are prominent in the work. In a letter to Louis Untermeyer, Frost called it "my best bid for remembrance". Analysis The text of the poem reflects the thoughts of a lone wagon driver (the narrator), pausing at dusk in his travel to watch snow falling in the woods. It ends with him reminding himself that, despite the loveliness of the view, "I have promises to keep, / And miles to go before I sleep." Background Frost wrote the poem in June 1922 at his house in Shaftsbury, Vermont. He had been up the entire night writing the long poem "New Hampshire" from the poetry collection of the same name, and had finally finished when he realized morning had come. He went out to view the sunrise and suddenly got the idea for "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening". He wrote the new poem "about the snowy evening an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which spans from the medieval era to the present, or popular music repertoire. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm, hand, and facial gestures. The term ''choir'' is very often applied to groups affiliated with a church (whether or not they actually occupy the quire), whereas a ''chorus'' performs in theatres or concert halls, but this distinction is not rigid. Choirs may sing without instruments, or accompanied by a piano, pipe organ, a small ensemble, or an orchestra. A choir can be a subset of an ensemble; thus one speaks of the "woodwind choir" of an orchestra, or different "choirs" of voices or instruments in a polychoral composition. In typical 18th century to 21st century oratorios and masses, 'choru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys (small levers) that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings. It was invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700. Description The word "piano" is a shortened form of ''pianoforte'', the Italian term for the early 1700s versions of the instrument, which in turn derives from ''clavicembalo col piano e forte'' (key cimbalom with quiet and loud)Pollens (1995, 238) and ''fortepiano''. The Italian musical terms ''piano'' and ''forte'' indicate "soft" and "loud" respectively, in this context referring to the variations in volume (i.e., loudness) produced in response to a pianist's touch or pressure on the keys: the grea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst () is a New England town, town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Connecticut River valley. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,263, making it the highest populated municipality in Hampshire County (although the county seat is Northampton, Massachusetts, Northampton). The town is home to Amherst College, Hampshire College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, three of the Five College Consortium, Five Colleges. The name of the town is pronounced without the ''h'' ("AM-erst") by natives and long-time residents, giving rise to the local saying, "only the 'h' is silent", in reference both to the pronunciation and to the town's politically active populace. Amherst has three census-designated places: Amherst Center, Massachusetts, Amherst Center, North Amherst, Massachusetts, North Amherst, and South Amherst, Massachusetts, South Amherst. Amherst is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metropolitan area, Massachusetts, Metr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chamber Orchestra
Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers, with one performer to a part (in contrast to orchestral music, in which each string part is played by a number of performers). However, by convention, it usually does not include solo instrument performances. Because of its intimate nature, chamber music has been described as "the music of friends". For more than 100 years, chamber music was played primarily by amateur musicians in their homes, and even today, when chamber music performance has migrated from the home to the concert hall, many musicians, amateur and professional, still play chamber music for their own pleasure. Playing chamber music requires special skills, both musical and social, that differ from the skills required for playing solo or symphonic works. J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bicentennial
__NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe *French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated in 1989 * Bicentennial of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, 2013–2015 United States * George Washington Bicentennial, commemorating the 200th birthday of the United States' first president, celebrated in 1932 * United States Bicentennial, the 200th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, celebrated in 1976 * Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial, commemorating the 200th birthday of the United States' 16th president, celebrated in 2009 Latin America * Argentina Bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the ''Revolución de Mayo'', celebrated in 2010 *Bicentennial of Chile, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the beginning of the independence process in Chile, with the first Government ''Junta'' of Chile establ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Gift Outright
"The Gift Outright" is a poem written by Robert Frost. Frost originally recited it at the College of William & Mary in 1941, but its most famous recitation occurred at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy in 1961.Tuten, Nancy Lewis; Zubizarreta, John (2001). ''The Robert Frost Encyclopedia.'' Greenwood Publishing Group, Publication The poem was first published in the ''Virginia Quarterly Review'' in Spring of 1942. It was collected in Frost's volume '' A Witness Tree'' in 1943. According to Jeffrey S. Cramer the poem may have been written as early as 1936. Frost was a big lover of his country, and wrote many poems about American life, culture, beliefs, etc. "His poem, ‘The Gift Outright', reveals his patriotic fervor and presents the history of his country since the days of colonialism." Frost meant this poem to be a symbol of patriotism in hard times. Surrounding current events in the world may have contributed to the creation of the poem, such as World War II and the Great D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Art Song
An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such songs (e.g., the "art song repertoire").Meister, ''An Introduction to the Art Song'', pp. 11–17. An art song is most often a musical setting of an independent poem or text, "intended for the concert repertory" "as part of a recital or other relatively formal social occasion". While many pieces of vocal music are easily recognized as art songs, others are more difficult to categorize. For example, a wordless vocalise written by a classical composer is sometimes considered an art song and sometimes not. Other factors help define art songs: *Songs that are part of a staged work (such as an aria from an opera or a song from a musical) are not usually considered art songs.Kimball, p. xiv However, some Baroque arias that "appear with great frequ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Road Not Taken
"The Road Not Taken" is a narrative poem by Robert Frost, first published in the August 1915 issue of ''The Atlantic Monthly'', and later published as the first poem in the collection '' Mountain Interval'' of 1916. Its central theme is the divergence of paths, both literally and figuratively, although its interpretation is noted for being complex and potentially divergent. The first 1915 publication differs from the 1916 republication in ''Mountain Interval'': In line 13, "marked" is replaced by "kept" and a dash replaces a comma in line 18. Background Frost spent the years 1912 to 1915 in England, where among his acquaintances was the writer Edward Thomas. Thomas and Frost became close friends and took many walks together. One day, as they were walking together, they came across two roads. Thomas was indecisive about which road to take, and in retrospect often lamented that they should have taken the other one. After Frost returned to New Hampshire in 1915, he sent Thom ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1959 Compositions
Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of Earth's Moon, and was also the first spacecraft to be placed in heliocentric orbit. * January 3 ** The three southernmost atolls of the Maldive Islands, Maldive archipelago (Addu Atoll, Huvadhu Atoll and Fuvahmulah island) United Suvadive Republic, declare independence. ** Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state. * January 4 ** In Cuba, rebel troops led by Che Guevara and Camilo Cienfuegos enter the city of Havana. ** Léopoldville riots: At least 49 people are killed during clashes between the police and participants of a meeting of the ABAKO Party in Kinshasa, Léopoldville in the Belgian Congo. * January 6 ** Fidel Castro arrives in Havana. ** The International Maritime Organization is inaugurated. * January 7 – The United States reco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
