An aubade is a morning love song (as opposed to a serenade, intended for performance in the evening), or a song or poem about lovers separating at dawn.[
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In the strictest sense of the term, an aubade is a song sung by a departing lover to a sleeping woman.
The tradition of aubades goes back at least to the of the Provençal schools of courtly love in the High Middle Ages.[
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The aubade gained in popularity again with the advent of the metaphysical fashion in the 17th century. John Donne's poem "The Sunne Rising" exemplifies an aubade in English. Aubades were written from time to time in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 20th century the focus of the aubade shifted from the genre's original specialized courtly-love context into the more generalized theme of a human parting at daybreak. In this reformulated context several notable aubades were published in the 20th century, such as "Aubade" by Philip Larkin.[ Allmusic review of Satie's Avant-dernières pensées.] The composer Francis Poulenc later wrote (in concerto form) a piece titled Aubade; it premiered in 1929.
In 2014 postmodern dancer and choreographer Douglas Dunn presented a piece titled Aubade, with costumes, video and lighting by Charles Atlas, and poetry by Anne Waldman.[
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Montreal pop-composer Jean-Michel Blais' 2022 album, Aubades, is inspired by the theme.
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