Caged Birds

Instrumentation

Piccolo, 5 C flutes, alto flute in G, bass flute in C

Duration

12:00

Movements

I: Monotony

II: Loneliness

III: Yearning

IV: Injustice

V: Acquiescence

Delivery Method

Digital Download

Accolade

Winner of the National Flute Association's Flute Choir Call for Scores (2023)

Notes on the piece

Caged Birds is a metaphorical, 5 movement flute choir piece about my experiences with depression. When one’s mind is going through depression, it often feels like it is a caged bird, which sings desperately but cannot be let out. The first movement, Monotony, describes the drudge of living with a gray cloud over your head through ostinatos. The bass flute begins, the alto flute follows, then the 5th flute, and so on, until each flute part’s individual loop is layered on top of the other. The second movement, Loneliness, is a melancholy waltz which modulates into the third movement, an achingly beautiful soundscape titled Yearning. The fourth movement is a sassy 17/16 groove called Injustice. It seems out of place after the preceding melancholy movements, but with the awkward time signature, it fits smoothly into the underlying current of the entire piece: 'something isn't right here'. As the fourth movement expends its frantic energy, it gives way into the fifth movement, a slow funeral march titled Acquiescence, and the piece slumps its way to an unsettling ending.