Description
The warm reception of the Old American Songs in 1951 prompted Copland to write an immediate sequel, Old American Songs II, made up of settings of "The Little Horses," "Zion's Walls," "The Gold Willow Tree," "At the River," and "Ching-a-Ring Chaaw." Although they elicited little critical comment at the time, these became extremely popular and remain so to this day. As with the first set, Copland preserves the tunes' rhetorical directness and simple diatonic harmonies in his arrangements, while adding numerous personal touches. In the camp-meeting spiritual "Zion's Walls," for example, he adds a novel contrasting section based on his own countermelody to the original tune, while he entirely rearranges the ballad "The... read more
