One of the most famous pieces of classical American music, written to inspire the troops and the public during the dark days of WWII, “Fanfare for the Common Man” carries an interesting note unrelated to the music.
In The Library of Congress, buried in box #73, folder #51 sits the manuscript for the Aaron Copland patriotic classic, “Fanfare For The Common Man”. At the end, it contains the notation…. “Oakland, Nov. 6 1942”.
It was during the autumn of 1942, less than one year since the attack on Pearl Harbor, that Aaron Copland spent several months in Oakland, New Jersey, working on numerous compositions. The impetus for the Fanfare composition is described in Copland’s autobiography:
“Eugene Goossens, conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, had written to me at the end of August about an idea he wanted to put into action for the 1942-43 concert season. During World War I he had asked British composers for a fanfare to begin each orchestral concert. It had been so successful that he thought to repeat the procedure in World War II with American composers”.
After completing the work, and listening to suggestions of titles that included “Fanfare for Soldiers” and “Fanfare for 4 Freedoms”, Copland submitted his piece as “Fanfare for The Common Man”. Goosens immediately wrote Copland, “Its title is as original as its music…If it is agreeable to you, we will premiere it 12 March 1943 at income tax time”. Copland, the son of immigrant shopkeepers in Brooklyn, NY, was all for honoring the common man at income tax time.
The day before making his notation on “Fanfare For The Common Man” Copland wrote to a friend on the subject of supporting new, young composers, and he prefaced the beginning of his letter as such:
“Dellbrook Farm
Oakland, New Jersey
Nov. 5, 1942
Dear Olga:
I wanted to let you know that I am living at the above address, at least until Jan. 1st. It’s lovely here….”
Although this is one of his most famous works, the genius of Aaron Copland was hard at work in Oakland preparing the score for an upcoming movie. Based on the archives, it appears Copland was reviewing his previous work on movies such as “Our Town”, “Of Mice and Men”, and “The City” prior to leaving for his work on the MGM film “The North Star”. This 1943 movie tells the story of a Ukrainian town’s resistance to the Nazis.
According to the Library of Congress, Copland also began his Sonata for Violin and Piano while in Oakland, NJ. He finished this composition in Hollywood while completing the score for “The North Star”. Regarding the composition he began while in Oakland, NJ, Copland says.
“I had carried sketches for a violin and piano piece with me to California. During the frequent periods when I had to wait for the studio to move ahead on The North Star, I played through the piano parts of violin sonatas from various periods … For whatever reasons, at that time I had little desire to compose a dissonant or virtuosic work, or one that incorporated folk materials. Nevertheless, certain qualities of the American folk tune had become part of my natural style of composing, ….”
Copland dedicated the Violin Sonata to the memory of Lieutenant Harry H. Dunham, a close friend of his who died in action in the South Pacific shortly after the work was completed. He also worked on Danzón Cubano, described as “a piece for for two pianos — four hands”. And again, at the end…“ Oakland, N.J. Dec. 6, ’42”. This piece was composed especially for the twentieth anniversary of the League of Composers. His collaboration with dance legend Martha Graham was also beginning during his time in Oakland. In August 1942, Graham wrote
“To my knowledge this is the first time that a commissioning of works for the American Dance has ever happened. It makes me feel that American dance has turned a corner, it has come of age.”
Copland and Graham were soon laying the groundwork for “Appalachian Spring”. An excerpt from the original programfor the ballet reads, “Spring was celebrated by a man and a woman building a house with joy and love and prayer…”
The influence of “Fanfare of The Common Man” was given a more contemporary sound when recorded by the rock group Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Excerpts of the music have also been used by The Rolling Stones, Styx and Asia. Both Bob Dylan and jazz great Woody Herman would often end their shows with renditions of “Fanfare for The Common Man”.
Aaron Copland’s contribution to music, and to American culture specifically, is immeasurable. With his intuitive ability to incorporate the essence of jazz, as evidenced by Benny Goodman commissioning work from him, Copland was able to put forth a distinct and classical body of work on the world stage. As Aaron said about Oakland…it’s lovely.
We will continue in another article to explore this interesting aspect of Oakland history with a piece on where Copland stayed while in Oakland. It’s another great story in American history….
Please check out the two embedded videos of “Fanfare For The Common Man”. We have provided both classical and rock interpretations.
Who are the guys doing the Rock version of the Fanfare, please ? As a professional classical musician, I found it most interesting and entertaining. I have never heard anything quite like it before. Have they produced any albums ?
Hi Alan,
The group is Emerson Lake and Palmer, I think the video is from 1977. They do have albums but I’m not sure if this is on any of them.
Thanks for reading.
Caron McCormick, Editor