Title: Four Walt Whitman Songs
Publisher: European American Music (EA853)
ISBN: 978-1-4803-6231-4

In 1942, Weill set three Walt Whitman poems–“Beat! Beat! Drums!,” “O Captain! My Captain!,” and “Dirge for Two Veterans”–hoping that baritone Paul Robeson would perform them.  In 1947, he added a fourth, “Come up from the Fields, Father,” to create a cycle which was then recorded by tenor William Horne. The new edition addresses the different ranges of the original compositions by presenting all four songs in two separate sets: one for tenor, one for baritone. In the first set, “Come up from the Fields” is transposed down; in the second, the other three songs are transposed up. All four of Weill’s Whitman settings will now be available to a much larger group of singers than before. Of course, it will still be possible to perform all four songs in the original keys. The songs are published in versions for voice and piano; orchestral material for the complete cycle in both ranges is also available from publisher European American Music.

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Learn more about the Whitman Songs (voice and piano)

Learn more about the Whitman Songs (voice and orchestra)