01.

American Characters

Songs about real and fictional characters in American history, including poets, preachers, and a president. The program introduces topics heard throughout the series.

Related Educational Resources

Song Listing

Song listings with composer / poet, performers, CD label, and CD number:

My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free

Francis Hopkinson

Thomas Parnell

Thomas Hampson, baritone; Wolfram Rieger, piano

Record#: THM 5432

Willie, We Have Missed You

Stephen Foster

Stephen Foster

Record#: Vox Allegretto 8167 (Rosalind Rees, soprano; David Starobin, guitar)

Ethiopia Saluting the Colors

Henry T. Burleigh

Walt Whitman

Record#: EMI/Angel 0946 3 341645 2 8 (Thomas Hampson, baritone; Craig Rutenberg, piano)

Danny Deever

Walter Damrosch

Rudyard Kipling

David Bispham, baritone; unknown pianist

Record#: Recording information unavailable

The Dodger

Aaron Copland

Record#: Sony 7464-60899-2 (William Warfield, baritone; Aaron Copland, piano)

Song Collection: Old American Songs, Set 1

General William Booth Enters Into Heaven

Sidney Homer

Vachel Lindsay

Thomas Hampson, baritone; Craig Rutenberg, piano

Record#: THM 5432

Charlie Rutlage

Charles Ives

Thomas Hampson, baritone; Craig Rutenberg, piano

Record#: Ravinia 2009 recital recording

Song of the Deathless Voice

Arthur Farwell

Arthur Farwell

Program 1: Thomas Hampson, baritone, and Craig Rutenberg, piano | Program 8: Thomas Hampson, baritone; Wolfram Rieger, piano

Record#: Program 1: Ravinia 2009 recital recording | Program 8: Orfeo 656052

Song Collection: Three Indian Songs, Op. 32

A Working Woman

Libby Larsen

Calamity Jane

Record#: Albany Records TROY 634 (Terry Rhodes, soprano; Benton Hess, piano)

Song Collection: Songs From Letters

Why Do They Shut Me Out of Heaven?

Aaron Copland

Emily Dickinson

Record#: Eloquentia 504 (Joyce DiDonato, mezzo-soprano; David Zobel, piano)

Song Collection: Twelve Poems of Emily Dickinson

Madam and the Census Man

Elie Siegmeister

Langston Hughes

Record#: CRI 814 (Esther Hinds, soprano; Alan Mandel, piano)

Song Collection: Madam To You

Richard Cory

John Woods Duke

Edwin Arlington Robinson

Donald Gramm, baritone; Donald Hassard, piano

Record#: New World Records 80243

Song Collection: Four Poems by Edwin Arlington Robinson

Letter to Mrs. Bixby

Michael Daugherty

Abraham Lincoln

Record#: Ravinia 2009 recital recording (Thomas Hampson, baritone; Craig Rutenberg, piano)