Grazi,Gian Carlo...

I had forgotten about Gian Carlo Menotti, a prolific Italian-American composer known especially for his "intimate operas" like "The Telephone" and "The Consul", and, by far his most famous,the Christmas opera, "Amahl and the Night Visitors." These operas do not require the large production tasks, and can easily be done by community colleges, churches, etc. He also founded two Music Fesivals,"The Festival of Two Worlds" in Spoleto Italy, and the "Spoleto Festival" in Charleston, South Carolina.
A month ago, by chance, I heard on the radio an aria from his cantata, "The Death of the Bishop of Brindisi", about a Bishop who could not stop children from joining the Crusades, all of whom drowned at sea. I ordered a recording and it arrived yesterday, and I listened to it almost immediately. After listening to this 30 minute cantata, I put on my hat and coat and took about a 20 minute walk in the cold.
It is a piece that can really tear at you.
Today, it was announced he has passed on at the age of ninety-five. Here is a quote from "The Bishop of Brindisi":
"Nothing is purposeless, nothing. Then why should God have given you in life a questioning mind if not to hand to you in death the blinding answer?"

Here is the Lullaby from "The Consul."
This is sung by a grandmother to a gravely ill baby who, in fact, dies shortly afterward. You can hear the bittersweet dissonance in the accompaniment.