Night Songs (2001) for chamber orchestra was commissioned by St. Michael’s Chamber Orchestra with a grant from the Hogwood Fund. The work is dedicated to composer Gian Carlo Menotti on his 90th birthday.

The work is cast in three brief movements which move from dusk, through the night, and end with morning sunrise.

The opening movement, Island Gloaming, presents a harmonic tapestry in the strings over which the winds and brass unfold a series of melodies derived from each other. “Gloaming” is an old word for “twilight” or “dusk.” The island of the title is Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, USA.

The second movement, Midnight Enchantments, is a spirited and driving “romp.” It is envisioned as an enchanted dance in the darkness of the middle of the night.

The final movement, Sunrise, presents the coming of the dawn and the morning sunrise. The movement contains very brief quotations from traditional American hymns which appear and interact with the other material.