It was a great pleasure to find occasion to write once more for the bass-baritone Timothy Jones, who in 2002 premiered my first work for voice, Einstein on Mercer Street, based on the poetry of Fleda Brown. The occasion in this case was a commission from a consortium of chamber music festivals led by the Cactus Pear Music Festival.

While searching for texts, I happened on the “Drinking Song” of William Butler Yeats and found the first two lines particularly entertaining:

Wine comes in at t...