However, upon trying to dial the number from the telephone booth, Barber realized that he could not recall the newly established phone number. He was trying to reach Gian Carlo Menotti, whom he knew was visiting the apartment. In 1979, Barber had just moved into a new apartment in New York City and needed to call home. No doubt the popularity of "Sure on the Shining Night" was amplified by Barber's frequent retelling of an anecdote that directly involved the song. "Sure on this Shining Night" has also been used by voice teachers, including Marinka Gurewich, to instruct singers in the art of producing a pianissimo cantilena vocal line.
The song's structure resembles that of songs crafted by 19th-century masters such as Johannes Brahms and Robert Schumann, especially in the dexterous use of canonic principals (in which Brahms excelled) and in the use of the pulsating chordal-style accompaniment, as found in Schmann's "Ich grolle nicht" (from Dichterliebe, 1840). The brilliance of "Sure on this Shining Night" lies in its long, seamlessly lyrical canonical lines, initiated by the voice and followed immediately by the piano. Barber eventually met and formed a lasting friendship with the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, but it was not until after he set Agee's Knoxville: Summer of 1915 in 1948. The text for "Sure on this Shining Night" was based on an untitled lyric from James Agee's first published collection of poems, Permit Me Voyage (1934). 13 features the texts of four different poets. 10, in which all three songs are set to poetry by James Joyce, Barber's Four Songs, op. Unlike his earlier collection of Three Songs, op.
"Sure on this Shining Night" is the third song in the collection entitled Four Songs which was published by G. Quintessential Barber with its lyrical lines, "Sure on this Shining Night" has become one of the most frequently programmed songs both in the United States and Europe. 13) is widely considered as one of the composer's most famous contributions to the genre. Of the published songs, Barber's "Sure on this Shining Night" (from Four Songs, op. Samuel Barber was a prolific song composer, having written over 100 works for voice and piano, the majority of which still remain unpublished. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress. If you believe that any review contained on our site infringes upon your copyright, please email us.Detail from Drifter, by Rockwell Kent.
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