Getty’s text for “The Old Man in the Morning,” like the titular “Beauty Come Dancing,” was written just a few years ago, when the composer was in attendance at the Festival Napa Valley, in California wine country. “My ‘Old Man’ is not into the hereafter, he’s into the past,” says Getty. “But he’s still all there, emotionally, and he’s with life, not death. There’s an unrequited love, but then he thinks of the marvels of what’s left out there: ‘the hawks of Ida calling at the height.’ Mount Ida figures in The Odyssey.” The plaintive musical accompaniment, on English horn, harp, and strings, delivers an unexpected major tonic resolution.
Jeff Kaliss
From liner notes for Beauty Come Dancing
- For SATB chorus and orchestra
- Duration: 3:00
- Poem by Gordon Getty
Orchestration: English horn, harp, and strings
Perusal score and text available upon request
Stream The Old Man in the Morning on the album: Beauty Come Dancing
