Publisher's Synopsis
for flute and orchestra
The Five Elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth were thought by the ancients to compose the physical universe and were later used in traditional Chinese medicine to explain various physiological and pathological phenomena. In this five-movement composition each element is represented as a specific movement in which tangible activities of yin and yang are manifested as cyclic changes of nature which regulate life on earth. Each movement defines the various stages of transformation in the recurring natural cycles of seasonal change, growth and decay, shifting climatic conditions, sounds, flavors, emotions, and human physiology.
