Knoxville: Summer of 1915 is a work for voice and orchestra (or chamber
orchestra) from 1947 by American composer Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981).
The text is from a 1938 short prose piece by James Agee. Although the
piece is traditionally sung by a soprano, it may also be sung by tenor.
This beautiful piece is a poetic evocation of life in a hot summer as
seen from the perspective of a small boy. The work is in one movement,
and is described in detail in its Wikipedia entry.
I came across this gem when exploring Dawn Upshaw's discography in the
early nineties after attending a recital by her in Chicago. It was my
first encounter with Barber other than his famous Adagio for strings -
many more compositions followed though. The version shown above is by Dawn Upshaw and
the Orchestra of St. Luke's under David Zinman on a Nonesuch CD.
Copyright statement: posting lower quality album covers is deemed fair use.
