Classical Music for Aficionados

On second thought here is one the Master has something else to say, in Cantata , 106.,

In English his endless wisdom is , Gods Time Is The Best Time .

About Ashokan Farewell:

Ashokan is a reservoir in upstate New York, not a lake.

The "Ashokan" in Ashokan Farewell refers not to a body of water but to a nearby camp.

Its composition had nothing to do with the Civil War.

It is not classical music. If "White Christmas" were played by the Vienna Philharmonic, that would not make it classical music.

Ashokan Farewell is a folk tune composed by a folk fiddler, Jay Ungar, celebrating the camp experience. His inspiration was Celtic fiddle tunes of a similar nature.

As for the Civil War connection, it was adopted, many years after its composition, for the Ken Burns PBS documentary series on the Civil War. It was played during the entire series and was not focused upon New York soldiers.

I don’t know which experts think it is the "one of the best pieces written in America." That would seem to bypass a great many American classical composers, not to mention Jazz and "American Song Book" composers. It is a good tune, no doubt. I knew Ungar and am confident that’s what he thinks.

This is the internet and people just dump their notions here. Be careful what you read.

Enjoy:

This piece is  beautiful in any interpretation...

Amazing! Thanks it is a discovery for me....

I knew all that and was out to do nothing but the music.

The music is what I said it was, you or Ungar or not.

New York sent 450, 000 to the war 60,000 died and about

150.000 were VERY badly wounded .

All else is irrelevant .

melm, thanks for the background on "Ashoken Farewell".

When Burns' film "The Civil War" was released I was fascinated by much of the music, so bought the CD soundtrack.  But I was particularly taken by "Ashoken Farewell" so also picked up Ungar's Fiddle Fever album which introduced that song.  I still find it beautiful and haunting.  No matter if it was not written as a tribute to the Civil War and those wounded or killed then, I felt it was a perfect choice by Burns.