Frederick Converse (American Sketches - Part 1 of 2)

These are the first two movements of this refreshing work by American composer Frederick Shepherd Converse. - Manhattan (Molto maestoso - Allegro molto e con brio) - The Father of Waters (Molto largamente e tranquillo - Adagio espressivo) [11:15] Converse wrote American Sketches in 1929. It received its first performance in 1935 by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Serge Koussevitzky. The first movement, Manhattan, portrays all the commotion one would expect from such a title. It is here that we gain an immediate acquaintance with the American sound Converse was seeking to capture and cultivate. You can even get a taste of the rag-time and early jazz that permeated the city culture of the day. The second movement seeks to express an adoration of America’s longest river, the Mississippi, no doubt popularized through the writings of Samuel Clemens. Chicken Reel is a scherzo-like third movement which utilizes a traditional tune from Carl Sandburg’s “The American Song Bag“