Volcano

A volcano wears two faces: the serene beauty of the mountain, and the devastation it can unleash without warning. The score sets the two against each other.

At first the volcano lies sleeping, betraying itself only with a low, uneasy rumble. The unrest grows until it breaks open in a magnificent eruption, and when the fire subsides a pall of dust and smoke hangs over the valley below. Slowly it clears, giving the valley back its beautiful colours — the two-part flute solo.

But the calm is deceptive. Little by little the fear of a second eruption takes hold: the bass register sounds the tritone, and the tritone chord gathers and fills out. Then the volcano erupts again — more violent this time, and far more destructive. Just as the valley settles and tries to recover, the mountain strikes one last time, and with that the piece ends.