Samuel Augustus Ward

When Samuel Augustus Ward (1847-1903) wrote the hymn tune Maderna in 1882, the New Jersey organist could not have dreamed that it would become one of the most recognized melodies in the world, thanks to a poet he never even met. Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1929), a professor of English at Wellesley College in Massachusetts, penned America the Beautiful in response to the magnificent panoramas she experienced during a cross-country trip in 1893. First published on July 4, 1895, Bates revised her poem in 1904, and finalized the complete eight stanzas in her 1911 collection entitled, America the Beautiful and Other Poems. Although Bates’ verses were sung to practically every tune that could be made to fit (including even Auld Lang Syne), by as early as 1910 Ward’s hymn had become the favorite, and today it is hard to imagine that the words and familiar melody came from unrelated sources. Incorporating readings from landmark documents and speeches in American history, the setting used in today’s concert is by Mark Hayes (b. 1953), a composer and arranger who has published over 600 works primarily for church musicians.

--October 21, 2007 (Cromley and Friends: Voices & Violin, Bach to Broadway)