Welcome
We invite all lovers of song to explore connections between poetry and music, between history and culture, through the work of American composers and poets. Song of America is a database resource where you can listen to songs, learn more about them, read their lyrics, find scores, and link to relevant Web sites.
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Featured Composer
George Frederick Root
Composer and Music Educator George Frederick Root published more than 200 songs (some under the German pseudonym G. Friedrich Wurzel) during his lifetime and became particularly famous during the Civil War. Root always sought to make music accessible, thinking of music always in practical terms--for the classroom, church, or home. He said, "I never dreamed of eminence as a writer of music … I am simply one who … makes music for the people, having always a particular need in view."
Photo: George Frederick Root, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division More
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Featured POET
Vachel Lindsay
Starting in 1909, Vachel Lindsay tramped the countryside dramatically declaiming his vivid poetry. His poems have inspired composers from Charles Ives and Sidney Homer to Norman Dello Joio and Jake Heggie.
Photo: Vachel Lindsay, 1913, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division More
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Oral History of American Music
Last night, the Oral History of American Music (OHAM) celebrated its 40th Anniversary at Carnegie Hall with a tribute to director Vivian Perlis. The concert included works by Charles Ives, Aaron Copland, Steve Reich, Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, Jacob Druckman, John Cage, and some of the jazz greats. Live performances from current Yale School of Music students as well as alumni were interspersed with video footage (from the OHAM archives) of the composers discussing their works and, in John Cage's case, searching for mushrooms. More
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Samuel Barber at Library of Congress
On March 9, 2010, what would have been Samuel Barber's 100th birthday, the Library of Congress launched a new web page featuring information on Barber, including links to manuscripts, letters and a video clip. The Library of Congress is the preeminent repository for manuscripts by American composer Barber. More
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Our goal is to build and curate a comprehensive archive of American song that tells the story of our culture and nation, through the eyes of our poets and the ears of our composers. Launched in November 2009, Song of America.net is a project of the Hampsong Foundation.
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Featured Book
A Chronicle of American Music: 1700-1995 By Charles J. Hall -
Featured ESSAY
Pearl Harbor Music: Weill and Schoenberg By Joe Horowitz -
MEDIA ROOM
- Master Classes & Lectures Learn more about American song by watching and listening to master classes and lectures about American song. View Media
- Interviews & Programs Explore American song with experts in the field while listening to excerpts and entire programs in this section of the Media Room. View Media
