Flux is a single movement orchestral work of five minutes and forty-five seconds in length. The instrumentation consists of two flutes, piccolo, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets in b-flat, bass clarinet, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns in F, three trumpets in C, two trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (three players), piano, harp, and strings. Flux is inspired by Norse mythology, specifically Yggdrasil, or “the world tree” – whose expansive branches hold together the nine worlds – and the characters who inhabit the tree.
Flux is cast in tripartite form. Its opening section has a mysterious lyrical atmosphere; the opening starts with a single note carried forward by various woodwind soloists. As the section develops, ascending woodwind runs and string glissandi lead to an abrupt Grand Pause. Section B exhibits a complete textural and melodic change from Section A. Section B’s overall style is more staccato and fast paced, moving rapidly between choirs, with the marimba, woodblock and guiro adding a wooden-sounding timbre and texture. Section C references material from the first two sections, increasing in density and melodic material building to a loud, powerful ending.
Several creatures from Norse mythology serve as templates for Flux’s melodic, rhythmic, and textural elements. The unnamed eagle who lives in the treetop is illustrated by sweeping, high-pitched melodic passages in the violins. A melodic chorale in the French horns represents the four stags, Da'inn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþro'r, while scattered melodies in the woodwinds and wooden percussion symbolize Ratatoskr the squirrel, who serves as a messenger that runs up and down the tree.
The piece’s harmonic structure builds from pitch class sets [0, 1, 5] and [0, 3, 6], with
additional pitches expanding these fundamental harmonies. The composition’s melodic material employs the pitch class set [0, 1, 2, 6, 7, t], and several derivatives thereof, including [0,1, 2], [0, 2, 6]. These sets serve as the core melodic pitch material that transposes throughout the piece.