Let's be real for a moment. “Holiday music” is just code for music about snow, giving gifts or an adjacent religious holiday. But what about Thanksgiving? It just seems to always get left behind in the conversation. Don't despair, though, here are some tunes to get you started on Turkey Day.
Our Town— Aaron Copland
Is Our Town a bleak play? Yes, sort of — unless you walk away from it with the understanding that life is precious, short and can end unexpectedly. So just be conscious of that while you’re travelin’ down this road that we call life. Savor and be thankful for those special moments with friends and family. You know, like on Thanksgiving.
The “American”Quartet — Dvořák
Dvořák liked: America. Dvořák did not like: the scarlet tanager, a songbird that can be heard in the Iowa countryside. The composer found himself there while he took a vacation from his teaching duties at the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York. While we can assume the trip was relaxing, that “damned bird” impinged on his happiness. But not too much — the birdsong served as an inspiration for part of the scherzo.
Wer Dank opfert, der preiset mich— Bach
Bach wrote this cantata for use in the church, and it’s pretty Bible-heavy. Psalm 50 is referenced, in which God points out something along the lines of, “Hey, giving thanks to me would be nice from time to time!” So is a parable in which Jesus heals some lepers, which, if you were one of the afflicted is the ultimate reason to give all of the thanks.
“A Thankful Heart” — John T. Hocutt
The performance we have in mind is sung by Cantus, and is included on an album called A Harvest Home. It’s unabashed embrace of all things autumnal, with music that includes “Food, Glorious Food” and “Simple Gifts.” Get a taste of the Thanksgiving spirit with “A Thankful Heart” — the voices singing “Give me a calm and thankful heart / from every murmur free” are like some kind of musical comfort food.
“Let Us Break Bread Together” — Traditional
Embrace the folk traditions of Thanksgiving with this stirring Negro spiritual, most commonly sung in churches during the ritual meal of communion. On Thanksgiving, we’re communing with loved ones — some of whom we may not have seen in quite some time — over food and our own human experiences.
“Simple Gifts,” from Appalachian Spring— Copland
Is this the origin story for any Thanksgiving or harvest-adjacent music? Certainly not, but you’d have a tough time building a Thanksgiving playlist and not including this Copland classic, based on the tune of an old Shaker hymn.
“Trout” Quintet — Schubert
The details surrounding the first Thanksgiving are quite murky, and blurred even more so with each passing year of donning rose-tinted lenses that sanitize the relationship between colonists and indigenous Americans. But, if we take multiple grains of salt and work all the way backwards, we can try to imagine what that meal’s (however great or small) menu was. And that menu likely included fish. Trout is a fish. There’s a whole lot more subtext to the Schubert, but word association is cool for now.
“Beautiful Dreamer” — Stephen Foster
A throwback American song for a throwback American holiday. Perfect for when you’re drifting off on the couch after demolishing plates in the afternoon. (Or evening? When does everyone eat Thanksgiving dinner, anyway?)
Symphony No. 9, “From the New World” — Dvořák
It’s no longer a secret that nothing about this symphony is inherently American. But that doesn't stop us from feeling like it is; truly, expectations and misunderstandings can do a number on the narrative around the creation of the work. But when that second movement hits, it’s OK to let those familiar lyrics of “Goin’ Home” creep into your head. They were, in fact, written after Dvořák’s symphony, by the composer’s student, the American William Arms Fisher.
“We Gather Together” — Eduard Kremser
Another Cantus cut from the same Cantus record we mentioned earlier. “We gather together in harvest, in labor / Embracing each other in Friendship and love” makes for an amazing dinnertime anthem.