<<  -- 4 --  David Thompson    SIMPLE GIFTS?

In lighter, though no less scholarly vein, William Brooks discusses Copland's fascination with the Shaker hymn 'Simple Gifts', which, in becoming a small, but defining element in Copland's output, can now claim to have been a redefining element in the place of folk melody in American consciousness and appreciation. Daniel E Mathers dares to look behind the curtain into the complexity of Copland's private life and predilections, and, in doing so, makes us realise that the much-neglected Tender Land, which resonates with personal associations, is ripe for serious re-appraisal.

The remainder of the book is devoted to responses to Copland. Stephen Banfield's enjoyable journey down Broadway presents powerful evidence that this indispensable area of American music itself found Copland indispensable, even though, as we are reminded, he 'never wrote a show tune in his life'! The Editor's own contribution, and the Open Forum Discussion confront the puzzling dichotomy of styles with which Copland often bemuses his listeners. For me, the great achievement of this book is that, for all its diversity of content, a unified answer emerges, which gives wholeness to the sum of its parts. Was Copland a musical schizophrenic? No, Copland was Copland, a man whose work can be summarised by the simple expedient of borrowing the title of William Brook's article: 'Simple gifts and complex accretions'.

Peter Dickinson claims, at the beginning of his introduction, that 'Copland Connotations is a tribute to a great man'. It is a worthy one.