Composed: 1943-44
Premiered: 1944, Washington
Duration: 33 minutes

Aaron Copland is arguably the most characteristically American composer. In describing the style of Appalachian Spring and other works of this period, the composer wrote, “We wanted to find a music that would speak of universal things in a vernacular of American speech rhythms… to write music that left popular music far behind, music with a largeness of utterance wholly representative of the country that Whitman envisaged.” Appalachian Spring represents the culmination of Copland’s “plain” American manner. 

Appalachian Spring, subtitled A Ballet for Martha, had its premiere with Martha Graham in Washington in 1944. It was instantly successful, and as a concert suite has remained one of Copland’s most popular works; indeed, perhaps the most popular piece of music by any “serious” American composer. It exists in several different versions, for a chamber ensemble (the original) and for a larger symphony orchestra. 

The ballet tells the story of the marriage of a Pennsylvania pioneer couple, and the setting is their newly built farmhouse. A prominent feature of the score is a set of variations on the Shaker hymn, “Tis the Gift to be Simple” – apt words for this evocative music. The tune has become well known through its inclusion in the ballet, and Copland himself arranged it for a chorus of women’s voices. 

Program note by the late Dr. C.W. Helleiner.