5 songs on texts of Edna St. Vincent Millay, in high, medium, and low voice ranges.

This work was begun in 1955 just prior to the composer’s taking up residence in New York City and was completed and premiered in 1961. Millay (1892-1950) is one of Adams’ favorite poets; he is particularly fond of her affinity with nature and the lyricism of her words. The original compositions of these songs were done for voice and piano, and were taken from Millay’s Collected Poems.

In an article by Darryl Taylor (Journal of Singing, 2008) he states: “Picturesque is perhaps the best word one may use to describe the piano treatment of these songs. The piano intercedes to complete fragments of thoughts where words fail. The score is very specific with expression markings! The voice part is written with sensitivity for the expressive powers of a lyric instrument. The score maximizes effects possible from the singer. On high notes, time is given for blossoming of tone. Lines are written for the voice in such a way as to encourage vowel-to-vowel singing, the framework necessary for true legato. There are some complexities here that will require specific attention if a unified ensemble is to prevail”.

The first text Adams set was “Wild Swans”. From this followed the others, “Branch by Branch”, “For You There Is No Song”, “The Return from Town”, and “Gone Again is Summer the Lovely”, in this order. Throughout this group of settings, Adams was moved by the poet’s close association with nature subjects, which served as a creative inspiration. In obtaining permission to use the poems, Adams enjoyed a number of conversations and correspondence with Norma Millay Ellis, the late poet’s sister. Orchestrations of these songs were done during the fall of 1987. (Poems used by permission of Normal Millay Ellis & Harper and Brothers, New York.)