in angustiis was the original title of Haydn’s Mass in Time of War (Missa in Angustiis), which literally means ‘Mass in Time of Anguish’. I wrote two short pieces with this title after September 11, one for piano and one for an assortment of instruments (oboe, cello and voice). The piano piece is based on clusters and an old melody, L’homme armée - a song sung in the time of war. The music for the other soloists is like a melancholy reflection.
