Secular Cantata No. 2: ''A Free Song'' (October 16, 1942) is a

cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...

for

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, ...

William Schuman William Howard Schuman (August 4, 1910February 15, 1992) was an American composer and arts administrator. Life Schuman was born into a Jewish family in Manhattan, New York City, son of Samuel and Rachel Schuman. He was named after the 27th U.S. ...

, using text by

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman Jr. (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, and journalist; he also wrote two novels. He is considered one of the most influential poets in American literature and world literature. Whitman incor ...

, that was awarded the first

Pulitzer Prize for Music The Pulitzer Prize for Music is one of seven Pulitzer Prizes awarded annually in Letters, Drama, and Music. It was first given in 1943. Joseph Pulitzer arranged for a music scholarship to be awarded each year, and this was eventually converted i ...

in 1943, after it was premiered by the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

(with the amateur Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus) under

Serge Koussevitzky Serge Koussevitzky (born Sergey Aleksandrovich Kusevitsky;Koussevitzky's original Russian forename is usually transliterated into English as either "Sergei" or "Sergey"; however, he himself adopted the French spelling "Serge", using it in his sig ...

.Heinz-Dietrich Fischer, Erika J. Fischer (2001). ''Musical Composition Awards 1943-1999: From Aaron Copland and Samuel Barber to Gian-Carlo Menotti and Melinda Wagner'', p.3-4. . Music Sales Classical describes it as containing, "granite-like blocks of

dissonant In music, consonance and dissonance are categorizations of simultaneous or successive sounds. Within the Western tradition, some listeners associate consonance with sweetness, pleasantness, and acceptability, and dissonance with harshness, unple ...

harmony In music, harmony is the concept of combining different sounds in order to create new, distinct musical ideas. Theories of harmony seek to describe or explain the effects created by distinct pitches or tones coinciding with one another; harm ...

and sharp-edged

counterpoint In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. The term originates from the Latin ...

." Either about 22 minutesGreen, Jonathan D. (2003). ''A Conductor's Guide to Choral-orchestral Works, Part 1'', p.206. . or less than 14 Oteri, Frank J. (August 16, 2011).
Sounds Heard: William Schuman—A Free Song, Finally!
, ''NewMusicBox.org''. in length, the

form Form is the shape, visual appearance, or configuration of an object. In a wider sense, the form is the way something happens. Form may also refer to: *Form (document), a document (printed or electronic) with spaces in which to write or enter dat ...

is as follows: # a. Too long, America
b. Look down, fair moon # Song of the banner The piece is modeled on Beethoven's Fifth.Fauser, Annegret (2013). ''Sounds of War: Music in the United States During World War II'', p.238. Oxford University Press. . The text was adapted from Whitman's ''

Leaves of Grass ''Leaves of Grass'' is a poetry collection by American poet Walt Whitman. After self-publishing it in 1855, he spent most of his professional life writing, revising, and expanding the collection until his death in 1892. Either six or nine separa ...

'' (the ''

Drum-Taps ''Drum-Taps'' is a collection of poetry composed by American poet Walt Whitman during the American Civil War. The collection was published in May 1865. The first 500 copies of the collection were printed in April 1865, the same month President A ...

'' section), and Swayne (2011) describes it as the last of Schuman's pieces as, "a self-styled occasional progressive".Swayne (2011), p.137. Written during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

(after being rejected for service) according to Schuman, "The first

movement Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger co ...

is a kind of

requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

but more than just a prayer for the dead–it points a lesson. The 2nd movement is in complete contrast and is in the nature of a very militant '

pep talk A motivational speaker (or inspirational speaker) is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. Such speakers may attempt to challenge or transform their audiences. The speech itself is popularly known as a pep ta ...

.'" The final line is, "We hear Liberty!" Schuman says, "Since I cannot serve in the Specialist Corps I am trying to do what I can with my pen....It has wonderful words by Walt Whitman. If I've done my job well it can't help but be a moving patriotic affair." Though Arthur Berger privately criticized the selection of poetry on aesthetic grounds, Wannamaker (1972) praises a ''A Free Song'' for avoiding

jingoism Jingoism is nationalism in the form of aggressive and proactive foreign policy, such as a country's advocacy for the use of threats or actual force, as opposed to peaceful relations, in efforts to safeguard what it perceives as its national inte ...

: "''A Free Song''...combines lines from 'Long, Too Long, America' and 'Song of the Banner at Daybreak,' poems which have elements of the same

patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and a sense of attachment to one's country or state. This attachment can be a combination of different feelings for things such as the language of one's homeland, and its ethnic, cultural, politic ...

fervor. By careful editing of phrases and lines, Schuman achieves a text that expresses only a desire for freedom for all mankind."Wannamaker, John Samuel (1972). "The Musical Settings of the Poetry of Walt Whitman: A Study of Theme, Structure, and Prosody", Ph.D. diss. University of Minnesota. Cited in Swayne (2011), p.137.

Virgil Thomson Virgil Thomson (November 25, 1896 – September 30, 1989) was an American composer and critic. He was instrumental in the development of the "American Sound" in classical music. He has been described as a modernist, a neoromantic, a neoclassic ...

called it, "superficially warlike". Berger also called the piece, "a real low", while

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer who was one of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century. He combined elements of European modernism and American " ...

said it was, "well-intentioned enough but not convincingly realized" Meanwhile,

Walter Piston Walter Hamor Piston, Jr. (January 20, 1894 – November 12, 1976), was an American composer of classical music, music theorist, and professor of music at Harvard University. Life Piston was born in Rockland, Maine at 15 Ocean Street to Walter ...

admired the work. Though as of January 2011 there was no commercially available recording,Swayne (2011), p.520. the piece is now available on two recordings.

See also

References

Further reading