{"id":7627,"date":"2016-04-15T15:59:42","date_gmt":"2016-04-15T19:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lisaschnellinger.com\/pennies\/?p=7627"},"modified":"2017-04-20T12:47:06","modified_gmt":"2017-04-20T16:47:06","slug":"appalachian-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lisaschnellinger.com\/pennies\/?p=7627","title":{"rendered":"Appalachian spring"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have a CD which is only played in my car during March and April each year.<\/p>\n

Listening to it animates everything I see. Flowers seem to leap out of the ground, trees burst into leaves before my eyes, squirrels dance and birds pirouette.<\/p>\n

The allegro section\u00a0perfectly captures that feeling of the earth giving birth (see #2 under Themes on the Wikipedia\u00a0page<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"sunlight\"<\/p>\n

Aaron Copland didn’t have North Georgia in mind when he wrote Appalachian Spring. He wrote it as “Ballet for Martha,” and Martha Graham gave it the title<\/a>. She wasn’t referring to the season either, but a mountain stream, from a Hart Crane poem.<\/p>\n

Copland was amused<\/a>\u00a0when people praised him for capturing so well the essence of springtime in the Appalachians.<\/p>\n

… the pastoral beauty of Appalachia wasn\u2019t on his mind when he wrote the score: \u201cI gave voice to that region without knowing I was giving voice to it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Art that resonates and endures captures an essence that is beyond time and place.<\/p>\n

If by chance you’ve never heard it, take 25 minutes right now. Here’s a YouTube version performed by the Ulster Orchestra: Appalachian Spring.<\/a><\/p>\n