The 55-minute interdenominational service included a rendition of the national anthem by New York police officer Daniel Rodriguez, a performance of Samuel Barber's solemn "Adagio for Strings" and a rendition of "Ave Maria" by operatic tenor Andrea Bocelli.

CNN: Thousands gather for service at Ground Zero

Never before have I been able to wrap my mind around what it meant to be a classical composer in the 20th century until I began working on a book about Samuel Barber (whose 100th birthday it is this year).

FORBES: Publishers Know: Hitler Sells

That bill includes "Cave of the Heart" (1946, to Samuel Barber's "Medea"), a four-dancer distillation of the myth of Jason and Medea, and "Night Journey" (1947, to a William Schumann commission), a flashback view of an anguished Jocasta and her incestuous relationship with Oedipus, her son.

WSJ: Martha Graham's Mythology | Joyce Theater | By Robert Greskovic