This Copland collection is devoted specifically to works inspired by the spacious landscape of the American prairie. The Suite for the 1948 film of John Steinbeck�s novel The Red Pony, depicts life on a ranch in California. The composer described the music as �folkish�, although the themes are all original. The second of Copland�s �cowboy ballets�, Rodeo, about the desperate attempts of a cowgirl to become a ranch cowhand, quotes a variety of American folk-tunes, and includes the irrepressible Hoe Down. Prairie Journal offers a vivid sonic evocation of life on a western range, while Letter from Home, completed during the peak of World War II, beautifully conjures the feelings of nostalgia one might experience at a far-away army camp.