Is this the best version of Appalachian Spring? It is for me

When it comes to Copland, for me, more means more! This goes against Copland’s own view – he wanted to make every note count and was quite reductionist in his approach to composing. Many of his works are quite short. Also, conventional wisdom often suggests that “less is more”. So what do I mean by this?

Essentially, so many of Copland’s most famous works are truncated versions of the originals – Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, Rodeo, Quiet City, Our Town the list goes on. I love all these suites and condensed versions – they are what hooked me in the first place. However, almost without exception when I have heard the fleshed out earlier versions I usually find myself more drawn to these uncut originals.

It could be down to the purity of the sound as these works were often scored for smaller ensembles? But I think the thing that does it for me is that in the bits of incidental music that have been excised from the suites you find the rough edges – the grit that enables the pearls to emerge in the more approachable sections. Once I heard the original 13 instrument original full ballet version with the extra eight minute section “Fear in the Night / Day of Wrath / Moment of Crisis” I found it hard to get nearly as much enjoyment from the suite. The austere, somewhat severe section breaks up the Simple Gifts variations and for me makes it all the better for it. The suite version with this omission therefore comes across as a fairy story of romance and in certain hands can be a little saccharine to my tastes. Whereas the full version gives a more rounded account of the potential ups and downs that all marriages will have to face head on. As a result it is more true to real life than the suite.

Hugh Wollf’s recording with the St Louis Chamber Orchestra is as close to perfection as I’ve heard. This is the original, original. There are loads of other versions that claim to be the original but aren’t. When Copland rescored the suite he changed the order of the Simple Gifts variations and when he himself recorded the “original” 13 instrument version he retained this minor change. So many others have since followed suit. However, the oh so slight difference in the Wolff version (which has a bridge section amounting to around 7 seconds) is another essential ingredient that makes the original still the best!