Editing Appalachian Spring (section)

=== Commission and writing ===
In 1941, Graham proposed to Copland a dark ballet about the Greek mythology figure [[Medea]]; despite being a great admirer of Graham, he declined.{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=391}} The following year, [[Erick Hawkins]], the chief male dancer in Graham's dance company, convinced the music patron [[Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge]] to commission a ballet from Copland for Graham's company; Copland happily accepted the offer.{{Sfn|Rutkoff|Scott|1995|p=215}} Graham first proposed a scenario titled "[[La hija de Cólquide|Daughter of Colchis]]", which was inspired by the story of Medea but set in 19th-century [[New England]]. Copland found it "too severe", and the idea was given to another Coolidge commissionee, [[Carlos Chávez]].{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=391}} In May 1943, Graham sent Copland a scenario titled "House of Victory", about a newlywed couple in a small 19th-century [[Pennsylvania]] settlement. Copland revised the scenario before composing the music, though his occupation with the score for ''[[The North Star (1943 film)|The North Star]]'' caused the beginning of his work to be delayed.{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=391}}{{Sfn|Philip|2018|p=183}}{{Sfn|Fauser|2017|pp=40–41}}

Per Coolidge's commission, the orchestra was to be no bigger than twelve musicians.{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=391}} Copland originally planned to orchestrate it for double [[string quartet]] and piano, but later decided to add a double bass, flute, clarinet, and bassoon, a scoring similar to Chávez's work.{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=392}} During the 1940s, Copland spent much of his time on the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]] scoring [[Hollywood films]]; as a result, he composed the music for ''Appalachian Spring'' far from Graham's [[East Coast of the United States|East Coast]]-based work.{{Sfn|Graham|1991|p=226}}{{Sfn|Franko|2012|p=50}}<ref>{{cite Grove|last1=Lerner|first1=Neil|date=2018|title=Aaron Copland|doi=10.1093/omo/9781561592630.013.3000000119}} {{Subscription required}}</ref> Since he could not meet with Graham, he relied greatly on the various scenarios sent to him. In total, Copland was sent three scripts: the original "House of Victory", and two revisions titled "Name".{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=392}}{{Sfn|Crist|2005|p=167}} In composing the music, he drew from all three scripts to devise his own scenario, which Graham planned around as she received various drafts of the score.{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=393}} Copland used the working title "Ballet for Martha" during the composition process.{{Sfn|Oja|Tick|2005|p=140}}

The original scenario, "House of Victory", used characters based on common American [[Archetype|archetypes]] and was set during the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], but also drew from [[Greek mythology]] and [[French poetry]].{{Efn|In the final scenario, the exact time period is left ambiguous to the entire 19th century.{{sfn|Franko|2012|p=51}}}}{{Sfn|Ross|2007|p=329}}{{Sfn|Stodelle|1984|p=125}} Four main characters were present: the Mother, who represents the [[preindustrial]] American; the Daughter, a brave pioneer; the Citizen, a smart civil rights advocate who marries the Daughter; and the Fugitive, who embodies the [[Slavery during the American Civil War|slave in the Civil War]].{{Efn|The names of these characters were later changed (see {{section link||Production}}).|name=name}}{{Sfn|Ross|2007|p=329}}{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=394}}{{Sfn|Franko|2012|p=54}} Graham based some of the ballet on her own experiences. She grew up in small-town Pennsylvania, and later wrote that the Mother was based on her own grandmother.{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=394}}{{Sfn|Graham|1991|p=232}} Other characters include the Younger Sister, Two Children, and Neighbors.{{Sfn|Franko|2012|p=52}}{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=394}} In the later revisions, a new character was added: a [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] girl to represent the land, associated with the story of [[Pocahontas]]. The Native American girl was meant to act as a theatrical device, interacting with everyone in the ballet without being acknowledged, but the idea was scrapped in Copland's final composition.{{Sfn|Philip|2018|p=183}}{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=394}}{{Sfn|Franko|2012|p=56}} Additionally, Graham planned for the Mother to speak excerpts from the [[Book of Genesis]] throughout, "not in a religious sense so much as in a poetic sense";{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=395}} this too was cut by the premiere.{{Sfn|Crist|2005|p=171}}

The final scenario featured eight episodes:{{Efn|See {{harvtxt|Crist|2005|p=168}} for a table comparison of differences between the "Name" scripts and the final ''Appalachian Spring'' scenario.}}

# Prologue: Graham did not want this opening episode to be long; she wanted it to have "a sense of simple celebration". As the lights went up, the Mother observed her land.{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=395}}
# Eden Valley: The Daughter and the Citizen dance together in a "duet of courtship".{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=395}}
# Wedding Day: Graham divided this episode into two parts. The first opens with a dance between the Younger Sister and the Two Children. The Citizen exhibits his strength before carrying the Daughter into the couple's new home. In the second part, the Daughter and the Citizen dance a love scene in the home, while those outside celebrate in an "[[Charivari#North America|old fashion charivari]]".{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=395}}
# Interlude: This episode depicts daily life in the town during spring planting.{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=395}}
# Fear in the Night: The central conflict of the ballet begins in this episode. The Fugitive enters with an "awkward" and "tragic" solo, bringing forth the fear and suffering of the Civil War.{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=395}}{{Sfn|Ross|2007|pp=329–330}}
# Day of Wrath: This episode was intended to represent the tragedies of war, accompanied by music reminiscent of the Civil War. The Citizen dances a violent solo "reminiscent of [[John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry|Harper's Ferry and John Brown]]" while the Two Children play a war game.{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|pp=395–396}}{{Sfn|Philip|2018|p=184}}
# Moment of Crisis: The women of the town gather, their behavior suggesting "a barely suppressed hysteria".{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=396}}
# The Lord's Day: The final scene was intended to depict "[[Sabbath]] in a small town". The Daughter and the Citizen perform a love duet outside the home, and the rest of the community attends a [[revival meeting]].{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=396}}{{Sfn|Ross|2007|p=330}}

The "House of Victory" script included an extra episode after the "Interlude" presenting scenes from ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'', strengthening the ballet's connection to the Civil War; but, upon Copland's persuasion, Graham cut the episode from the revisions.{{Sfn|Franko|2012|p=52}}{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=396}} In addition, the original script used a different final scene, where the Daughter and the Citizen reunite in the home. The second script ended with "the town settling down for the night" and the Daughter standing at the fence just before the curtain falls. The third script put forth "The Lord's Day" as it would stand in the final scenario.{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=396}}

Graham received half of the score in January 1944 and began work on the choreography.{{Sfn|Fauser|2017|p=41}} Copland completed the [[condensed score]] in June 1944, and the orchestration was finished in August.{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=392}} The premiere was originally set to take place at the [[Library of Congress]] on October 30, 1943, which was Coolidge's birthday. By May 1943, Copland had not begun composing the ballet, and given the further problems introduced by World War II, the premiere was postponed to early 1944.{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=391}} Despite a new December 1943 deadline for the music, a completed score was still not in view, and the premiere was pushed to late 1944.{{Sfn|Pollack|1999|p=392}}