But Yesterday is Not Today

The American Art Song, 1927-1972 Bethany Beardslee, soprano; Donald Gramm, baritone; Donald Hassard and Robert Helps, piano But Yesterday is Not Today is a survey of the American art song over a period of almost fifty years. What is an American art song? In the words of Ned Rorem, generally considered America's leading song composer, " The genre may be defined as the musical setting of a lyric poem for one voice with piano accompaniment. The setting is by a specific American composer, as distinct from anonymous or collective authorship; is self-contained as distinct from, say, an aria that is part of a whole; and is distinct from approximately notated so-called popular songs (even such sturdy hits as Gershwin's or Sondheim's), that can be rendered by any voice in any arrangement at any speed. Art song is our answer to the German Lied or to the French mélodie..." Eight composers are represented here, the well known (Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, Paul Bowles, and Roger Sessions) and t