Lincoln Portrait

Lincoln Portrait is an orchestral work written by the American composer Aaron Copland. The work involves a full orchestra, with particular emphasis on the brass section at climactic moments. The work is narrated with the reading of excerpts of Abraham Lincoln's great documents, including the Gettysburg Address. "Lincoln Portrait" was written by Copland as part of the World War II patriotic war effort in 1942. The composition has also been transcribed for other ensembles, such as wind ensemble.

Copland was asked to write a musical portrait of an "eminent American", by the conductor Andre Kostelanetz. Originally, Copland wanted to portray Walt Whitman, but it was decided that a political figure was needed. "From this moment, Lincoln seemed inevitable" (Copland). Copland used material from speeches and letters of Lincoln and quoted original folk songs of the period, including "Camptown Races" and "Springfield Mountain". He finished the piece in April 1942 and its first performance was by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on May 14, 1942, with William Adams as the narrator.

Instrumentation

This piece is scored for speaker and an orchestra consisting of 2 flutes (doubling 2 piccolos), 2 oboes, english horn, 2 clarinets in B-flat, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets in B-flat, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, snare drum, cymbals, bass drum, tamtam, glockenspiel, sleigh bells, xylophone, celesta, harp, and strings.

*if needed, the English horn, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, 3rd trumpet, and celesta are deemed not essential for performance by the composer.

Famous narrators

The piece has been narrated by a variety of famous people, including:

*James Bultman (President of Hope College), Hope College Wind Symphony
*Richard Butler (Governor of Tasmania), Sydney Symphony
*Walter Cronkite, U.S. Air Force Symphony Orchestra
*Henry Fonda, London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Aaron Copland, at Walthamstow London, 1968 [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEFDF1E3EF93BA3575BC0A965958260]
*Al Gore, New York Philharmonic
*Edward Heath, Cleveland Orchestra
*Katharine Hepburn, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra
*Charlton Heston, Utah Symphony Orchestra [http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/May01/Copland_Gould.htm]
*James Earl Jones, Seattle Symphony Orchestra [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000006YT/]
*William Clarence Marshall, Cleveland Orchestra
*Walter Mondale, Minnesota Orchestra
*Paul Newman, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4790854]
*Barack Obama, Chicago Symphony Orchestra [http://www.millenniumpark.org/newsandmedia/documents/BlockbusterWeekendUpdatedRelease.pdf]
*James L. Oberstar MC, Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra
*Gregory Peck, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra [http://www.npr.org/programs/pt/features/lincolnportrait.html]
*Vincent Price, Yale Symphony Orchestra
*Carl Sandburg, New York Philharmonic, conducted by Andre Kostelanetz
*Norman Schwarzkopf, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra [http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2001/May01/Copland_Gould.htm]
*Adlai Stevenson, Philadelphia Orchestra [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEFDF1E3EF93BA3575BC0A965958260] , conducted by Eugene Ormandy
*James Taylor, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
*Margaret Thatcher, London Symphony Orchestra [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE3DA173BF935A25751C0A965958260]
*Samuel L. Jackson, Orchestra of St. Luke's conducted by James Levine
*Gore Vidal, Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, at Hollywood Bowl, August 2, 2007
*William Warfield, several orchestras and conductors
* Steven L. Abrams (Mayor of Boca Raton, Florida), Florida Atlantic University Symphony, July 4, 2005 and July 4, 2006.

Parody

The composition was lampooned by Peter Schickele in his piece "Bach Portrait" on the album "1712 Overture and Other Musical Assaults".

External links

* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4165357 NPR interview and broadcast of Lincoln Portrait]
* [http://www.carlsandburg.net/ CarlSandburg.net: A Research Website for Sandburg Studies]