Notes of Daybreak - Voice and Piano

Notes of Daybreak was my first venture into writing vocal music. My musical training prior to being a composer was as a bassoonist, and quite frankly I had very little knowledge of vocal repertoire. Despite this, I pursued this project because, simply, somebody asked for it. Luckily, at the time I was studying with Carlyle Sharpe, who had set a great deal of the poetry of Walt Whitman. So I bought a copy of Leaves of Grass, found That Music Always Round Me, and set it to music. After the first rehearsal, I knew I had to write more, and the result is this four song cycle of Whitman poetry. That Music Always Round Me is joined with I Heard You Solemn-Sweet Pipes of the Organ, The Last Invocation, and I Hear America Singing.