News (10)
- Mar 12, 2024Midday Thoughts: Editing Copland, Part 2
Critical editions offer so much more than just the notated score. Explore what makes these editions unique with Jennifer DeLapp-Birkett as she walks us through her MUSA edition of Appalachian Spring.
- Jun 29, 2023Midday Thoughts: Summer Break
We’ll be taking a break from our regular monthly series for the summer. In the meantime, enjoy one of our first Midday Thoughts on how Copland’s music has transcended genre boundaries for decades.
- Jan 26, 2023Midday Thoughts: Copland on Being American, Part 1
Aaron Copland was never just a composer; he was always an *American* composer. But what did that label mean to him? Read on in the first of a two-part examination of Copland's best known statements on the topic.
- Aug 29, 2022Midday Thoughts: Which Appalachian Spring? An Audiophile’s Guide
Building on last month's article on the versions of *Appalachian Spring*, here are some of the most iconic and well-loved recordings of the work in all of its forms.
- Jul 28, 2022Midday Thoughts: The Many Versions of Appalachian Spring
Over a handful of decades, Copland's *Appalachian Spring* went through a series of reworkings, resulting in an often confusing variety of versions. Read on to untangle the history behind one of Copland's most iconic works.
- May 09, 2022Announcing Midday Thoughts
Join us for our new series, *Midday Thoughts: musings about, around, and related to Copland and his music,* featuring musicologist Jennifer DeLapp-Birkett.
- Apr 28, 2022Midday Thoughts: Crossover Copland
From jazz to the concert hall to the big screen and beyond, Copland easily crossed genre boundaries throughout his career. Even today, his music continues to reflect this crossover spirit through unexpected arrangements, …
- Nov 13, 2021New Appalachian Spring Edition Wins Musicology Award
The 2020 MUSA Edition of *Appalachian Spring*, edited by Jennifer DeLapp-Birkett and Aaron Sherber, was awarded this year’s Claude V. Palisca Award from the American Musicological Society.
- May 08, 2020Copland at Home
As orchestras find new ways to share and connect with audiences remotely, here are some of their latest offerings featuring classic Copland works.
- Sep 09, 2019Appalachian Spring at 75: Then and Now
To mark the 75th year anniversary of Aaron Copland and Martha Graham's Appalachian Spring this Fall, we take a look at the history of the ballet and what's to come.
Works (2)
- Variations on a Shaker Melody (from Appalachian Spring) (1967)
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In 1967, Copland arranged Variations on a Shaker Melody from a section of his ballet, Appalachian Spring, as a short concert piece for orchestra.
Alternate: Variations on Simple Gifts - Variations on a Shaker Melody (from Appalachian Spring, arr. band) (1956)
/works/variations-on-a-shaker-melody-from-appalachian-spring-arr-band/
Copland arranged Variations on a Shaker Melody, also known as Simple Gifts Variations, for band from a section of his ballet, Appalachian Spring.
Alternate: Variations on Simple Gifts
Arrangements (non-Copland)(2) sorted by title
- Simple Gifts (for saxophone quartet) (2009)
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Published with Three Excerpts from “Our Town,” Paul Cohen’s Simple Gifts is an arrangement of Copland’s Variations on a Shaker Melody for saxophone quartet.
- Variations On A Shaker Melody (for piano four-hands) (1985)
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Bennett Lerner arranged Copland's Variations On A Shaker Melody from Appalachian Spring for piano four-hands in 1985. The arrangement is available from Boosey & Hawkes.
Other (1)
- Selected Bibliographies
/about/selected-bibliographies/
Select works written by and about Aaron Copland, compiled by Jennifer DeLapp-Birkett.