Various Artists - American Spirit: Roots & Transformations / Various - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

These four Naxos American Classics releases selected for this Americana collection... focus on some of the defining moments of that history. First... a panorama of works inspired by Abraham Lincoln in defnitive performances conducted by Leonard Slatkin... Then Hannibal Lokumbe's rousing tribute to Rosa Parks... features the Detroit Symphony and the combined singers of two of Michigan's most venerable choruses. Next, Peter Boyer's dramatic account of the arrival of immigrants to Ellis Island in the early 20th century is narrated by an all-star cast including Eli Wallch and Olympia Dukakis. Finally, the first ever complete recordings of two film scores by Virgil Thomson for 1930s documentaries detailing the plight of rural Americans priot to the New Deal... Inch - Frank J. Oteri, NewMusicBox. Com Album Tracks 1. Prologue - Philharmonia Orchestra 2. Words of Helen Cohen, Emigrated from Poland in 1920, Read By Blair Brown - Blair Brown 3. Interlude 1 - Philharmonia Orchestra 4. Words of James Apanomith, Emigrated from Greece in 1911, Read By Louis Zorich - Louis Zorich 5. Interlude 2 - Philharmonia Orchestra 6. Words of Lillian Galleta, Emigrated from Italy in 1928, Read By Olympia Dukakis - Olympia Dukakis 7. Interlude 3 - Philharmonia Orchestra 8. Words of Lazarus Salamon, Emigrated from Hungary in 1920, Read By Eli Wallach - Eli Wallach 9. Interlude 4 - Philharmonia Orchestra 10. Words of Helen Rosenthal, Emigrated from Belgium in 1940, Read By Bebe Neuwirth - Bebe Neuwirth 11. Interlude 5 - Philharmonia Orchestra 12. Words of Manny Steen, Emigrated from Ireland in 1925, Read By Barry Bostwick - Barry Bostwick 13. Interlude 6 - Philharmonia Orchestra 14. Words of Katherine Beychook, Emigrated from Russia in 1910, Read By Anne Jackson - Anne Jackson 15. Epilogue 'The New Colossus' (Emma Lazarus, 1883), Read By All Actors - Various Perf