Flitter

Flitter is a short vignette for unaccompanied alto flute that is meant to capture the fragility and beauty of butterflies. The piece features strokes of quickly repeating figures that weave, often very subtly, between set-based or symmetrical note groups and functional harmonic movements. While the piece purposefully avoids excessive extended techniques, the transitions between normal playing and “air tone” (which sounds like an unformed or unsupported pitch) at the beginning and end of some phrases prove to be very exposed and serve as a challenge for the performer. The piece eventually begins to gradually lose energy, giving way to the final fleeting moments which I believe mirror the nature in which a small candle flame dances, flickers, and then inevitably goes out.

Performance Time: 4’15”