[audio:https://www.markgustavson.com/blog/audio/openingtolament.mp3|titles=Opening to Lament (excerpt)]

This excerpt is from the opening of a work in progress entitled Lament a monodrama for lyric bass, bass clarinet, percussion, contrabass, female chorus and piano. The piece takes place in a Manhattan jazz club in the middle 1950’s. The text is “Lament” by Dylan Thomas. The piece begins with a piano solo accompanied by glass bottle windchimes to create a nightclub ambience.