The Great American Song Set

Aaron Copland on Composing

featuring Aaron Copland’s “Old American Songs”

The Boatman’s Dance is a piece of Americana perhaps unfamiliar yet strangely within the minds of many Americans today. Weaving stories of the Ohio River and the men who made their living fording and traveling up and down many such rivers. While short, the evocative phrasing and dichotomy between a crooning aspect of floating over a boisterous dance shows not only Copland’s ability to bring text to music, but also the talent that these mainly African American musical artists of old had in capturing the heart of the American Spirit.

Boatman’s Dance

Soloist Edward Park

Edward Park ‘17

Ching-A-Ring Chaw revolves around the idea of hope for a better place. Whenever I sing this song, I get deeply involved in the story and find myself enjoying it immensely. The song is so fast and almost acts as a tongue twister. This made me a better singer by letting me practice my diction.

Gabrielle Rosenberg ‘20