Enchanted Gardens (2001) for cello and piano was written for and is dedicated to Stephen and Lisa Truelove with great admiration and thanks. The work was written with support from J. Harris Parker, III. The work is in four movements, each with a title which provided a poetic image as a part of the overall concept of the work.

The first movement, Twisted Statues, explores contrasts between jagged and lyrical gestures. The second movement, Hills and Rounds, presents a simple ostinato “hymn” in the piano (based on one of the composer’s hymn tunes) over which the cello weaves an intricate filigree. The third movement, Star Scroll, Broken, is an “ad libitum” movement, without direct coordination between the two players. The final movement, Growing Music, brings together the basic musical elements of the three prior movements into a lyrical context.

The middle two movements of the work can be seen as a “tearing apart” of the material of the first movement. The final movement is its slow “reassembly” back into something new.