Softly, As In A Morning Sunrise

Sigmund Romberg composed the music for Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II in 1928 for the Broadway operetta The New Moon, set during the French Revolution. The song was introduced by the character Philippe as a bitter lament about the deceptive nature of love, its tender melody contrasting sharply with the cynicism of its lyric. Nat Shilkret and the Victor Orchestra, with vocalist Franklyn Baur, made the first recording in October 1928. Originally performed with a waltz-like lilt befitting its operetta origins, the tune was largely overlooked by jazz musicians until Artie Shaw's swinging 1938 arrangement with arranger Jerry Gray transformed it into a vehicle for improvisation. The Modern Jazz Quartet further cemented its place in the jazz canon through regular performances beginning in 1952, and by the mid-1950s it had become a fixture in hard bop repertoire, accumulating over four hundred recorded versions. The song follows a standard thirty-two-bar AABA form and is most commonly performed in a minor key, giving it a darker, brooding quality that lends itself well to extended soloing. Sonny Rollins recorded a notable trio version with Wilbur Ware and Elvin Jones at the Village Vanguard in 1957 that highlighted its improvisational depth. A 1940 film adaptation of The New Moon starring Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald helped sustain the song's popular recognition outside jazz circles. It remains one of the few operetta compositions to achieve genuine standard status in the jazz repertoire.