“Inspired by the millennia-old tradition of eponymous books of spells or magical textbooks, Grimoire (2023–25) is a set of seven short pieces for alto flute and percussion. Each movement takes the form of a different spell, which becomes a metaphor for a particular relationship between the two musicians or between the musicians and the listener. The work also enacts an imagined ritual procession in which the flutist gradually traces a circular path around the percussionist, who remains stationary in the center of the stage. In each movement, the musical relationship suggested by the titular spell is enabled or concretized by the position of the players with respect to one another. The staging also allows an exploration of the musicality and expressivity of sound and space within the ritual environment of the concert hall.

Two interludes separate the first and last movements from the inner five, which form the body of the piece. In addition, four processionals are interpolated between these five movements to accompany the flutist’s movement around the stage.

I have chosen alto flute and percussion because flutes and drums are probably our oldest instruments; thus, in a way the participants in this ritual are as ancient as music itself. Analogous sounds that the two players can produce served as points of departure for several of the movements.

The spells in this grimoire are as follows:

I. Divination: An incantation for viewing the future.

Interlude: Purification: A spell for cleansing oneself.

II. Invisibility: An enchantment for obscuring oneself.

Processional: Abjuration I: The first stage of a protective spell for warding off other magic.

III. Puppetry: A hex for controlling another person.

Processional: Abjuration II: The second stage of a protective spell for warding off other magic.

IV. Mimicry: An illusory incantation for disguising oneself.

Processional: Abjuration III: The third stage of a protective spell for warding off other magic.

V. Levitation: A charm to make an object float in midair.

Processional: Abjuration IV: The final stage of a protective spell for warding off other magic.

VI. Telepathy: A spell for communicating one’s thoughts directly into the mind of another.

Interlude: Transmogrification: An enchantment of transformation.

VII. Conjuration: An incantation for summoning a being from another realm.
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