Howard Swanson: Songs

So Lit Song Lit

Howard Swanson (1907-1978) studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and went on to study at Fontainebleau with Nadia Boulanger. He was close with poet Langston Hughes and his settings of Hughes' texts are considered definitive. Swanson has a unique sound, which makes his music well-suited for more mature musicians, but is still very accessible for an audience.

Recordings featured in this episode, performed by Donovan Elliot Smith, tenor, Toni Marie Palmertree, soprano, and Ellen Rissinger, pianist:

• One Day from Songs for Patricia
• Goodnight from Songs for Patricia
• Prelude 1 from Four Preludes

We also mentioned his settings of Langston Hughes texts, many of which are performed on this episode of Song of America radio series.

UPDATE: We updated this episode to include a clip from a performance of Swanson's The Negro Speaks of Rivers by Nicolas Newton, bass-baritone, and Blair Salter, pianist, from the archives of Cincinnati Song Initiative!

Recorded at the Carnegie Mellon School of Music Recording Studio in Pittsburgh, PA, and Morningstar Studios in Norristown, PA.

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So Lit Song Lit is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about its network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts.

You can follow Ellen and The Diction Police on Facebook and at www.dictionpolice.com.

You can follow Toni Marie on Facebook at Toni Marie Palmertree, soprano and Instagram @ToniMariePalmertree

You can follow Donovan Elliot Smith on his YouTube page.

For information on Nicolas Newton, see his website.

For information on Blair Salter, see her website.

This episode is sponsored by Carnegie Mellon University. Learn more about CMU and apply today.