Opening with a persistent rhythmic thread from the harp, the first movement “Fall and Rebellion,” layers hauntingly beautiful melodies and coloristic timbres from the doumbek over a bed of lush, poignant harmonies to create and atmosphere that is both ethereal and enigmatic. Linked by the harp’s everpresent rhythmic ostinato, this movement traverses through a myriad of odd-time signatures, rhapsodic lines, and rhythmically expanding melodies, requiring the performers to have a deep sense of rhythmic acuity fo maintain the work’s celestial aura.

In stark contrast to the first movement, “Son of God, Daughter of Man,” the middle movement, shifts to an even more glacial and expansive atmosphere while still sharing several similarities from the opening movement. Through the use of bows and delicate lines from the vibraphone, Rieger elegantly fuses the two instruments with clever use of everchanging meter and luscious harmonies balanced against moments of forlorn stillness to create a solemn sense of despair.

The final movement, “Flood,” mutates the surreal quality of the second movement by shifting focus to the percussionist, who opens with a quasi-cadenza on concert bass drum accompanied by deep mallet strikes and coin scrapes from the harp. After a short dialogue between both instruments intensifies, the listener is taken back to a familiar place with the return of thematic material from the heroic opening movement. With the restitution of the persistent harp ostinato, the doumbek joins the rich resonance of the bass drum to juxtapose intense polyrhythmic figures against harp’s melodic lines, bringing the work to a climax before concluding with the same final chord as in the first movement.