United States Various – ‘Forging an American Musical Identity’: Anna Thompson (soprano), J’Nai Bridges (mezzo-soprano), Freddie Ballentine (tenor), Alan Williams (bass), Bard Festival Chorale (chorus director: James Bagwell), American Symphony Orchestra / Leon Botstein (conductor). Carnegie Hall, New York, 30.1.2026. (DS)
Dudley Buck – Festival Overture on the American National Air
Arr. Harry T. Burleigh – ‘Go Down, Moses’, ‘Behold that Star!’, ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’
Wagner – Grosser Festmarsch (American Centennial March)
George Frederick Bristow – Symphony No.5, Op.62, ‘Niagara’
If you did not know a symphony existed about Niagara Falls, you are not alone. It has been 128 years since Bristow’s ‘Niagara’ Symphony was premiered at Carnegie Hall, with no repeat performance there until Leon Botstein brought it back for the recent ‘Forging an American Musical Identity’ concert with the American Symphony Orchestra. But that is exactly what Botstein does, rather gracefully. The concerts in which he conducts either the ASO or Bard College’s The Orchestra NOW dust off creations that should be known and are good for listening to. Will you hear them again? Maybe not. Yet each concert is both informative and riveting. The world of music is Botstein’s museum, and he is the curator interested in the back shelves of the storage archives.
Bypassing Dvořák’s ‘New World’, Botstein introduced Carnegie’s audience to Bristow’s ‘Niagara’. Heavily Beethoven-influenced, the first three movements proved technically difficult yet were played with elegant energy by the ASO whose approach added a touch of pastoral pomp. Unsurprisingly, each movement was replete with water-like musical imagery that Bristow covered with astonishing thoroughness. But the stand-out portion was the fourth movement, Maestoso, which required a chorus and four vocal soloists. Sound familiar? While joy certainly entered as a factor, this movement’s text was an ode to the waterfall and praised the power and beauty of nature.
The Bard Festival Chorus was perfect, with a refreshing clarity of tone and smart accentuation of the text. The four soloists offered a wide palette of warm textures, and tenor Freddie Ballentine stood out with mesmerizing power, making one want to rush right over to the Met Opera’s Porgy and Bess to capture more of his vocal elixir.
It goes without saying that the world is looking on as America (or rather the United States) is again in the midst of forging an identity. Botstein’s inclusion of an oddity work – Grosser Festmarsch, composed by Wagner as a commission for the US Centennial in 1876 (Wagner never stepped foot on this side of the Atlantic) – hinted at this global perspective of nation building. The piece sounded like it could have been churned out by a Wagnerian workshop: long phrases, a climax always inching further from reach and the perfectly timed use of percussive punctuation. Nevertheless, it paired a sense of an optimistic future with a reflective mood, well timed for today’s 250-year anniversary moment.
In contrast, the concert’s opening work by Dudley Buck – Festival Overture on the American National Air – hinted at small-town charm, adding a lilt to its march. Occasional anxious-sounding minor sections slowly gave way to fragmented phrases from ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’. It struck a tasteful balance between the patriotic and the cultural while standing firmly in European classical music styles. In closing, the chorus sang the national anthem over passages reminiscent of Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture.
An evening about American musical identity would not be complete without songs from the most important part of US social history: enslavement. Here stands a true source of home-grown music. With an intimate yet hefty brawn wrapped around her intoxicating voice, mezzo-soprano J’Nai Bridges sang three hymns (including my own favorite, ‘Go Down Moses’). In his arrangement, Harry T. Burleigh transformed the songs into operatic-like arias, both elongating and elaborating upon them in well-deserved fashion.
The concert also saw an unusually high number of audience members pulling out phones to record the performance. Ushers hurried up and down the aisles to gently remind them that this was taboo, and everyone politely complied. But it certainly spoke to two points: the performance was appreciated, and the hall was filled with newcomers. And both are a good sign for the American musical identity.
Daniele Sahr
Featured Image: Soloists, Bard Festival Chorale, American Symphony Orchestra with Leon Botstein (conductor) © Matt Dine