Old American Songs for cello and piano; Aaron Copland

Old American Songs for cello and piano by Aaron Copland

Includes access to online audio. Arranged by Bryan Stanley

Published by Boosey and Hawkes

Aaron Copland (1900 – 1990) was an American composer, composition teacher,

• writer, and later a conductor of his own music. Copland was referred to by his peers and critics as ''the dean of American composers.'' The open, slowly changing harmonies in much of his music are typical of what many people consider to be the sound of American music. He is best known for the works he wrote between 1930-40 in a deliberately accessible style often referred to as ''populist,'' and which the composer labeled his ''vernacular'' style.

Copland's ''Old American Songs'' consists of two sets of arrangements of traditional American folk songs for voice and piano. Set No. 1 was premiered by Peter Pears and Benjamin Britten in 1950, while Set No. 2 was premiered in 1958 by William Warfield and Copland himself. Both sets have proved enduring and have been arranged for different forces many times over. In that spirit, this edition presents both sets in an arrangement by Bryan Stanley for cello and piano, with online access to downloadable audio accompaniments. For intermediate players.

Set 1:

• The Boatman's Dance
• The Dodger
• Long Time Ago
• Simple Gifts
• I Bought Me a Cat

Set 2:

• The Little Horses
• Zion's Walls
• The Golden Willow Tree
• At the River
• Ching-a-ring Chaw