Mark Godden’s Angels in the Architecture

Posted on by Machaela Erdeljac

Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre will premiere Mark Godden’s Angels in the Architecture as part of its Spring Mix production, which will run April 10through 12 at the August Wilson African American Cultural Center in Pittsburgh. This work is a tribute to the dreams of Shaker communities, set to Aaron Copland’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Appalachian Spring. The simplicity in set, costumes and choreography reflects the ease, devotion and unity with which the Shakers lived. The work’s moving exploration of light and darkness and faith and doubt, creates an emotional and visually stunning ballet of spiritual and artistic reflection.

Angels in the Architecture

Creating the Ballet

  • Mark Godden first learned about the Shakers through a coffee table book. He became captivated and began researching them further, becoming enthralled by the beauty and simplicity of their lives.
  • Around the same time, Godden was frequently listening to composer Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring.
  • As the resident choreographer of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Godden drew on these two inspirations to create the ballet Angels in the Architecture in 1992.

How Shakers are Woven into Angels in the Architecture

  • The work is extremely musical and reflects strongly on the Copland score, with the music inspiring the choreography and emphasizing themes of community, simplicity and spirituality.
  • Rather than have the dancers actually portray Shakers, Godden chose to embody the spirit of their beliefs through choreography, costumes and set design to visually and symbolically capture their essence.
  • Godden also includes one of the Shaker’s famous inventions – the broom – as a symbol of their belief in cleanliness and practicality. The brooms are incorporated into the choreography, as the artists dance with the brooms for part of the ballet and use arm movements that depict the sweeping action of the brooms in another section.
  • Included in Angels in the Architecture is the fascinating fact that ”a well-made Shaker broom can stand on its own.” This image inspired the opening of the work, where six brooms stand alone. It is a mesmerizing sight and a powerful way to start the ballet.
  • There are many moves that the dancers make that represent Shaker life, including praying hands and choreography inspired by planting crops, cleaning and the movement of a rocking chair.
  • The set, designed by Paul Daigle & Mark Godden, includes peg rails on three sides of the stage, upon which the brooms and famous Shaker chairs are hung.
  • The costumes, designed by Paul Daigle, are designed to enhance the choreography and also embody the earthy tones of the countryside.
  • The lighting, created by Jeff Hurd, is meant to reflect the shafts of clear light that are often cut into traditional Shaker-built meeting halls.

Aaron Copland and Appalachian Spring

About Aaron Copland

  • Aaron Copland grew up in Brooklyn, NY, as the son of local department store owners. He always loved music and knew from a young age that he wanted to be a musician. He studied with experts in the field from New York to Paris.
  • After a few years of studying music in France, Copland began to think about finding a distinctively American sound.
  • Copland is known as a composer of extremely diverse works. He wrote music for a variety of genres, from concert music to collaborative works for radio, film, ballet and opera.
  • Copland wrote over 200 compositions, won more than 33 awards and was bestowed with 38 honorary degrees. Some of the awards he received include a Pulitzer Prize, an Oscar, a Grammy, two Music Critics’ Circle Awards and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

About Aaron Copland’s Ballet Works

  • Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring is the final work of his ballet series exploring American themes, helping shape a sense of pride and identity by evoking the vast landscape and pioneer spirit that define American culture. Other ballets in this series include Billy the Kid (Eugene Loring) and Rodeo (Agnes DeMille).
  • In 1942, Aaron Copland was commissioned by the Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Foundation to write a ballet score for a Martha Graham choreographed ballet.
  • Graham’s Appalachian Spring ballet depicts a pioneer couple’s wedding in 19th-century Pennsylvania. It premiered during World War II and provided a vision of hope, peace and American identity.
  • The premiere of the Appalachian Spring ballet took place on October 30, 1944, at the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress in Washington.

Appalachian Spring Music

  • Appalachian Spring famously uses the Shaker folk hymn “Simple Gifts” as its main melodic theme, presenting it in a set of variations that have become iconic in American music. This piece represents themes of simplicity, optimism and rural life, making it a cornerstone of American cultural identity.
  • Aaron Copland won the Pulitzer Prize for Music and the Music Critics’ Circle of New York’s award for best dramatic music for Appalachian Spring in 1945.
  • Copland re-arranged the ballet music as a continuous suite for full orchestra, which the New York Philharmonic premiered in October 1945. That version, which preserves most of the original ballet’s music, is eight minutes shorter than the ballet version. It is the form in which we usually hear Appalachian Spring today, including in Angels in the Architecture.
  • Today, Appalachian Spring is recognized as a pillar in American classical music.

    Artists of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre | Photography: Justin Merriman