“These songs – our songs – say everything, through the eyes of our poets and the ears of our composers, about the culture we call American.” — Thomas Hampson

Whitman, the “Bard of Democracy,” was the founder of a new American language. With music built deep into his poetry, it’s no surprise that Whitman has been a beacon for American composers.

Host & Artistic Director:
Thomas Hampson

Co-Produced by the Hampsong Foundation and The WFMT Radio Network

Production Team:
Executive Producer: Steve Robinson (The WFMT Radio Network)
Producer: Carolyn Paulin (The WFMT Radio Network)
Coordinating Producer: Miriam Lewin
Project Manager: Christopher Dingstad
Researcher: Christie Finn
Writer for Song of Walt Whitman: Pierre Ruhe

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Song listings with composer / poet, performers, CD label, and CD number:

“The Commonplace,” from Songs at Parting (1930)
Composer: Ernst Bacon (1898-1990) | Text: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

From the album: Fond Affection (2007)
William Sharp, baritone | John Musto, piano
New World Records/CRI 890
Buy on Amazon
Buy on ArkivMusic
Buy on iTunes
 
“Walt Whitman” (1921)
Composer: Charles Ives (1874-1954) | Text: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

From the album: To the Soul (2006)
Thomas Hampson, baritone | Craig Rutenberg, piano
EMI Classics 58239
Buy on Amazon
Buy on ArkivMusic
 
 
“Behold This Swarthy Face” (1990)
Composer: Gerald Busby (b. 1935) | Text: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

From the album: To the Soul (2006)
Thomas Hampson, baritone | Craig Rutenberg, piano
EMI Classics 58239
Buy on Amazon
Buy on ArkivMusic
 
 
“We Two” (1946)
Composer: Elinor Remick Warren (1900-1991) | Text: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

From the album: Song of America: Music from the Library of Congress (2005)
Thomas Hampson, baritone | Craig Rutenberg, piano
EMI Classics (Angel) 41645
Buy on Amazon
Buy on ArkivMusic
Buy on iTunes
 
“Prayer of Columbus” (1993)
Composer: Robert Strassburg (1915-2003) | Text: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

From the album: To the Soul (2006)
Thomas Hampson, baritone | Craig Rutenberg, piano
EMI Classics 58239
Buy on Amazon
Buy on ArkivMusic
 
 
“Ange si pur,” from La Favorita (1840)
Composer: Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848) | Text: Alphonse Royer & Gustav Vaez, after Baculard d’Arnaud
From the album: La Favorite (2000)
Ramón Vargas, tenor | Munich Radio Orchestra | Marcello Viotti, conductor
RCA Victor Red Seal 66229
Buy on Amazon
Buy on ArkivMusic
Buy on iTunes
 
“O You Whom I Often I Often and Silently Come” (1961)
Composer: Ned Rorem (b. 1923) | Text: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

From the album: Songs of Ned Rorem (2000)
Susan Graham, mezzo-soprano | Malcolm Martineau, piano
Erato 80222
Buy on Amazon
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Buy on iTunes
 
“As I Watch’d the Ploughman Ploughing” (1901)
Composer: Philip Dalmas (?-1928) | Text: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

From the album: To the Soul (2006)
Thomas Hampson, baritone | Craig Rutenberg, piano
EMI Classics 58239
Buy on Amazon
Buy on ArkivMusic
 
 
“Dirge For Two Veterans,” from Four Walt Whitman Songs (1942)
Composer: Kurt Weill (1900-1950) | Text: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

From the album: Song of America: Music from the Library of Congress (2005)
Thomas Hampson, baritone | Craig Rutenberg, piano
EMI Classics (Angel) 41645
Buy on Amazon
Buy on ArkivMusic
Buy on iTunes
 
“Look Down, Fair Moon” (1940)
Composer: Charles Naginski (1909-1940) | Text: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

From the album: To the Soul (2006)
Thomas Hampson, baritone | Craig Rutenberg, piano
EMI Classics 58239
Buy on Amazon
Buy on ArkivMusic
 
 
“Memories of Lincoln” (1920)
Composer: William Harold Neidlinger (1863-1924)| Text: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

From the album: To the Soul (2006)
Thomas Hampson, baritone | Craig Rutenberg, piano
EMI Classics 58239
Buy on Amazon
Buy on ArkivMusic
 
 
“To What You Said,” from Songfest (1977)
Composer: Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) | Text: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

From the album: I Hear America Singing (2001)
Thomas Hampson, baritone | Wolfram Rieger, piano
Orfeo d’Or C707062
Buy on Amazon
Buy on ArkivMusic
 
 
“One Thought Ever at the Fore,” from Songs at Parting (1930)
Composer: Ernst Bacon (1898-1990) | Text: Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

From the album: I Hear America Singing (2001)
Thomas Hampson, baritone | Wolfram Rieger, piano
Orfeo d’Or C707062
Buy on Amazon
Buy on ArkivMusic
 
 
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Explore the Hampsong Foundation’s multi-dimensional Walt Whitman project:

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Related Links:

Song of America database
Song of America on the Hampsong Foundation website
WFMT Radio Network
Library of Congress: Performing Arts Encyclopedia

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Song of America Radio Series Program List
Song of America on the Hampsong Foundation website
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