The Song and the Slogan

WILL-TV Production Celebrates Carl Sandburg’s Life, Poetry and the Music
They Inspired

Although opera singer Jerry Hadley grew up in Illinois nearly 75 years after Carl Sandburg, Hadley has always felt a bond with the poet because of their shared roots in the Midwest.

"The spirit of the land and the attitudes of the people I grew up with weren’t much different from those of Sandburg’s time," said Hadley.

Hadley stars in WILL-TV’s new performance documentary The Song and the Slogan, a tribute to Sandburg incorporating a musical adaptation of Sandburg’s poem "Prairie." The program, distributed by NETA, looks at Sandburg’s life and explores the prairie as a living entity, constantly changing yet unwilling to be tamed. The program won the 2003 Emmy Award for best music from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Mid-America Chapter. 

Hadley commissioned the documentary’s original music, an extended chamber work with voice, also titled "The Song and the Slogan." Composed by Midwest native Daniel Steven Crafts, the musical work premiered at the University of Illinois Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, on Nov. 14, 2000.

WILL-TV’s documentary features a performance of the piece in a natural prairie setting, interspersed with segments about Sandburg, including interviews taped at the Sandburg Research Archives at the U of I Library and at the Sandburg State Historic Site in Galesburg, Ill. An ensemble of U of I music faculty and other musicians performs the piece with Hadley. David Hartman, former host of ABC’s "Good Morning America," narrates.

Hadley said Sandburg’s writings reflect Midwestern values such as a strong work ethic, stoic pragmatism and unconquerable spirit. "I hope viewers will come away from this film feeling as if they’ve experienced the prairie, been touched by the poetry and music, and feel pride in those Midwest values," he said.

WILL-TV producer Tim Hartin melds lush prairie scenery, Sandburg’s poetry and the music into a moving tribute to the poet. "I wanted the documentary to be a visual tribute as well as a musical one," Hartin said. "The poetry provided most of the ideas for the visuals. They reflect the mood of the poetry."

Hartin said he wanted to remind viewers not only of where Sandburg came from, but who he was. "We’re 40 years past his death, and so many people don’t realize what a very public figure he was. He was interviewed by Edward R. Murrow and appeared on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Jack Paar Show and See It Now," said Hartin.

Hartin was determined from the onset of the project to show musicians performing outdoors rather than in a concert hall. However, he said, it proved to be more challenging than he had imagined. "I think I underestimated the amount of time it would take to do a performance piece well in a natural setting," he said. Taped near Congerville, Ill., the performance required transporting musicians, a piano and other instruments to the Mackinaw Dells to take advantage of the prairie scenery and sometimes perfect fall Indian summer lighting conditions.

"For one week, we endured extremes of glaring sun, heat, cold and rain in order to complete the shoot," said associate producer Barbara Hedlund, a cellist who performed with the ensemble. The taping sessions were sandwiched in between Hadley’s performances in The Great Gatsby at the Chicago Lyric Opera.

In the documentary segments, viewers hear about the love letters between Sandburg and his wife, Lilian, and other research materials at the U of I Library’s Sandburg Archives. They see Sandburg’s birthplace in Galesburg, where his father was a blacksmith’s helper for the railroad, and hear about some of his adventures as young man. Archival footage of Sandburg, including his interview with Murrow, brings Sandburg to life.

The Song and the Slogan was made possible, in part, by a grant from the Office of the Provost, University of Illinois. Additional funding was provided by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

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