… des cantiques is based on excerpts from the Song of Songs from the Old Testament. The reading of this text, processed and unprocessed, is also the main sound source for the composition. The work is a psychological drama, and seeks to expose sides of the human psyche that come into play during loss and desolation. The structure of the piece is closely connected to the content of the text; sometimes merely suggesting the drama of the poem, other times more direct in its expression.

… des cantiques was composed in the composer’s private studio and at the Mills College Center for Contemporary Music in Oakland, California, in the spring of 1997.