This Week in Music History: Kentucky Derby Fanfare
Since this week is the famous running of the Kentucky Derby, I decided to make a "This Week in Music History" post. Actually, I was just thinking about the Kentucky Derby Fanfare, and I started wondering who wrote it.
Well, it turns out that the Kentucky Derby Fanfare was written by a rather famous American composer - Stephen Foster. The original tune, titled, "My Old Kentucky Home," was written by Foster in the mid-nineteenth century.
Considered by many musicologists to be the "father of American music" (although I would certainly dispute that claim) Foster is the composer of many popular American folk tunes, including Oh Susanna, Camptown Races and Old Black Joe.
The Power of Fanfare
Fanfare is a genre of music that is found is marches, anthems, and national songs in all countries. By definition, a fanfare marks the introduction of an event. Fanfares are also used in certain cultural musics to highlight rites of passage or life transitions, such as marriage, the birth of a child and even death. Fanfares are powerful because they are subtle, non-conscious reinforcements of national or cultural heritage and pride.
Foster's Old Kentucky Home is also the state song of Kentucky (interesting enough, as Foster was born in Pennsylvania. Think of that, a Yankee being memorialized in song by those South of the Mason Dixon line). Foster has has been memorialized in other states, including Florida and Georgia.
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