In February 1862, the Atlantic Monthly published Julia Ward Howe’s “The Battle Hymn Of The Republic,” and in doing so, helped cement a national identity in a nation engulfed by civil war. The poem ...

It was sung at Ronald Reagan's funeral, and adopted with new lyrics by labor radicals. John Updike quoted it in the title of one of his novels, and George W. Bush had it performed at the memorial ...

On Nov. 18, 1861, Julia Ward Howe, a prominent Boston poet, attended a review of Union troops outside Washington, D.C. As her carriage made its way back to the city, inching along roads clogged with ...

To end a holiday concert at Montréal’s symphony hall earlier this month, superstar conductor and five-time 2023 Grammy nominee Yannick Nézet-Séguin led his hometown orchestra, two soloists, a massive ...

In November 1861, the poet Julia Ward Howe took the melody of the abolitionist singalong “John Brown’s Body” and added a new set of lyrics meant to inspire the Union to righteous victory. The editors ...

Though the Battle Hymn of the Republic is more than 150 years old, it is still embraced by Americans of all political persuasions. According to Ben Soskis, co-author of a new book about the song, that ...

Protest music has a deep and rich history in the United States. One could even say it was born right alongside it. From "Yankee Doodle" being sung back in defiance at the British soldiers who ...

For the Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang, the most meaningful things are often the things that go unsaid. So when he set out to compose his choral and dance work "Battle Hymns," which will ...