Music: Aaron Copland (Ballet for Martha).
Choreography: Martha Graham.
Sets: Isamu Noguchi.
Costumes: Edythe Gilfond.
Lighting: Jean Rosenthal.
Premiere: Oct 30, 1944 at the Library of Congress in Washington DC.
Dancers at the premiere: Martha Graham (the Bride), Erick Hawkins (the Husbandman), Merce Cunningham (the Revivalist), May O'Donnell.When Aaron first presented me with the music its title was
Ballet for Martha- simple, and as direct as the Shaker theme that
runs through it. I took some words from the
poetry of Hart Crane and retitled it Appalachian Spring.
When Aaron appeared in Washington for a rehearsal, before the October 30, 1944, premiere,
he said to me, "Martha, what have you named the ballet?"
And when I told him he asked, "Does it have anything to do with the
ballet?"
"No", I said, "I just like the title."
Appalachian Spring is essentially a dance of place.
You choose a piece of land, part of the house goes up. You dedicate it.
The questioning spirit is there and the sense of establishing
roots.
(Martha Graham, Blood Memories)