- Foss wrote the orchestral work, Ode, around D-Day in 1944 as an expression of the unimaginable loss of American lives during World War II. Foss later revised the piece in 1958. The structure of the work was intended to represent “crisis, war, and ultimately faith.”
- In the revised score, Foss included the following famous quote by John Donne: “Any man’s Death diminishes me because I am involved in Mankind and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls: It tolls for thee.”
- The original title of the piece was “Ode to Those Who Will Not Return.”1
Sources
- Frank K. DeWald, Notes in accompanying booklet, FOSS, L.: Symphony No. 1 / Renaissance Concerto / 3 American Pieces / Ode performed by the Buffalo Philharmonic conducted by JoAnn Falletta, Naxos 8.559938, 2024, compact disc.
Cut IDs
26847