Goddess of Fire

Written for the Goddess of the volcanoes of Hawaii, Pele, this work is a depiction of her in both of her guises - creator of beauty and wonder, and destroyer of all things. The piece begins with soft melodies in the woodwindswith a variety of sound effects in the percussion - this is Pele as a young, beautiful woman in her role of creator. Slowly but surely the tension builds giving way to a violent eruption with a driving syncopated rhythm in the low brass (written in 10/8 but it feels in 5/4), a rhythmic motive in the trumpets, and driving, pointed lines in the woodwinds - this is Pele the old woman in her role of destroyer. Powerful and beautiul, the dynamic and rhythmic qualities of this piece will provide programmatic fire to your concert band.