A Bird upon a Rosy Bough

American composer John Knowles Paine had made a long way to become as respected and influential person as he was. To be as precise as possible, not only long but also cross-continental: for a while he was studying organ in Berlin. Never before him were American composers getting considerable recognition for their large-scale orchestral works but Paine changed the rules of the game. Also he was among the first acknowledged professors of music, worked in Harvard and, among other things, wrote a few books, such as The History of Music to the Death of Schubert. A Bird upon a Rosy Bough is one of several Paine’s songs. Download it here: A Bird upon a Rosy Bough, Op.40 No.1.