Composer's Note
"I completed my first flute concerto in Fairport, New York on August 15, 1993. The five-movement work was composed for Carol Wincenc, who also commissioned it.

The concerto, in a general sense at least, was inspired by my reactions to and reflections upon the Celtic tradition, though in no sense is the piece intended to be heard as music to a specific program.

Although both of my parents' families immigrated to America well before the Revolutionary War, I nonetheless still feel a deep ancestral tug of recognition whenever I am exposed to the arts and traditions of th British Isles, particularly those of Celtic origin. Perhaps the Jungian concept of 'genetic memory' is at work here, but the kinship I feel with the heritage - reflected in musical sources as distinct as Irish folk songs, Scottish bagpipe music, and English coronation marches - never fails to summon forth from me a profoundly intense reaction of both recognition and homesickness."
- Christopher Rouse

Orchestra
3 Flutes
2 Oboes
2 Bb Clarinets
2 Bassons (2nd doubling Contrbasson)

4 F Horns
2 C Trumpets
3 Trombones
Tuba

Harp

Timpani (3 players)

Strings

Duration: 28 Minutes