Poet: Robert Burns (1759-1796)
Source: A Birthday Hansel
Date of Composition: 1975 (21 Mar.)
Publication: 4 Burns Songs
Voice Difficulty Level: Moderately Difficult
Subject: Dear Afton water, please don’t wake my sleeping Mary.
Range: B3 – G#5
Tessitura: F#4 – E5
Tempo: Gently flowing; 9/8
Duration: 02:46
Vocal Characteristics: Sweet, flowing melody; unexpected twists; leaps of 10ths in the middle of phrases; gently moving sixteenth notes;
Piano Difficulty Level: Difficult
Accompaniment Characteristics: Rolling sixteenth notes between hands throughout representing the flowing water; septuplets;
Additional Comments: Scottish Dialect; meter changes; originally for harp, arranged for piano;
*Britten Thematic Catalog http://www.brittenproject.org/works/BTC1163