Composer

:

Ned Rorem

Genre

:

Vocal

Style

:

Song: Art Song

Compose Date

:

1956

Average_duration

:

1:47

"See how they love me" is a song cycle composed by Ned Rorem in 1961. The premiere of the work was given by soprano Phyllis Curtin and pianist John Wustman at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. on April 19, 1962. The cycle consists of five movements, each of which sets a poem by a different author. The first movement, "The Nightingale," sets a poem by William Wordsworth and features a lively, virtuosic piano part that imitates the bird's song. The second movement, "The Lordly Hudson," sets a poem by Walt Whitman and is characterized by a flowing, lyrical melody in the vocal line. The third movement, "The Serpent," sets a poem by Theodore Roethke and features a sinuous, chromatic piano part that evokes the slithering of the titular creature. The fourth movement, "The Dance," sets a poem by W.H. Auden and is marked by a lively, syncopated rhythm in the piano part. The final movement, "The Dream," sets a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay and is characterized by a dreamy, ethereal quality in both the vocal line and the piano accompaniment. Overall, "See how they love me" is a virtuosic and expressive work that showcases Rorem's skill as a composer of art songs. The cycle is notable for its varied moods and styles, as well as its sensitive and nuanced treatment of the texts.

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