Andean Suite was inspired by a journey I took on foot through the mountains of Peru. In each of the four movements I have tried to capture something special about the experience to share with you.

I – With the Condors conveys the feeling of freedom one has in the great outdoors.

II- Lacuna (gap) I find there occurs a curious openness toward spiritual things in the higher altitudes. After one or two day s on the trail we were joined by a man of Incan descent who walked with us to a lake where he performed a ritual blessing for our walk over Salkantay Pass. We watched as he constructed an offering consisting mostly of herbs and candies and wrapped in a special cloth, which he then set on fire! The man carried a flute along with him and played as he walked. I noticed that the melodies he was playing consisted almost entirely of just 4 notes, so for the second movement I followed that same idea, using only 4 “pitch-classes” as we say (G A B and C) until very near the end where the cello does introduce a mysterious E into the mix.

III- White Horse is just an image that stuck with me. The animal in question was standing in a meadow some distance away, near the final ascent to the pass, and water was flowing through the meadow, sparkling in the sunlight.

IV-Finally the last movement is a lively one, expressing the purely physical joy one feels while moving along the trail. This one uses folk music idioms you may recognize as being typical of the Andes.