Into Eclipse (orchestra with voice version) (1981)

…a finely crafted work that is lucidly organized, highly dramatic and provides gratifying opportunities for instruments and singer alike.

Albert’s music amplifies the text, as it alternates between shimmering details and stark intensity. The composer knows the orchestra and knows how to write for it. He is master at color, at illuminating an idea or a feeling through timbre: the whispering, terrifying glissando at the beginning of the cycle, the emphatic solo trumpet over strings, the insistent piano, the soft, yielding quality of violins, violas and cellos. …it is an important addition to the music of our time.