ABSTRACT
Randall Thompson, Walter Piston and Howard Hanson represented the academic élite in American music for more than 30 years, exerting an influence far beyond their institutions and their pupils. Thompson was primarily a composer of choral music including the widely popular Alleluia, The Peaceable Kingdom and The Last Words of David. The ensuing slow movement is sad without indulging in melancholy; a string chorale provides evidence of Thompson’s considerable skill in writing for voices as the stepwise melodic lines suggest word setting. Although later fashion has allowed Thompson’s Second Symphony to fall out of favour, it stands as the archetypal American symphony of the 1930s and 40s, expertly crafted and deeply national in character without superficial jingoism. In reality the Symphony belongs to the Paris years and in the quartet version follows chronologically on from the Second Symphony. It is much less adventurous than either of its predecessors, neo-classical in manner with dance elements a strong feature.
