This ballad, also known as "The Sailor's Epitaph," was Thoreau's favorite song. Many of Thoreau's friends recalled him singing this tune while playing the piano accompaniment. Why was this particular tune his favorite? We don't know.
Modernist American composer Charles Ives was heavily influenced by the Transcendentalists. He wrote this piano sonata in tribute to the bards of Concord, including Emerson and Thoreau. This album also features spoken-word performances of the authors' works in addition to Ives' composition.
Vic Hochee was a lawyer by trade, but music was his great passion. Before his death in 2009 at the age of 70, Hochee produced and recorded this musical tribute to Thoreau's Walden.
Poetree is a CD series that brings writers' works to life through music evocative of their writing. This album on Thoreau features musical selections from the likes of Beethoven, Mozart and Rachmaninoff, interspersed with quotations from Thoreau's writing.
Thoreau greatly enjoyed music. He played the flute for his own amusement and would get up and dance when he heard the Scottish melodies his family enjoyed during his childhood. This collection features the types of songs Thoreau may have heard at parties and in parlors. It includes one of his favorites, "The Campbells Are Coming."