These four Naxos American Classics releases selected for this Americana collection... focus on some of the defining moments of that history. First... a panorama of works inspired by Abraham Lincoln in defnitive performances conducted by Leonard Slatkin... Then Hannibal Lokumbe's rousing tribute to Rosa Parks... features the Detroit Symphony and the combined singers of two of Michigan's most venerable choruses. Next, Peter Boyer's dramatic account of the arrival of immigrants to Ellis Island in the early 20th century is narrated by an all-star cast including Eli Wallch and Olympia Dukakis. Finally, the first ever complete recordings of two film scores by Virgil Thomson for 1930s documentaries detailing the plight of rural Americans priot to the New Deal... " - Frank J. Oteri, NewMusicBox. Com

Tracklist:

Prologue - Philharmonia Orchestra
Words of Helen Cohen, Emigrated from Poland in 1920, Read By Blair Brown - Blair Brown
Interlude 1 - Philharmonia Orchestra
Words of James Apanomith, Emigrated from Greece in 1911, Read By Louis Zorich - Louis Zorich
Interlude 2 - Philharmonia Orchestra
Words of Lillian Galleta, Emigrated from Italy in 1928, Read By Olympia Dukakis - Olympia Dukakis
Interlude 3 - Philharmonia Orchestra
Words of Lazarus Salamon, Emigrated from Hungary in 1920, Read By Eli Wallach - Eli Wallach
Interlude 4 - Philharmonia Orchestra 1
Words of Helen Rosenthal, Emigrated from Belgium in 1940, Read By Bebe Neuwirth - Bebe Neuwirth 1
Interlude 5 - Philharmonia Orchestra 1
Words of Manny Steen, Emigrated from Ireland in 1925, Read By Barry Bostwick - Barry Bostwick 1
Interlude 6 - Philharmonia Orchestra 1
Words of Katherine Beychook, Emigrated from Russia in 1910, Read By Anne Jackson - Anne Jackson 1
Epilogue: 'The New Colossus' (Emma Lazarus, 1883), Read By All Actors - Various Performers 1
Lincoln, the Great Commoner - Various Performers 1
A Lincoln Address, Op. 124 - Barry Scott/Nashville Symphony Orchestra 1
Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight - Various Performers 1
Preamble - Nashville Symphony Orchestra 2
Walt Whitman and the Dying Soldier - Nashville Symphony Orchestra 2
Passing Troops - Nashville Symphony Orchestra 2
The Telegraph Fugue - Nashville Symphony Orchestra 2
Moonlight on the Savannah - Nashville Symphony Orchestra 2
The Theatre - Nashville Symphony Orchestra 2
The River Queen - Nashville Symphony Orchestra 2
Premonitions - Nashville Symphony Orchestra 2
Pennsylvania Avenue, April 9, 1865 - Nashville Symphony Orchestra 2
Good Friday, 1865 - Nashville Symphony Orchestra 2
The Long Rain - Nashville Symphony Orchestra 3
Conclusion - Nashville Symphony Orchestra 3
Lincoln Legend - Nashville Symphony Orchestra 3
Evocation - Various Performers 3
Choral Scene - Various Performers 3
March - Various Performers 3
Declaration - Various Performers 3
Epilogue - Various Performers 3
Variations on An American Song: Aspects of Lincoln and Liberty, Op. 20 - Nashville Symphony Orchestra 3
Lincoln Portrait - Barry Scott/Nashville Symphony Orchestra 3
Prelude - Post-Classical Ensemble 4
Pastorale (Grass) - Post-Classical Ensemble 4
Cattle - Post-Classical Ensemble 4
The Homesteader - Post-Classical Ensemble 4
Warning - Post-Classical Ensemble 4
War and the Tractor - Post-Classical Ensemble 4
Speculation (Blues) - Post-Classical Ensemble 4
Drought - Post-Classical Ensemble 4
Wind and Dust - Post-Classical Ensemble 4
Devastation - Post-Classical Ensemble 4
Prelude - Post-Classical Ensemble 5
First Forest - Post-Classical Ensemble 5
A Big River - Post-Classical Ensemble 5
Cotton Pickers - Post-Classical Ensemble 5
Ruins - Post-Classical Ensemble 5
Logging - Post-Classical Ensemble 5
Coal - Post-Classical Ensemble 5
Floods - Post-Classical Ensemble 5
Requiem - Post-Classical Ensemble 5
Tenancy - Post-Classical Ensemble 5
Finale - Post-Classical Ensemble 6
A Prayer for the World - the Over Soul Sends to Us - Various Performers 6
A Prayer for the World - Various Performers 6
For We Have Walked the Streets of Babylon, Forty Thousand Strong - Various Performers 6
In Sacrifice - Various Performers 6
For the Future - Various Performers 6
Seeds of the World - Various Performers 6
Songs from Heaven Falling - Various Performers 6
Like Luminous Rain Upon the Daughters of Isis - Various Performers 6
Giving Their Children the Will to Continue - Various Performers 6
Singing a Prayer for the Souls of the World - Various Performers

UPC: 747313523337
Label: Naxos Special Produc
Release Date: 10.30.12
Format: CD

American Spirit Roots & Transformations / Various - American Spirit: Roots & Transformations / Various (CD)