One Sweet Morning

John Corigliano
Occupation	Composer
Known for	One Sweet Morning

One Sweet Morning is a song cycle composed of four movements for mezzo-soprano and orchestra by the American composer John Corigliano. Created through commissions from both the New York Philharmonic and the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, its debut performance took place on September 30, 2011. This premiere featured mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe alongside the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Alan Gilbert. The piece is dedicated to Natalie and Serge Koussevitzky.

Background

Initially, the New York Philharmonic invited Corigliano to compose a tribute for the first anniversary of 9/11; however, he declined, feeling the timing was too soon after the tragedy. Subsequently, the orchestra commissioned John Adams, whose work On the Transmigration of Souls earned the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Music.

In his program notes, Corigliano discussed the difficulties faced during composition:

He addressed these challenges by integrating textual elements:

Structure

The duration of One Sweet Morning is approximately 28 minutes and it comprises four movements:

1. A Song on the End of the World
2. Patroclus
3. War South of the Great Wall
4. One Sweet Morning

The opening movement sets to music "A Song on the End of the World," a poem by Polish poet Czesław Miłosz. The second movement draws from a passage in Homer's Iliad, depicting a slaughter led by Greek prince Patroclus. The third movement features "War South of the Great Wall," penned by 8th-century poet Li Po. The final movement is based on "One Sweet Morning," an anti-war poem by American lyricist E. Y. "Yip" Harburg.

Instrumentation

The work calls for solo mezzo-soprano accompanied by a full orchestra, which includes three flutes (with the third doubling on piccolo), three oboes, three clarinets (doubling clarinet in A, bass clarinet, and E-flat clarinet), three bassoons (the third doubling on contrabassoon), four horns, three trumpets, two trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, four percussionists, piano (doubling on celesta), harp, and strings.

Reception

One Sweet Morning was met with largely favorable critiques. Anthony Tommasini of The New York Times commended its expressive breadth and Corigliano's adept fusion of varied musical styles, while also praising mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe's interpretation.

Rob Cowan writing for Gramophone referred to it as a "formidable song-cycle," acknowledging the difficulty in maintaining a balance between emotional depth and artistic restraint. He highlighted the international nature of the texts by Miłosz, Homer, Li Po, and Harburg and likened the orchestral writing to that of notable American film composers such as Leonard Rosenman.

Martin Bernheimer from the Financial Times delivered a more nuanced review, pointing out moments of dense orchestration and inconsistent impact despite the ambitious scope. He remarked that certain sections seemed repetitive and that the conclusion felt somewhat contrived.

See also

• List of compositions by John Corigliano