![]() Shenandoah on a cello is a revelation, and the little known Irish song Johnny Has Gone For a Soldier is especially moving.īut the highlight of the CD is the very moving letter by a simple soldier, Sullivan Ballou to his wife Sarah, as he faces the prospect of death in the up-coming Battle of Bull Run. All sensitively performed, sometimes by a military brass band, or gospel choir, or a folk ensemble, and sometimes just a single guitar. And it went on to win a Grammy Award.Īll the well-known music is here: When Johnny Comes Marching Home, Dixie, Battle Hymn of the Republic and Yankee Doodle. It fit so well with the themes of The Civil War that it became its signature tune, tying each episode together. In fact it was written in 1983 by Jay Ungar, a folk musician and teacher from New York. It is such a simple, poignant melody that you would be forgiven for thinking it was from the nineteenth century. Jay UngarThe most famous piece is the Ashokan Farewell. Taken individually, the pieces of music, as much as the photographs and letters, reveal the sadness, fear and lonliness of the people caught up in the war. As a whole, it represents an entire era, the righteous conviction of both sides, the early naivety and the later realization of the horror that had been unleased. The soundtrack features 2 dozen of the most evocative pieces of music from The Civil War. Simple words, simple images and simple music - a magic whole. Handpicked both from the times and in the spirit of the times, the music made The Civil War magnificent. And he followed these people through the conflict, describing the battles, their day-to-day life, the weariness, the horror.Īnd through it all is the music. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things in terrible times. He matches the words to a selection of photographs from the War, sometimes of battlegrounds, but more commonly of people. ![]() But somehow Ken Burns touched a universal note that made this story very real. And so we get a picture of the Civil War not just from Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, bit also from the words of common soldiers, unknown slaves, workers, farmers and women. Burns takes a bottom-up look at history, focusing on the individuals, both great and small, their lives, letters and loves. ![]() Ken Burns went on to create such notable series as Baseball, Lewis and Clarke and Jazz, all in what has now become known as the Ken Burns style. The book from the series and the VHS tapes became bestsellers, and the boxed DVD set has been released just this month. First shown on the American Public Broadcasting Service in September 1990, it reached a record audience, won a swagger of awards and established Ken Burns as the premier American documentary maker. ![]()
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