Hammerstein’s lyrics were written during a time of personal upheaval in his life. It is not unusual that circumstances in lyricists’ lives are reflected in the material they are working on. Such is the case with “Softly...” The song likens the beginning of a love affair to a sunrise, but at the end of each phrase there is a line that implies that the affair will someday end. “The vow that will betray,” “the passions that kill love,” and “the light that gave you glory, will take it all away.” Chris Tyle
|
Musical analysis
of “Softly As in a Morning Sunrise”
|
|
Original Key |
D
minor, shifting to the relative
major of F in the “B” section |
|
Form |
A
- A - B - A |
|
Tonality |
“A”
sections are minor; “B” is major |
|
Movement |
Downward
leaps on half notes are followed
by an eighth rest and a motif consisting
of three eighths and two quarters.
Scale-wise movement between sections
ascends into “B” and descends into
the final “A.” Overall, “A” sections
move generally downward while “B”
moves upward. |
|
Comments
(assumed
background)
|
|
The sinuous, strongly rhythmic melodic
line resembles an Argentine tango.
This, in fact, was Romberg’s original
intention; his arrangement was marked
as such and written in 2/4. Use
of repeated rhythmic motif and relative
lack of rhythmic variety may be
considered dull by the standards
of modern jazz players, but this
made the tune quite danceable in
its time. (The tango underwent a
period of popularity in the late
20’s, and the dance which defined
the Jazz Era-the Charleston-is actually
derived from the tango, played four
times as fast).
Harmonically “A” is simply the
minor variation on I -VI- ii -V7.
“B” starts out with this progression
(in the relative major), but a descending
bass line leads to a deceptive cadence
as the viiø7of F major
becomes the iiø7 of D
minor.
|
K. J. McElrath - Musicologist for JazzStandards.com
Check out K. J. McElrath’s book of Jazz Standards Guide Tone Lines at his web site (www.bardicle.com). |
|
