Song of the Firefly (2025) is a composition that brings the listener into the fleeting magic of a northern Ontario summer night, where fireflies dance over moonlit waters, refracting deep-emerald colours across the lake’s surface. The memory brings forth for Kristian an element of enchantment and mystery to life and nature. The title draws its inspiration from the monumental work Firebird (1910), from Igor Stravinsky, in which the theme from the Finale movement serves as an ideal example of artistic expression - he therefore quotes the final movement in the middle section of the piece.
Apart from the personal descriptive memory the piece evokes, it also mirrors Kristian’s own growth as a human and artist, which tells a story of self-discovery, particularly forged during his years in the Netherlands. He wrestles with harmonic tension in the music, as a way of working through and meditating on moments of tension in his own life. The interplay of tension and resolve in the music aims to illuminate a sense of beauty that can be found in life, reflected in the image of the firefly.
Song of the Firefly has been awarded First Prize of the 2025 Ottawa Guitar Society Composition Competition.
