I composed Red Cedar when I received a new Native American flute crafted from fragrant Eastern Red Cedar wood. The flute was keyed in Gm. I transitioned the melody over to an alto recorder which offered more tonal flexibility.
The melody has three parts. The opening imagines the rough, deeply red bark of the tree as it pushes upward into its green foliage. This opening is repeated as the closing part. The middle, however, changes tempo and imagines the quick darts and aerial dances of birds that swirl around the tree.