Wind Demons is a set of six short solo pieces for wind instruments. Each piece corresponds to a demon and each piece is written for one of six wind instruments: bassoon, flute, english horn, alto flute, B-flat clarinet, and horn in F. Each piece is between 2-5 minutes in length. They exploit extended techniques such as aeolian sounds, whistle tones, incanting into the instrument, multiphonics, etc.

The set was initially inspired by the lore of demonology, which crafts mysterious and fascinating identities for powerful spirits of the demonic realm. The original set included incantations of each demon’s enn, a set of words from an unknown language anciently used to conjure them.

After realizing the reality of these dark forces, I changed the compositions to reflect an antidote to demons, and I replaced the enns with lines from St. Benedict’s exorcism prayer:

Crux sacra sit mihi lux! Nunquam draco sit mihi dux! Vade retro Satana! Nunquam suade mihi vana! Sunt mala quae libas. Ipse venena bibas!

Holy Cross, be my light!
Let not the dragon be my guide! Get behind me Satan!
Do not tempt me with vanities! The things you offer are evil. Drink your own poison!

Amazingly, this Latin prayer has six lines, perfectly corresponding to the six demons in the set. I’ve included one line from the Latin prayer per piece and each of these prayer lines is specifically suited to counteract the specific demon’s power. What began as a coquettish interest in utilizing occult inspirations in music became a musical set of spiritual warfare.