Ned Rorem’s “Early in the Morning”

Arguably, no artist grows up: If he sheds the perceptions of childhood, he ceases being an artist.

-Ned Rorem

Early in the Morning, an art song by American composer Ned Rorem (b. 1923), is filled with wistful nostalgia. The text, by the poet Robert Hillyer, offers a distant memory of a far-off summer morning. Both the words and the music are shrouded in a dreamlike haze. We’re presented with the ephemeral- sights and smells of the morning- rather than the concrete. The piano’s gentle rocking rhythm vaguely suggests a lullaby.

Here is Susan Graham’s 2000 recording:

Recordings

• Rorem: Early in the Morning, Susan Graham, Malcolm Martineau Amazon