Too Few the Mornings Be
Eleven Songs for Soprano and Piano
Texts by Emily Dickinson
Published by Carl Fischer Music
Duration: 23 min.
Voices: Soprano
Instrumentation: Solo Piano
Premiere: February 2000; Renée Fleming, soprano; Helen York, piano; Alice Tully Hall, NYC
Songs
1. Too Few The Mornings Be
2. If All the Griefs I Am to Have
3. The Bustle in a House
4. This Is My Letter to the World
5. You Cannot Put a Fire Out
6. Bee! I’m Expecting You!
7. Poor Little Heart!
8. I’m Nobody! Who Are You?
9. How Happy Is the Little Stone
10. Estranged from Beauty
11. Will There Really Be a Morning?
Notes
Composer Ricky Ian Gordon has given us another masterpiece in the form of eleven songs written for soprano voice with piano: Too Few the Mornings Be, based on the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Written specially for the great Renée Fleming, this collection contains a personal note from Fleming herself, praising the beauty and freedom of the songs within, saying “I love how you write for the voice; the vocal line moves freely throughout the whole range.” This simple, elegant collection is truly a gift to soprano soloists. For the advanced singer.
Errata
These are corrections to the edition published by Carl Fischer LLC
“If All The Griefs I Am To Have”
Page 7, Bar 10…in the L.H., the 2nd chord should have a G NATURAL on top
Page 7, Bar 17…the lyric should be “joys” not “joy”
Page 6, Bar 4-first chord in the L.H. should be a M3rd down! G on the bottom and D on the top! The same in Bar 16.
“You Cannot Put A Fire Out”
Page 27, Bar 30…the B over the word “it” in the vocal line should be a B natural
“I’m Nobody! Who are you”
Page 34, Bar 23…the lyric should be “to tell one’s” not “to tell your” and
Page 34, Bar 25, the D in the center of the first chord in the L.H. Should be a Db not a D natural
Page 34, Bar 25, in the first chord in the L.H. Of the piano the middle note should be Db not D natural.
“The Bustle In A House”
Page 9, Bar 10…in the R.H., the C’s should be SHARPED
“Bee! I’m Expecting You”
Page 21, Bar 12…the lyric should read “-bo-dy you knew” not “know”
“How Happy Is The Little Stone”
Page 36, Bar 15…the last 16th in the L.H. Should NOT include a G# and the last 16th in the L.H. of the next Bar should not contain an A (See Bars 44 and 45)
Pages 37 and 39, Bars 23 and 52,…in the R.H., the A should be sharped AS WELL AS the G