Title
Lincoln Portrait
For
narrator and orchestra
Year Composed
1942
Scoring
2(=picc).2.corA(ad lib).2.bcl(ad lib).2.dbn(ad lib)-4.3(2).3.1-timp. perc(4):glsp/xyl/cyms/sleigh bells/tam-t/BD/SD-harp-cel(ad lib)- strings
ARCO Number(s)
46
Category
Orchestral
Duration
14'
Text Information
arr. from speeches by Abraham Lincoln; translations available in French, German, and Italian
Premiere
  • World: Cincinnati, May 14th, 1942 (William Adams, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, cond. Andre Kostelanetz)
Publisher
Boosey & Hawkes
Publishing Status
Published
Arrangements
Lincoln Portrait (for band) (arr. Walter Beeler)
Buying Options
Boosey & Hawkes
External Links
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Program Note

One of Copland's most popular pieces, Lincoln Portrait was commissioned during the early years of the War by conductor Andre Kostelanetz for a program of three new works by American composers. Copland chose excerpts from Lincoln's own words for the narration. The score includes quotations of Springfield Mountain and Camptown Races. According to Copland, "I hoped to suggest something of the mysterious sense of fatality that surrounds Lincoln's personality. The challenge was to compose something simple, yet interesting enough to fit Lincoln." The piece has been performed on many significant occasions and with innumerable narrators, among them Carl Sandburg, William Warfield, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Copland himself.

Author
Vivian Perlis
Year
1998