In 1938, James Agee wrote his prose poem KNOXVILLE SUMMER OF 1915. In 1947, soprano Eleanor Steber commissioned American composer Samuel Barber a work for voice and orchestra. She premiered Barber’s KNOXVILLE SUMMER OF 1915 in 1948 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Serge Koussevitzky. Today’s Beautiful Music is a voice and piano version of the lovely piece, sung by tenor Russell Thomas with pianist Simon Lepper. There’s also a link to an article about Agee’s work.