"What is Pink?" [Ned Rorem]

"What is Pink?" [Ned Rorem]

First line of lyrics: What is pink?

Part of: "What is Pink?"

Rorem, Ned; music (American, born 1923)

Rossetti, Christina Georgina; text (English, 1830-1894)

1993 [publication] [copyright]

New York: Boosey & Hawkes

genre: children's music|choral music|song|song cycle|part song

chorus: two-part treble chorus

instrumentation: piano

initial sharps/flats: no sharps or flats

initial time signature: 3/4

origin: United States

male composer

English

Rossetti poem(s): "'What is pink? a rose is pink'"

Place in the larger work: The first song of six in the song cycle called "What is Pink," which includes 1. "What is Pink?" (Christina Rossetti); 2. "The Mysterious Cat" (Vachel Lindsay); 3. "Who Has Seen the Wind" (Christina Rossetti); 4. "A Pavane for the Nursery" (William Jay Smith); 5. "Counting-Out Rhyme" (Edna St. Vincent Millay); 6. "The House on the Hill" (Edwin Arlington Robinson).

Composition history: This song is dated, "New York City, 1-8 Nov., 87." The song cycle was "Commissioned by The American Boychoir Under the Consortium Commissioning Program of the National Endowment for the Arts, in Collaboration with the Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus and the Phoenix Boys Choir."

Tempo markings: "Rollicking"; dotted half note = 63

Notes: The composer's signature, "Ned Rorem | Nantucket - New York | October - November 1987" can be found printed on the second page of the score under the Contents list.

Format 1: musical score

5 pages (pp. 6-10)

Cataloguer: Emily McConkey and Roxanne Lafleur, University of Ottawa

musical score: Toronto Music Library, Toronto.

Record: CRM-whatispink-rorem

"© Copyright 1993 by Boosey & Hawkes, Inc. Copyright for all countries. All rights reserved."

The Christina Rossetti in Music project website is hosted in Canada at the University of Ottawa Library, and we aim to comply with Canadian copyright laws. If you believe we have violated Canadian copyright law, please contact us at christinarossettimusic@uottawa.ca. The Christina Rossetti in Music project is strictly not for profit and intended for research and educational purposes only.