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. For the most updated information about the Song of America radio series, click here: Song of America Radio Series.
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Featured Composer
Ernst Bacon
Ernst Bacon was an American composer, pianist, and conductor. A prolific composer, he wrote more than 250 songs, plus symphonies, piano concertos, chamber music, and ballets.
Photo: Ernst Bacon, Ernst Bacon Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress More
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Featured POET
Christina Rossetti
Though Christina Rossetti was British, her poetry has been set by countless American composers.
Image: Christina Rossetti, public domain More
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The American Song Initiative
The Hampsong Foundation is pleased to announce the American Song Initiative, which provides small grants, on a rolling basis, for projects in American classic song that have both a scholarly and performance element. A winning project will use American classic art song to tell a larger narrative in history, culture, literature, and/or the visual arts. Projects that use new technology to present and/or disseminate the content of the project (i.e. recordings, visual, and/or textual materials) are encouraged. Multimedia projects, projects involving a website or web-based platform, or projects using another more experimental technological element (such as an iBook or smartphone application) will be given priority. Priority will also be given to smaller projects whose entire budget falls within the $1,500 (or less) range. More
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SongFest 2012 Bolcom Project on Hampsong
This summer, William Bolcom served as the Composer-in-Residence at SongFest, a unique summer program that focuses on the art of song and is currently based at the Colburn School in California. As part of Bolcom’s residency, SongFest presented the “Songs of William Bolcom” concert, which featured some of his most well-known song cycles and many of which set the poetry of American poet Jane Kenyon (1947-1995). The concert also included a new commission, “Gettysburg: July 1, 1863,” which also sets the poetry of Kenyon and was underwritten by the Sorel Organization. SongFest has generously made the audio materials from this concert available through a special feature on the website of the Hampsong Foundation. 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
American Art Song and American Poetry, Second Edition By Ruth C. Friedberg & Robin Fisher -
Featured ESSAY
Margaret Fuller By Hampson & Verdino-Süllwold -
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
