Luminous Flux

The title Luminous Flux comes from my first impression of seeing the lake in Skaneateles and how the sunlight shimmers off the lake in summer. It’s also about the mysterious physical nature of light itself, as both a wave (1st movement) and a particle (2nd movement). The work is in two movements of contrasting character; the first, slow and lyrical, and the second, fast and rhythmic.

The first movement is anchored by a reappearing lyrical sonority made up of seven disparate pitches: a Luminous Flux chord. This chord is heard toward the beginning and end of the movement as well as at critical moments. The movement features shimmering harmonics in the strings and lyrical lines played by the solo cello and oboe. Bowed percussion instruments (vibraphone and crotales), along with air sounds from the winds, add to the atmosphere. Marked “Driving and dramatic”, the second movement consists of constant rhythmic motion in the strings, blending into clusters at first, then breaking out into various registers and punctuated by reverberant interruptions in the woodwinds.

– Pierre Jalbert