Mathew Brady's photographs inspired Burns to make
The Civil War, which (in nine episodes totaling more than 10 hours) explores the war's military, social, and political facets through some 16,000 contemporary photographs and paintings, and excerpts from the letters and journals of persons famous and obscure. The series' slow zooming and panning across still images was later termed the "
Ken Burns effect". Burns combined these images with modern
cinematography, music, narration by
David McCullough, anecdotes and insights from authors such as
Shelby Foote, historians
Barbara J. Fields,
Ed Bearss, and
Stephen B. Oates; and actors reading contemporary quotes from historical figures such as
Abraham Lincoln,
Robert E. Lee,
Ulysses S. Grant,
Walt Whitman,
Stonewall Jackson, and
Frederick Douglass, as well as diaries by
Mary Boykin Chesnut,
Samuel R. Watkins,
Elisha Hunt Rhodes and
George Templeton Strong and commentary from
James W. Symington. A large cast of actors voiced correspondence, memoirs, news articles, and stood in for historical figures from the Civil War. Burns also interviewed
Daisy Turner, then a 104-year-old daughter of an ex-slave, whose poetry features prominently in the series. Turner died in February 1988, a full two-and-a-half years before the series aired. Production ran five years. The film was co-produced by Ken's brother
Ric Burns, written by
Geoffrey C. Ward and Ric Burns with Ken Burns, and edited by
Paul Barnes with cinematography by Buddy Squires. It was funded by
General Motors, the
National Endowment for the Humanities, the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the
Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, and the
John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Music The theme song of the documentary is the instrumental "
Ashokan Farewell", which is heard twenty-five times during the film. The song was composed by
Jay Ungar in 1982 and he describes it as "the song coming out of 'a sense of loss and longing' after the annual
Ashokan Music & Dance Camps ended." It is the only modern piece of music heard in the film, and subsequently became the first ever single release for the Elektra Nonesuch label, which released the series' soundtrack album. It became so closely associated with the series that people frequently and erroneously believe it was a Civil War song. Ungar, his band Fiddle Fever and pianist
Jacqueline Schwab performed this song and many of the other 19th-century songs used in the film. Schwab's piano arrangements in particular have been acclaimed by many critics. Musicologist Alexander Klein wrote: "Upon watching the full documentary, one is immediately struck by the lyricism of Schwab's playing and, more importantly, her exceptional arranging skills. What had been originally rousing and at times
bellicose songs such as the southern "
Bonnie Blue Flag" or the northern "
Battle Cry of Freedom" now suddenly sounded like heart-warming, lyrical melodies due to Schwab's interpretations. The pianist not only changed the songs' original mood but also allowed herself some harmonic liberties so as to make these century-old marching tunes into piano lamentations that contemporary audiences could fully identify with". A major piece of vocal music in the series is a version of the old spiritual "
We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder", performed
a cappella by the
African-American singer, scholar and activist
Bernice Johnson Reagon and several other female voices. The song appears on Reagon's album
River of Life. Voices Interviewees •
Ed Bearss – Military historian and author •
Barbara J. Fields – Professor of American history at
Columbia University •
Shelby Foote – American writer, journalist, and Civil War historian •
Stephen Oates – Professor of history at the
University of Massachusetts Amherst •
William Safire – American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter •
James W. Symington – former Congressman •
Daisy Turner – 104-year-old daughter of a former plantation slave, oral historian •
Robert Penn Warren – American poet, novelist, and literary critic ==Episode list==