World war brought Copland a commission from the Office of War Information to provide music for The Cummington Story, a brief documentary about the resettlement of European refugees in a Massachusetts town. Another war film, The North Star, was a Hollywood production that portrayed the Nazi's ravaging of a Russian village. In an attempt to lighten the film's downbeat message, Samuel Goldwyn hired Ira Gershwin to make Copland's score into a sort of musical. The result is an odd mix that features such numbers as Song of the Guerillas, performed here by the Collegiate Chorale. As you might guess, the piece sounds quite a bit like a college football fight song, although it was intended to accompany savage battle scenes. Despite this, and the understandable fragmentary nature of film music, Copland's inimitable genius nonetheless shines through. (Those familiar with his scores for The Red Pony and Our Town will know what to expect here.)

All of these suites are brilliantly played by the Eos Orchestra, a New York ensemble founded by Jonathan Sheffer to bring to light neglected works by important composers. Judging by the excellence of this collection, he has succeeded handsomely. Telarc's first class sound secures the recommendation.