Moans, Groans, Cries, and Sighs

Commissioned by the BBC Singers for mixed voices, a cappella. It is a mocking, self-deprecatory portrait written in 1981. In this piece, a distraught composer moans as he sits in front of a blank page with an empty head. A flybuzzes around, and he calls out to his neighbors and his dog for comfort. Gian-Carlo Menotti's piece effectively conveyed the feeling you get when doing something extremely difficult, like writing a law school application essay,or trying to compose the perfect piece of music.