06 « April « 2013 « dianawilderjottings

F is for Fanfare for the Common Man

There are some pieces of music that require no words, that move people (some people) almost to tears. Music that makes a listener’s heart seem to pause.

Aaron Copland was commissioned by the Cincinnati (Ohio, US) symphony orchestra as a sort of response to the entry of the United States into World War II. The title ‘Fanfare for Soldiers’ was suggested, but Copland chose ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’. It premiered in March of 1943.

I first heard it in High School. It was splendid, magnificent – and to imagine that such splendor and magnificence could pertain to we, the common people, was an eye-opening thought to one whose reading had been in history, and who had been dazzled by ‘the captains and the kings’.

“You compose because you want to somehow summarize in some permanent form your most basic feelings about being alive, to set down… some sort of permanent statement about the way it feels to live now, today.” – Aaron Copland

Revel in the music – it was written for you. Click on the title to enjoy the fanfare performed by the United States Marine Band:

Fanfare for the Common Man (YouTube)