Composer

:

Ned Rorem

Genre

:

Choral

Style

:

Choral

Compose Date

:

1987

Average_duration

:

12:23

Movement_count

:

6

Movement ....

"What is Pink?" is a song cycle composed by Ned Rorem in 1987. The premiere of the work was given by soprano Susan Graham and pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard at the Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts on August 9, 1987. The cycle consists of five movements, each of which sets a poem by Gertrude Stein. The first movement, "What is Pink?", is a playful and whimsical setting of Stein's poem of the same name. The music is light and airy, with a bouncy piano accompaniment and a vocal line that skips and dances around the text. The second movement, "Susie Asado", is a more frenetic and energetic setting of Stein's poem about a woman named Susie. The music is fast-paced and syncopated, with a driving piano accompaniment and a vocal line that is full of rapid-fire, tongue-twisting lyrics. The third movement, "A Carafe, That Is a Blind Glass", is a more contemplative and introspective setting of Stein's poem about the nature of perception. The music is slow and meditative, with a gentle piano accompaniment and a vocal line that is full of long, sustained notes and subtle shifts in dynamics. The fourth movement, "The Red Wheelbarrow", is a simple and straightforward setting of Stein's famous poem about a wheelbarrow. The music is spare and minimalist, with a repetitive piano accompaniment and a vocal line that is full of short, staccato phrases. The final movement, "As a Wife Has a Cow: A Love Story", is a humorous and irreverent setting of Stein's poem about a woman who falls in love with a cow. The music is playful and lighthearted, with a jaunty piano accompaniment and a vocal line that is full of exaggerated swoops and slides. Overall, "What is Pink?" is a charming and eclectic song cycle that showcases Rorem's skill as a composer and his ability to bring Stein's quirky and idiosyncratic poetry to life through music.

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