These four Naxos American Classics releases selected for this Americana collection... focus on some of the defining moments of that history. First... a panorama of works inspired by Abraham Lincoln in defnitive performances conducted by Leonard Slatkin... Then Hannibal Lokumbe's rousing tribute to Rosa Parks... features the Detroit Symphony and the combined singers of two of Michigan's most venerable choruses. Next, Peter Boyer's dramatic account of the arrival of immigrants to Ellis Island in the early 20th century is narrated by an all-star cast including Eli Wallch and Olympia Dukakis. Finally, the first ever complete recordings of two film scores by Virgil Thomson for 1930s documentaries detailing the plight of rural Americans priot to the New Deal... " - Frank J. Oteri, NewMusicBox. Com
2 Words of Helen Cohen, Emigrated from Poland in 1920, Read By Blair Brown - Blair Brown
3 Interlude 1 - Philharmonia Orchestra
4 Words of James Apanomith, Emigrated from Greece in 1911, Read By Louis Zorich - Louis Zorich
5 Interlude 2 - Philharmonia Orchestra
6 Words of Lillian Galleta, Emigrated from Italy in 1928, Read By Olympia Dukakis - Olympia Dukakis
7 Interlude 3 - Philharmonia Orchestra
8 Words of Lazarus Salamon, Emigrated from Hungary in 1920, Read By Eli Wallach - Eli Wallach
9 Interlude 4 - Philharmonia Orchestra
10 Words of Helen Rosenthal, Emigrated from Belgium in 1940, Read By Bebe Neuwirth - Bebe Neuwirth
11 Interlude 5 - Philharmonia Orchestra
12 Words of Manny Steen, Emigrated from Ireland in 1925, Read By Barry Bostwick - Barry Bostwick
13 Interlude 6 - Philharmonia Orchestra
14 Words of Katherine Beychook, Emigrated from Russia in 1910, Read By Anne Jackson - Anne Jackson
15 Epilogue: 'The New Colossus' (Emma Lazarus, 1883), Read By All Actors - Various Performers
- Disc 2 -
1 Lincoln, the Great Commoner - Various Performers
2 A Lincoln Address, Op. 124 - Barry Scott/Nashville Symphony Orchestra
3 Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight - Various Performers
4 Preamble - Nashville Symphony Orchestra
5 Walt Whitman and the Dying Soldier - Nashville Symphony Orchestra
6 Passing Troops - Nashville Symphony Orchestra
7 The Telegraph Fugue - Nashville Symphony Orchestra
8 Moonlight on the Savannah - Nashville Symphony Orchestra
9 The Theatre - Nashville Symphony Orchestra
10 The River Queen - Nashville Symphony Orchestra
11 Premonitions - Nashville Symphony Orchestra
12 Pennsylvania Avenue, April 9, 1865 - Nashville Symphony Orchestra
13 Good Friday, 1865 - Nashville Symphony Orchestra
14 The Long Rain - Nashville Symphony Orchestra
15 Conclusion - Nashville Symphony Orchestra
- Disc 3 -
1 Lincoln Legend - Nashville Symphony Orchestra
2 Evocation - Various Performers
3 Choral Scene - Various Performers
4 March - Various Performers
5 Declaration - Various Performers
6 Epilogue - Various Performers
7 Variations on An American Song: Aspects of Lincoln and Liberty, Op. 20 - Nashville Symphony Orchestra
8 Lincoln Portrait - Barry Scott/Nashville Symphony Orchestra
- Disc 4 -
1 Prelude - Post-Classical Ensemble
2 Pastorale (Grass) - Post-Classical Ensemble
3 Cattle - Post-Classical Ensemble
4 The Homesteader - Post-Classical Ensemble
5 Warning - Post-Classical Ensemble
6 War and the Tractor - Post-Classical Ensemble
7 Speculation (Blues) - Post-Classical Ensemble
8 Drought - Post-Classical Ensemble
9 Wind and Dust - Post-Classical Ensemble
10 Devastation - Post-Classical Ensemble
11 Prelude - Post-Classical Ensemble
12 First Forest - Post-Classical Ensemble
13 A Big River - Post-Classical Ensemble
14 Cotton Pickers - Post-Classical Ensemble
15 Ruins - Post-Classical Ensemble
16 Logging - Post-Classical Ensemble
17 Coal - Post-Classical Ensemble
18 Floods - Post-Classical Ensemble
19 Requiem - Post-Classical Ensemble
20 Tenancy - Post-Classical Ensemble
21 Finale - Post-Classical Ensemble
- Disc 5 -
1 A Prayer for the World - the Over Soul Sends to Us - Various Performers
2 A Prayer for the World - Various Performers
3 For We Have Walked the Streets of Babylon, Forty Thousand Strong - Various Performers
4 In Sacrifice - Various Performers
5 For the Future - Various Performers
6 Seeds of the World - Various Performers
7 Songs from Heaven Falling - Various Performers
8 Like Luminous Rain Upon the Daughters of Isis - Various Performers
9 Giving Their Children the Will to Continue - Various Performers
10 Singing a Prayer for the Souls of the World - Various Performers
These four Naxos American Classics releases selected for this Americana collection... focus on some of the defining moments of that history. First... a panorama of works inspired by Abraham Lincoln in defnitive performances conducted by Leonard Slatkin... Then Hannibal Lokumbe's rousing tribute to Rosa Parks... features the Detroit Symphony and the combined singers of two of Michigan's most venerable choruses. Next, Peter Boyer's dramatic account of the arrival of immigrants to Ellis Island in the early 20th century is narrated by an all-star cast including Eli Wallch and Olympia Dukakis. Finally, the first ever complete recordings of two film scores by Virgil Thomson for 1930s documentaries detailing the plight of rural Americans priot to the New Deal... " - Frank J. Oteri, NewMusicBox. Com