Sincere thanks to Matthew Curtis (choraltracks.com) for this recording. For song description and sheet music, see below.

Description: Erik Satie’s Sarabande No. 1 is one of my favourite piano pieces. For a long time, I felt there was an a cappella choral piece hiding within it, in plain sight. One day I got inspired, worked on a choral arrangement and created lyrics that evoke an early summer morning, one of my favourite times of the year.  With special thanks to Jon Washburn and Vancouver Chamber Choir members for their invaluable feedback after testing an early version of the song during their Interplay Workshop in 2018. Dedicated to Lavada (Lot) Beesack (1925-2017).

NB: One day I woke up to the realization that I had independently written four choral works, each of which had evoked a different season, and so it seemed natural to group them together into a choral suite that I have called The Ottawa Four Seasons Suite. “As dawn breaks” seemed to work perfectly as the first, summery song in this Suite.

Sheet music (SSAATTBB): https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/as-dawn-breaks-digital-sheet-music/22329368.