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America the Beautiful

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https://digital.library.illinois.edu/items/967f6570-e466-0135-4ad8-0050569601ca-2
No Copyright - United States (RightsStatements.org)

The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information.

Descriptive Information

Title
America the Beautiful
Composer
  • Sleeper, William W.  
  • Randolph, John Carroll (pseudonym for William Arms Fisher)  
  • Fisher, William Arms  
  • Hamilton, Clarence G.  
Lyricist
Bates, Katharine Lee  
Publisher
Oliver Ditson Co.  
Place of Publication
Boston (Mass.)  
Year of Publication
1917  
Date of Copyright
No copyright registered
Physical Description
1 score, mixed voices ([1-2], 1-4, [2] p.)
Comment
This imprint brings together four one-page settings of the same poem. The composers all formed part of the Wellesley, Massachusetts religious and cultural community in which Katharine Lee Bates was a leading figure. The compilation was not registered for copyright but must postdate February 1917, when Fisher’s setting was composed. It was evidently intended for schools, but it was neither widely promoted nor noted, and it seems to have been eclipsed by the independent publication of Fisher’s setting and of patriotic anthologies.
Historical Note
  • Bates's text was first published in 1895 and revised in 1904 and 1911. The final version appeared in her America the Beautiful and Other Poems, copyrighted October 14, 1911, so the 1913 copyright on the cover of this imprint is incorrect.
  • Hamilton's setting was used in the local community between 1905 and 1915, and it was recorded for Columbia by the Wellesley Glee Club. Fisher's setting enjoyed modest success as an independent publication. Sleeper's setting was included in a large number of hymnals into the 1920s; it may have been the most widely used other than Ward's Materna.
  • The histories of each setting differ. Hamilton's was first, printed in 1905 and copyrighted on June 7, 1906. Fisher's was last, written after February 11, 1917. The Randolph setting was not copyrighted but was probably written in 1913. Sleeper's was copyrighted in manuscript October 2, 1908.
Musical Note
The Fisher and Randolph settings are hymns that conform closely to the rhythm and phrase structure of Materna, the pre-existing hymn tune by Samuel A. Ward that eventually emerged as the standard setting for Bates's text. The Hamilton and Sleeper settings are also hymns, but somewhat less conventional.
Dedication
Dedication
Subject - Topic
  • Hymns, English  
  • Patriotic music  
  • Songs and music  
  • World War, 1914-1918  
Subject - Geographic
United States  
Lyrics
  • [verse 4] O beautiful for patriot dream / That sees beyond the years / Thine alabaster cities gleam / Undimmed by human tears! / America! America! / God shed His grace on thee / And crown thy good with brotherhood / From sea to shining sea!
  • [verse 3] O beautiful for heroes proved / In liberating strife, / Who more than self their country loved / And mercy more than life! / America! America! / May God thy gold refine, / Till all success be nobleness, / And every gain divine!
  • [verse 2] O beautiful for pilgrim feet, / Whose stern, impassioned stress / A thoroughfare of freedom beat / Across the wilderness! / America! America! / God mend thine ev'ry flaw, / Confirm thy soul in self-control, / Thy liberty in law!
  • [verse 1] O beautiful for spacious skies, / For amber waves of grain, / For purple mountain majesties / Above the fruited plain! / America! America! / God shed His grace on thee / And crown thy good with brotherhood / From sea to shining sea!
Musical Genre
Hymn
Repository
Newberry Library
Rights
NoC-US
Rights Description
The organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information.
Cover Description
  • Below list of composers: Author’s Edition with Revised Text / Copyright, MCMXIII, by Katharine Lee Bates.
  • Above title: Patriotic Hymn
  • Top: No. 12,459 America the Beautiful. 8 cents / (Patriotic hymn by Katharine Lee Bates, with four settings).
  • Text only, in simple art deco border.
Back Cover Description
Text and list of titles: Music for Schools
Interior Description
  • Plate numbers: pp. 1-4, BR: 5-98-69629-4
  • p. [7]: continuation of back cover list
  • p. 4, BC: Copyright MCMXIII by William W. Sleeper
  • p. 3, BC: Copyright MCMXIII by Oliver Ditson Company
  • p. 2, BC: Copyright MCMXVII by Oliver Ditson Company
  • p. 2, BL: For complete edition in open score with full accompaniment see Octavo No. 13,130 / Orchestra parts for No. 13,130, 50¢
  • p. 2, below final bar of music: (Feb 11, 1917)
  • p. 1, BC: Copyright MCMVI by Clarence G. Hamilton
  • p. 1, BL: No. 12,459
  • p. 1, below title: Patriotic Hymn
  • p. [2]: text advertisement: Little Almond Eyes (© 1915 12 23)
Performance Medium
Mixed voices.  
Original Location
Box 163
Local Identifier
nda163_095
Collection Title
James Francis Driscoll Collection of American Sheet Music
Collection
World War I Sheet Music from the James Francis Driscoll Collection of American Sheet Music
TitleAmerica the Beautiful
Composer
  • Sleeper, William W.  
  • Randolph, John Carroll (pseudonym for William Arms Fisher)  
  • Fisher, William Arms  
  • Hamilton, Clarence G.  
LyricistBates, Katharine Lee  
PublisherOliver Ditson Co.  
Place of PublicationBoston (Mass.)  
Year of Publication1917  
Date of CopyrightNo copyright registered
Physical Description1 score, mixed voices ([1-2], 1-4, [2] p.)
CommentThis imprint brings together four one-page settings of the same poem. The composers all formed part of the Wellesley, Massachusetts religious and cultural community in which Katharine Lee Bates was a leading figure. The compilation was not registered for copyright but must postdate February 1917, when Fisher’s setting was composed. It was evidently intended for schools, but it was neither widely promoted nor noted, and it seems to have been eclipsed by the independent publication of Fisher’s setting and of patriotic anthologies.
Historical Note
  • Bates's text was first published in 1895 and revised in 1904 and 1911. The final version appeared in her America the Beautiful and Other Poems, copyrighted October 14, 1911, so the 1913 copyright on the cover of this imprint is incorrect.
  • Hamilton's setting was used in the local community between 1905 and 1915, and it was recorded for Columbia by the Wellesley Glee Club. Fisher's setting enjoyed modest success as an independent publication. Sleeper's setting was included in a large number of hymnals into the 1920s; it may have been the most widely used other than Ward's Materna.
  • The histories of each setting differ. Hamilton's was first, printed in 1905 and copyrighted on June 7, 1906. Fisher's was last, written after February 11, 1917. The Randolph setting was not copyrighted but was probably written in 1913. Sleeper's was copyrighted in manuscript October 2, 1908.
Musical NoteThe Fisher and Randolph settings are hymns that conform closely to the rhythm and phrase structure of Materna, the pre-existing hymn tune by Samuel A. Ward that eventually emerged as the standard setting for Bates's text. The Hamilton and Sleeper settings are also hymns, but somewhat less conventional.
DedicationDedication
Subject - Topic
  • Hymns, English  
  • Patriotic music  
  • Songs and music  
  • World War, 1914-1918  
Subject - GeographicUnited States  
Lyrics
  • [verse 4] O beautiful for patriot dream / That sees beyond the years / Thine alabaster cities gleam / Undimmed by human tears! / America! America! / God shed His grace on thee / And crown thy good with brotherhood / From sea to shining sea!
  • [verse 3] O beautiful for heroes proved / In liberating strife, / Who more than self their country loved / And mercy more than life! / America! America! / May God thy gold refine, / Till all success be nobleness, / And every gain divine!
  • [verse 2] O beautiful for pilgrim feet, / Whose stern, impassioned stress / A thoroughfare of freedom beat / Across the wilderness! / America! America! / God mend thine ev'ry flaw, / Confirm thy soul in self-control, / Thy liberty in law!
  • [verse 1] O beautiful for spacious skies, / For amber waves of grain, / For purple mountain majesties / Above the fruited plain! / America! America! / God shed His grace on thee / And crown thy good with brotherhood / From sea to shining sea!
Musical GenreHymn
RepositoryNewberry Library
RightsNoC-US
Rights DescriptionThe organization that has made the Item available believes that the Item is in the Public Domain under the laws of the United States, but a determination was not made as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. The Item may not be in the Public Domain under the laws of other countries. Please refer to the organization that has made the Item available for more information.
Cover Description
  • Below list of composers: Author’s Edition with Revised Text / Copyright, MCMXIII, by Katharine Lee Bates.
  • Above title: Patriotic Hymn
  • Top: No. 12,459 America the Beautiful. 8 cents / (Patriotic hymn by Katharine Lee Bates, with four settings).
  • Text only, in simple art deco border.
Back Cover DescriptionText and list of titles: Music for Schools
Interior Description
  • Plate numbers: pp. 1-4, BR: 5-98-69629-4
  • p. [7]: continuation of back cover list
  • p. 4, BC: Copyright MCMXIII by William W. Sleeper
  • p. 3, BC: Copyright MCMXIII by Oliver Ditson Company
  • p. 2, BC: Copyright MCMXVII by Oliver Ditson Company
  • p. 2, BL: For complete edition in open score with full accompaniment see Octavo No. 13,130 / Orchestra parts for No. 13,130, 50¢
  • p. 2, below final bar of music: (Feb 11, 1917)
  • p. 1, BC: Copyright MCMVI by Clarence G. Hamilton
  • p. 1, BL: No. 12,459
  • p. 1, below title: Patriotic Hymn
  • p. [2]: text advertisement: Little Almond Eyes (© 1915 12 23)
Performance MediumMixed voices.  
Original LocationBox 163
Local Identifiernda163_095
Collection TitleJames Francis Driscoll Collection of American Sheet Music
CollectionWorld War I Sheet Music from the James Francis Driscoll Collection of American Sheet Music

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