Canti del Sole

Canti del Sole (Songs of the Sun) is a song cycle written by the British-American composer Bernard Rands. The music exists in two arrangements: one for tenor and orchestra and the other for tenor and chamber ensemble. The orchestral version was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and was first performed by the tenor Paul Sperry and the New York Philharmonic under the direction of Zubin Mehta at Avery Fisher Hall on June 8, 1983. Canti del Sole is the second of Rands's "Canti" trilogy, preceded by Canti Lunatici for soprano (1981) and followed by Canti dell’Eclisse for bass (1992). The piece was awarded the 1984 Pulitzer Prize for Music.