03.

Song of Walt Whitman

Whitman, the “Bard of Democracy,” was the founder of a new American language. With music built deep into his poetry, it’s no surprise that Whitman has been a beacon for American composers.

Info / Credits

Additional recordings:
Ange si pur
from La Favorita
Gaetano Donizetti / Alphonse Royer and Gustav Vaez after Baculard d’Arnaud
Ramon Vargas, tenor; Munich Radio Orchestra conducted by Marcello Viotti
RCA/BMG 74321 66229 2

Song Listing

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

The Commonplace

Ernst Bacon

Walt Whitman

Record#: CRI 890 (William Sharp, baritone; John Musto, piano)

Walt Whitman

Charles Ives

Walt Whitman

Record#: EMI Classics 0094635823929 (Thomas Hampson, baritone; Craig Rutenberg, piano)

Behold This Swarthy Face

Gerald Busby

Walt Whitman

Record#: EMI Classics 0094635823929 (Thomas Hampson, baritone; Craig Rutenberg, piano)

We Two

Elinor Remick Warren

Walt Whitman

Record#: Angel/EMI09463 416452 (Thomas Hampson, baritone; Craig Rutenberg, piano)

Prayer of Columbus

Robert Strassburg

Walt Whitman

Record#: EMI Classics 0094635823929 (Thomas Hampson, baritone; Craig Rutenberg, piano)

O You Whom I Often and Silently Come

Ned Rorem

Walt Whitman

Record#: EMI 54621; track 6 (Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano; Malcolm Martineau, piano)

As I Watch'd the Ploughman Ploughing

Philip Dalmas

Walt Whitman

Record#: EMI Classics 0094635823929 (Thomas Hampson, baritone; Craig Rutenberg, piano)

Dirge For Two Veterans

Kurt Weill

Walt Whitman

Record#: Angel/EMI09463 416452 (Thomas Hampson, baritone; Craig Rutenberg, piano)

Song Collection: Four Walt Whitman Songs

Look Down, Fair Moon

Charles Naginski

Walt Whitman

Thomas Hampson, baritone; Craig Rutenberg, piano

Record#: EMI Classics 0094635823929

Memories of Lincoln

William Harold Neidlinger

Walt Whitman

Thomas Hampson, baritone; Craig Rutenberg, piano

Record#: EMI Classics 0094635823929

To What You Said

Leonard Bernstein

Walt Whitman

Thomas Hampson, baritone; Wolfram Rieger, piano

Record#: Orfeo d'Or C707062

Song Collection: Songfest

One Thought Ever at the Fore

Ernst Bacon

Walt Whitman

Record#: Orfeo d'Or C707062 (Thomas Hampson, baritone; Wolfram Rieger, piano)

Song Collection: Songs at Parting