What Music Do You Identify with Thanksgiving?
Tune in to 105.9 FM and WQXR.org for An All-American Thanksgiving
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Thanksgiving, as we all know, has become America's ultimate eating contest. But between stuffing your face with turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, and washing it down with a hearty wine, giving thanks to friends and loved ones often ranks low among people's collective priorities.
WQXR has a solution: a day of music that reminds us of Thanksgiving's original message. We’ll serve up pieces of Americana, songs of harvest, early American ballads, even a few odes to food. Listen for music by Bernstein, Copland, Harrison, Carter and Dvorak, among others.
We'd also like to hear from you. Before that tryptophan-induced coma sets in, tell us: what does a perfect Thanksgiving playlist look like? Take our poll and leave a comment below.
And before you head out to shop, we'd love to know your feelings about Christmas music in stores and malls too. (Be honest!)
Comments [4]
I wonder if anyone else in my generation recalls hearing MacDowell's "Indian Suite" as a background to a Thanksgiving skit acted out by no less than "Captain Kangaroo" (Bob Keeshan) and "Mr. Greenjeans" (Hugh "Lumpy" Brannum) on that eponymous children's show on CBS? It stuck with me all this time. That, along with "A Prayer of Thanksgiving" by Edward Kremser (spelling?) that we used to sing in grammar school along with, of course, "Over the River and Through the Woods". No less than Jussi Bjoerling sang "A Prayer of Thanksgiving" on a "Voice of Firestone" telecast of 19 November 1951 as a solo, then accompanied by the program's chorus, and the studio audience! It might still be available on VHS or DVD. Ah, memories...
"The Promise of Living" (Act I closing quintet) from Aaron Copland's opera, "The Tender Land."
Dvorak joins the list of classical Americana composers thanks to his visit to a Czech settlement in Spillville, IA (1893). It's appropriate to hear the New World Symphony on Thanksgiving because of its Native American-inspired motif (especially the slow movement). My vote for a Thanksgiving piece would be Virgil Thompson's "The Plow that Broke the Plains," in honor of Ken Burn's documentary "The Dust Bowl." The piece needs a second listen, perhaps today!
Ever since my own discovery of this MASTERPIECE while playing with The Westchester Youth Symphony back in the early 80's, is has become a tradition of mine to listen to Dvorak's 9th Symphony (from the 'New World') every Thanksgiving, without fail. Now as a father of small children, it is getting tougher to find adequate quiet time to properly listen to it on the actual house stereo system, so for the past few years, I've been getting up real early to take a long walk by myself with my i-pod. I listen to 2 versions of it: Sir Georg Solti's & Fritz Reiner's--both with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The reason for both is because while I find these to be my favorite interpretations, I still take issue with certain tempos & phrasings, most notably in movements II & IV of both versions (just my personal preferences).
And while I listen to many other of Dvorak's works all year long, I will ONLY listen to the #9 on Thanksgiving; it is THAT special to me. Quirky, I know--but I can't wait until my children are old enough to appreciate this tradition for themselves too!
Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!
peterjblume.com
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