Litany in Which Certain Things Are Crossed Out, Op. 200, No. 6 (2026)

Program Notes:

I'm in my third year of setting the poems from Richard Siken's "Crush" and I am still struck by the immediacy of his language, the ease with which the words flow into music.

The "Litany" is by far the longest poem in part I. To me, it speaks of vulnerability, of yearning for a lasting relationship in a culture of hookups and one-night stands.