In my recent Copland article / book excerpt, I mentioned the Coplandeque musical strains that appeared in the background of Ronald Reagan's "Morning in America" commercials in 1984. The Internet being the fabulously pervasive medium that it is, I soon heard from the composer/arranger Alan Foust, who wrote music for the long-form promotional film from which the commercials derived. (Someone else scored the sixty-second spots themselves.) He says: "Initially, the client just wanted a general theme that could be cut in and out of the film. As the project took on a life of its own, they decided that each scene should be scored. I don't recall anyone asking for 'Copland-type' music, but it was very clear that the main theme should be 'Americana' in its direction and feel. I recall, early on, before I had written anything, standing next to a piano and discussing the project with a fellow arranger. Without saying anything, he turned to the piano and (with the sustain pedal on) played C-D-G-B [transposition of part of the opening motif of Appalachian Spring — ed.].... I wound up writing a main theme totally unrelated to C-D-G-B — but with a definite Copland feel. The recording and mixing was all done in one very long day with an orchestra of around 30 musicians. The finished film was played in its entirety on all the networks and received a tremendous amount of press coverage." It should be made clear that Foust has worked with a wide array of clients, not just Republican presidents. He also runs the site AllAboutOpera.
