The American flag cantata is a curious work, written by commission to celebrate Dvořák’s arrival in America in 1892/3, along with the 400th anniversary of Columbus discovery of America. It is perhaps meaningful that I find about this work from a website about conservative America. What can you expect: a five part poem singing praises of the American flag. However, it was put to music by an American composer.
Dvořák never heard it himself. He compared it to his Te Deum, but was uninspired to make much of it. When it premiered in 1895, Dvořák already left for his native country. The second work on this record marks the end of Dvořák’s short sojourn in America. It was composed for piano in 1894 and orchestrated a year later when Dvořák was already back home. Sandwiched between these two compositions he wrote some of his best known works, all of which I already wrote about earlier: the 9th symphony and his String Quartet in F, “the American”.