Desert Tableaux is comprised of four ‘sound portraits’ for flute choir. The first, ‘View of the Catalinas’, portrays the Catalina Mountain range as viewed from the Tucson Valley. My intention was to create a shimmering effect by way of a variety timbres, textures and other musical elements.
‘After a Summer Rain’ is a gentle, playful dance movement. As the title of the third movement suggests, ‘Desert Spirits’ is dark and mysterious in nature with a special emphasis on the piccolo and lower flutes.
The work concludes with the joyous ‘Dance of the Pollinators’. Here the music makes use of odd meter and is replete with a dazzling display of rhythmic interactions.
Below you will find the sound files for each movement. A complimentary score and set of parts is available by request.