Thanksgiving is a well known holiday in the United
States, and there are several classical music pieces that fit for this time of
year.
A popular choice is Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring,
which was composed as a ballet to tell the story of American pioneers building
a farmhouse. A piano arrangement can be heard at https://youtu.be/zyrOl4vwyD0. Even
though the season is spring, this suite expresses the American frontier spirit
associated with Thanksgiving.
Vivaldi’s third movement, “Autumn,” from his 1725 composition
The Four Seasons certainly capture the feeling of fall. In
addition, the lyrics “celebrate the peasant, with songs and dances, and the
pleasure of a bountiful harvest.”
England has celebrated days of Thanksgiving for centuries. The
18th century English composer Maurice Greene wrote the anthem “Thou
Visited the Earth, which is very appropriate for Harvest Thanksgiving. The
lyrics are based on Psalm 65: ‘Thou visitest the earth, and blessest it; and
crownest the year with thy goodness.”
The hymn “For the Beauty of the Earth,” written in 1864 by
Folliott Sanford Pierpoint, was first considered a communion hymn, but soon
became a popular song for Thanksgiving.
William Lloyd Webber -- a London composer, organist, and
choirmaster—wrote “A Hymn of Thanksgiving” in 1936. You probably know his son
Andrew Lloyd Webber better because of his 21 musicals and other scores.
But the 4th century Saints Ambrose and Augustine
could be considered the earliest Thanksgiving composers with their “Te Deum,”
although Saint Niketas, bishop of Remesiana about the same time in history, is
also credited for this hymn of Thanksgiving. The Te Deum is still part
of the Liturgy of the Hours, giving thanks to God.
In all these cases, we can be thankful for such classical composers.
