Aaron Copland wrote the ballet Appalachian Spring, premiered in Washington, D.C., in 1944. Choreographer Martha Graham commissioned the work, and she also created the leading role. The original production was presented at the Library of Congress on 30 October 1944.
The ballet portrays a newly married American couple beginning life on a farm, with a pioneer woman, a preacher, and other figures shaping the action. Copland’s score uses open sonorities, spacious textures, and rhythms associated with American concert music, creating the atmosphere of a young community and its landscape.
The title was not supplied by Graham at first. It came from a poem by Hart Crane, whose phrase “the spring of the Appalachian” inspired the name. The ballet’s story is not a literal depiction of a specific Appalachian historical event.
One of the score’s best-known passages uses the Shaker tune “Simple Gifts,” presented in a set of variations. Copland later prepared orchestral and shorter concert versions, helping the music become widely known beyond the original dance production.