Letter from Home (Copland)
Letter from Home is a 1944 orchestral composition by Aaron Copland.The piece was commissioned as a patriotic work by Paul Whiteman for his Radio Hall of Fame Orchestra, and suggests the emotions of a soldier reading a letter from home. The music has been described as Copland's "most sentimental" and reflects his own homesickness in Mexico.
It is scored for flute, oboe, four saxophones, French horn, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, guitar, piano, harp, percussion, and strings. The 1964 orchestral version is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, optional bass clarinet, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, two trombones, timpani, percussion, optional harp, optional piano, and strings.
