Good evening, everyone.



I asked for suggestions of settings of American poets, and I received
numerous emails for input—you folks are tops, and I thank you all, and the
compilation is below.



On a sadder note, I wanted to mention the passing of a colleague, not
well-known to the Choralist world, but weighing heavily on my own mind at
the moment. Bill Gibson, percussionist and much-loved music teacher from
Tuftonboro (Kingswood Reg HS, Wolfeboro), NH, succumbed to cancer last week.
Thoughts and prayers, please, for his family: a music teacher wife and two
sons, 11th & 8th grades. The band stops playing, the applause dies down
and the score of his opus quietly closes, but the notes, melodies and
phrases live on in the hearts of his musicians for lifetimes.





Compilation follows:

*****

You mentioned Whitman specifically, which brought to mind a piece called
"The Mystic Trumpeter" by Williametta Spencer. Another piece that comes to
mind is Elliot Carter's "Heart Not So Heavy As Mine."

***

Stephen Paulus uses great poetry...there's a list of pieces with "great
poets" on his website, I believe.

***

Langston Hughes settings: "I Dream a World" by Andre Thomas- pretty easy.
"In Time of Silver Rain" by Z. Randall Stroope (part of a trilogy with "The
Pasture"...)

***

André Thomas has a setting of Langston Hughes' "I Dream a World"

***

Check out the John Berger trilogy: "Three Poems by Emily Dickinson"---

***

Persichetti's Celebrations use Whitman.

For such queries, do not miss a visit of Musica, the database ofd choral
music: www.musicanet.org

***

Samuel Barber - Let Down the Bars (Emily Dickinson), Sure on this Shining
Night (Louise Bogan), and others

***

Cecil Effinger - Four Pastorales (T.H. Ferril)

***

TONS of Kirke Mechem's stuff should fit the bill, and he's a great
text-setter

***

Margaret Bonds - Ballad of the Brown

***

Vincent Persichetti's four settings of e.e. cummings

***

You might check out Daniel Pinkham's settings of Norma Farber

***

Emma Lou Diemer on a poem of Edgar Allan Poe, “Eldorado.”

***

“I Hear America Singing” by Lloyd Pfaustch and “I Dream A World” text
Langston Hughes, music Rosephanye Powell.

***

Applebaum (robapple(a)comcast.net), ask him for his setting of "I, Too, Sing
America"

***

Brian Holmes’ setting of Let Evening Come, based on the poem of Jane Kenyon

***

Exhilaration is the Breeze" the Dickenson poem set by Neil Ginsberg

***

Strommen’s setting of Whitman's "Setting Sail"

***

Mulholland setting of "Life Has Loveliness to Sell" with text by Sara
Teasdale.

***

David Conte's "Invocation and Dance"

***

Robert Sanders’ "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed." It's the
Whitman poem on the death on Lincoln.

***



In addition, Wallace DePue, Greg Bartholomew and Dan Gawthrop both sent
along some of their own settings; thanks! And Paul Ayres suggests his
Teasdale setting. Stuart McIntosh suggests his setting of John Burroughs's
poem 'Waiting.'





As always, the List is an incredible resource.



Thank you all,



Scott Lounsbury
louns84(a)verizon.net
Wolfeboro, NH


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