Type of Submission
Performance
Proposal
Aaron Copland is best known for his unique and innovative composition style. He often took familiar songs and disassembled them to then reconfigure them in an advanced and imaginative way. He used counterpoint, dissonant harmonies, and twelve-tone rows in his works for orchestra, ballet, chamber ensembles, opera and film scores, and even voice. Copland artistically defined the sound of American music by combining modern and classical techniques with the influence of American poetry and literature. This presentation will look at the works of Aaron Copland, particularly his song cycles, which include the Twelve Poems for Emily Dickinson (1950) which is based on the work of an American poet. I will show how Copland’s interpretation of American folk music and American literature was a stepping stone in defining the American sound. Additionally, I will sing a small sample of Aaron Copland’s Twelve Poems for Emily Dickinson (1950).
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Publication Date
2023
Defining the American Sound: Literary Influences in Aaron Copland Works
Aaron Copland is best known for his unique and innovative composition style. He often took familiar songs and disassembled them to then reconfigure them in an advanced and imaginative way. He used counterpoint, dissonant harmonies, and twelve-tone rows in his works for orchestra, ballet, chamber ensembles, opera and film scores, and even voice. Copland artistically defined the sound of American music by combining modern and classical techniques with the influence of American poetry and literature. This presentation will look at the works of Aaron Copland, particularly his song cycles, which include the Twelve Poems for Emily Dickinson (1950) which is based on the work of an American poet. I will show how Copland’s interpretation of American folk music and American literature was a stepping stone in defining the American sound. Additionally, I will sing a small sample of Aaron Copland’s Twelve Poems for Emily Dickinson (1950).
