Appalachian Spring

Each spring I love to listen Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copeland. I have not spent a lot of time in Appalachia in the spring—in fact, very little. Nevertheless, I find the first section, “Very Slowly” that lasts only two minutes and forty seconds, a piece of music that evokes scenes of misty mountains just beginning to green after a long winter. It makes me feel a reverence for life renewing itself.

Those slow tones, while beautiful, also evoke sadness. Thinking of all those green shoots beginning to emerge with all their hope at the possibilities of new life reminds me of my advancing age the accomplishments I’ve left on the table.

So, I’ve always thought of Appalachian Spring as a seasonal piece, but this year, I did some research on Appalachian Spring, and some of my assumptions about what is being evoked have been rocked for the following reasons:

·      This piece was composed as a ballet in 1944 as a ballet commissioned by Martha Graham. The ballet tells the story of a wedding between two pioneers and intended to celebrate the American spirit of exploration and growth. Nothing about spring, the season!

·      Copeland was well into the task of composing the piece without a title when Graham suggested “Appalachian Spring,” which she took from a Hart Crane poem called “The Dance” (from Hart Crane’s book The Bridge).

·      Crane’s reference in the poem, however, is to a spring of water, and not to the season.

·      Therefore, Copeland composed the work without the Appalachians or the spring season in mind.

So, to sum up: I have been moved by a piece of music which I assumed to be about a specific time (spring) in a specific place (the Appalachians), neither of which was true.

Yet, the music did conjure feelings in me and has in recent years provoked me to photograph with that music in mind.

But here is the next twist: none of the photographs shown in this post are from the Appalachians, although they were taken in the spring.

I suppose the point I’m trying to make is that art is the result of many influences, and the end result may be far from the original intent. Does that matter?

Source of Information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Spring

Recording of Appalachian Spring, Very Slowly Section (pardon the ad): https://youtu.be/OwsVntZWiLk

Here are some selected photos I’ve taken over the years in the spring with Copeland’s piece in mind. More can be found on my portfolio page.