From: From the Heart: Three American Women
Volume: Willa
Category: Vocal Music / Art Song
Instrumentation: voice, guitar
Duration: 2 minutes
Difficulty: Lower intermediate
Text / Source: Poem by Willa Cather
Publisher: Columbia Music

The Hawthorn Tree is a sweet love song setting words by Willa Cather. In a modified strophic setting of two verses, Baxter gives the poem a clear lyrical shape, allowing its warmth and simplicity to speak directly.

The song’s gentle character makes it one of the more intimate moments in Willa. Its modest duration and lower-intermediate difficulty offer performers an accessible but expressive work centered on affection, tenderness, and melodic grace.

Suitable for lower-intermediate performers, The Hawthorn Tree should be sung with warmth, clarity, and natural phrasing. The modified strophic design invites subtle expressive variation between the two verses.