Laurie's Song

Aaron Copland

Subtitle: From the Opera The Tender Land

General Info

Year: 1954 / 2004
Duration: c. 3:40
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Orchestra and voice
Publisher: United States Air Force Band of the Golden West
Cost: Score and Parts - Unknown

Instrumentation

Full Score
Solo Soprano Voice
Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
Bassoon I-II
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III-IV
B-flat Bass Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Saxophone
E-flat Alto Saxophone
B-flat Tenor Saxophone
E-flat Baritone Saxophone
B-flat Flugelhorn I-II
Horn in F I-II-III
Trombone I-II
String Bass
Harp
Percussion, including:

Marimba
Triangle
Vibraphone

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

Laurie's Song was taken from Aaron Copland's 1954 opera The Tender Land. The opera tells of a farm family in the Midwest of the United States. Copland was inspired to write this opera after viewing the Depression-era photographs of Walker Evans and reading James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. He wrote the work between 1952 and 1954 for the NBC Television Opera Workshop, with the intention of its being presented on television.

The "Laurie" of the song was the character Laurie Moss, a young girl graduating from high school and the protagonist of the opera.

- Program Note adapted from Wikipedia

Media

Reference recording. U.S. Air Force Band of the Golden West (Rachel Wilson, soprano)

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

United States Navy Band Chamber Ensemble - 19 December 2022 (2022 Midwest Clinic)
U.S. Air Force Band of Flight (Wright Patterson Air Force Base) (Megan Rehberg, soprano) - 2012
United States Air Force Band of the Golden West (Fairfield, Calif.) (R. Michael Mench, conductor; Rachel Trimble, soprano) – 22 March 2008 (CBDNA 2008 Western/Northwestern Division Conference, Reno, Nev.)

Works for Winds by This Composer

Appalachian Spring (arr. Morita) (1944)
Appalachian Spring (arr. Patterson) (1944)
Buckaroo Holiday from "Rodeo" (tr. Megan) (1941/2000)
Buckaroo Holiday from "Rodeo" (tr. Sudduth) (1941)
Canticle of Freedom (arr. Duffy) (2000)
Celebration (arr. Lang) (1938/1945)
Ceremonial Fanfare
A Copland Portrait (arr. Grundman) (1986)
A Copland Tribute (arr. Grundman) (1986)
Danzón Cubano (tr. Rogers) (1949/2000)
The Dodger (arr. Knox) (c. 1880/1950/)
The Dodger. See also: Old American Songs I
Down a Country Lane (tr. Patterson) (1962/1991)
El Salón México (tr. Hindsley) (1939/1972)
Emblems (1964)
Excerpts from "Appalachian Spring" (arr. Longfield) (1944)
Fanfare for the Common Man (1942/1944)
Fanfare for the Common Man (arr. Longfield) (1942/1944/2007)
Finale from "Symphony No. 3" (trans. Patterson) (1946/)
Four Dance Episodes from "Rodeo" (arr. Patterson) (1942/)
Grover's Corners (arr. Longfield) (1940/2023)
Hoe Down from "Rodeo" (arr. Moss)
Hoe Down from "Rodeo" (tr. Rogers)
Inaugural Fanfare
Laurie's Song (tr. Martin) (1954/ )
Laurie's Song (arr. Silbert and Buchanan) (1954/ )
Letter from Home (arr. Belski) (1944)
Lincoln Portrait (tr. Beeler) (1942/1951)
Old American Songs (arr. Moss) (1950/2006)
Old American Songs I (arr. Silvester) (1950/2001)
Old American Songs II (arr. Duffy) (1952/2001)
Our Town (arr. Singleton)
An Outdoor Overture (1938/1948)
Preamble for a Solemn Occasion (1949/1974)
The Promise of Living (arr. Curnow) (1954/2012)
The Promise of Living (tr. Duffy) (1954/2000)
The Promise of Living (tr. Hile) (1954)
The Promise of Living (tr. Singleton) (1954/2002)
Quiet City (arr. Hunsberger) (1941/1992)
The Red Pony (1969)
Scenes from "Billy the Kid" (arr. Hilliard) (1941/2000)
Stomp Your Foot (tr. Duffy) (1954/1956/2000)
Symphony No. 3. See: Finale from "Symphony No. 3"
Themes from "An Outdoor Overture" (arr. Curnow) (1938/2014)
Three Excerpts from "Our Town" and "Simple Gifts" (arr. Cohen)
Three Latin American Sketches (arr. Mikkelson) (1972/2021)
Variations on a Shaker Melody (1960)
Waltz and Celebration (arr. Lang) (1944/1972)

Resources

Jeremy Martin, personal correspondence, September 2021
The Tender Land. Wikipedia Accessed 4 September 2021