SEPTEMBER MOONLIGHT IN THE GLEN
for String Orchestra & Harp

by W. Brent Sawyer
composed 5/5/2022
approx. length: 6:45 minutes

I wanted to create a melancholy atmosphere and ambience with this piece.

The piece was inspired by the beautiful monologue El Gallo has in the musical, THE FANTASTICKS just before the song, SOON IT'S GONNA RAIN when he hangs up the moon). Last night a friend in his concert recited this beautiful and evocative monologue and it inspired my piece:

"You wonder how these things begin. 
Well, this begins with a glen.
It begins with a season which, 
For want of a better word,
We might as well call -- September.
It begins with a forest where the woodchucks woo 
And leaves wax green
And vines entwine like lovers; try to see it
Not with your eyes, for they are wise
But see it with your ears:
The cool green breathing of the leaves
And hear it with the insidе of your hand:
The soundless sound of shadows flicking light
Celеbrate sensation
Recall that secret place
You’ve been there, you remember
That special place where once –
Just once – in your crowded sunlit lifetime
You hid away in shadows from they tyranny of time
That spot beside the clover
Where someone’s hand held your hand
And love was sweeter than the berries
Or the honey
Or the stinging taste of mint
It is September --
Before a rainfall--
A perfect time to be in love"
            -Tom Jones, The Fantasticks