Description
American Heritage is a patriotic tribute comprised of a fanfare, prelude, and grand finale for three linked national hymns: God of Our Fathers, The Battle Hymn of the Republic, and America The Beautiful.
The American Heritage Story
American Heritage is the second major work composed by Ben Daniel.
After completing his first composition, he struggled for a number of months searching for creative direction for his next piece. Then one day in August of 2013, he was on a business trip in Phoenix, AZ, where he was the only natural born American citizen among his group. His other colleagues were three Indians and an Australian, all of whom were very familiar with Middle East, as they had all lived in or near that part of the world.
On the way to the client site one morning, they were riding in the car and his colleagues started to debate and discuss things they liked and didn’t like about life in the Middle East. As the conversation started to grow more heated, one of his Indian colleagues went on a rant …passionately defending life, liberty, and freedom in the United States.
At that moment, inspiration hit, and Ben knew exactly what his next piece would be. It would be something patriotic and meaningful, something that would be a proper homage to life, liberty, and freedom.
American Heritage is a fanfare, prelude, and grand finale for three linked national hymns: God of Our Fathers, The Battle Hymn of The Republic, and America The Beautiful. Over each respective hymn, an excerpt is read from The Declaration of Independence, The Gettysburg Address, and Ronald Reagan’s 1989 Farewell Address.
The piece is meant to celebrate the American heritage of freedom and liberty throughout the history of the United States’ in her noble founding, great conflict, and optimistic future.
