#hoe-down

From Oliver Nelson’s classic Blues and the Abstract Truth, with Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, Bill Evans, Roy Haynes and Paul Chambers

Think about some of the most famous composers in music. Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, Handel, Chopin...the list goes on. Especially prior to the 20th century, there was little to no prominent American representation in classical music. Which kind of makes sense when you think about it - the common practice period of classical music which spans threes eras of Baroque, Classical, and Romantic, took place between 1600 and 1900, considered to be the golden age of the classical genre. European composers who were surrounded by centuries worth of art and inspiration wasted no time musically expressing themselves, while America’s existence isn’t even as long as the common practice period yet. It’s hard to worry about the next great symphony when your country is focused on its inception. That’s not to say American composers didn’t exist, but certainly not to the capacity of their European counterparts. The start of the 20th century would see a sudden surge in famous American composers, and a lot of that an be attributed to one major event: the end of World War I. The Lost Generation was wallowing in self-doubt and lacked direction for the future, but one composer Aaron Copland would not fall to the shortcomings of his generation. Fresh from a retreat to Paris for music study, Copland had his mind set on becoming a full-time composer. Fame in classical music comes much differently than pop music, based much less on notoriety and more within the signature notations and phrases that each respective composer became known for. Copland’s work began to personify the American spirit in the 20′s and 30′s - resilient, boisterous, nationalist to an extent. His music painted sweeping scapes of the heartland, the rugged terrain of mesas, the untouched beauty of the plains. Copland gave a soundtrack to the prosperous nation that in turn gave back so much to him. Some of my favorite pieces that embody the American spirit best include Appalachian Spring and Fanfare for the Common Man, both staples among Copland’s library of works. Another staple of his that would help launch his composing career was his role in the ballet Rodeo, an American heartland love story about an American Cowgirl who loves a Champion Roper, who loves a Rancher’s Daughter, who loves the Head Wrangler, so the Cowgirl gets her Roper in the end. True love, eh? While the ballet is unique in its attire for the production all clad in traditional western garb, Copland was granted the task of writing the music to fit the script. Choreographer for Rodeo Agnes de Mille was impressed with the work Copland previously did in another western-themed ballet Billy the Kid, and who else but he to capture the essence of cowboy culture? The entirety of Rodeo’s symphonic exhibition is only about 23 minutes, and I recommend listening to all of it to appreciate the finale that I featured today. Hoe-Down closes out the ballet and is exactly that: a western celebration that contains the climactic kiss between the American Cowgirl and Champion Roper. Hoe-Down isn’t quite an original, but instead a medley of various snippets of songs, most notably a transcription of popular folk tune Bonaparte’s Retreat by fiddle player William H. Stepp in 1937 that in this performance by the Colorado Symphony jacks up the tempo a bit to really give this hoedown a rambunctious feel. This jaunty, upbeat tune was the perfect finale for Rodeo, an inclusion that prog rock band Emerson, Lake, & Palmer could not overlook and recorded their own version of the song for their 1972 album Trilogy, becoming a mainstay within their live shows. This was the first introduction to Copland’s work I had, but much more synthesized and modern as opposed to the violin and trumpet within the original arrangement. Hearing Copland’s Hoe-Down after hearing ELP’s version does feel a little watered down, but it’s the context that matters with classical music, and to downplay the vitality of Rodeo as a work in its entirety would be criminal!

Performer: Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra; condcuted by Antal Dorati

Louvre, Paris