Sony BMG Imports Various Artists - American Anthem

Under circumstances other than the aftermath of the September 11 tragedies in New York and Washington, one might dismiss such an album as dripping with sickly patriotic sentiment. But with mezzo Denyce Graves dedicating her three creamily sung contributions to the heroes created by those terrible events, and with proceeds from the sale of the CD going to the American Red Cross, one needn't preach on appropriate responses to such a desperate day in human history. What we have is a compilation album predominantly sourced by the back-catalogue, featuring everything from "America the Beautiful", "The Star-spangled Banner" and Aaron Copland's "Fanfare for the Common Man", to "God Bless America", "Alleluia" (Randall Thompson's haunting choral theme) and "America" (to the tune of the British National Anthem, yet again in its history wrongly attributed to Henry Carey). Performers include the Boston Pops Orchestra, the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra, James Galway, revered contralto Marian Anderson, clarinettist Richard Stolzman (with a fabulous bluesy "Amazing Grace", which alone is worth the price of the CD) and the ever-impressive Robert Shaw Chorale. These are all more than acceptable performances. This is the perfect opportunity to buy to support the cause.--Andrew Green

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