Circean Waters was inspired by the story of Odysseus from Homer's "Odyssey." The music begins with voyagers heading out to open sea who know that danger of the Siren enchantresses lay ahead. In the "Odyssey," Odysseus warns his men of the beautiful temptation that the Sirens create in men, which ultimately lures them to their deaths. This anticipation is illustrated musically with a foreboding start using the lowest and darkest colors of the woodwind family as well as percussive rumblings. Shortly into the journey, the Sirens' song "Music of the Spheres" begins. This music was considered by Pythagoras to be perfectly harmonious and inaudible to humans and is represented in the work as wisps of melodies, fleeting and ominous. As the ship approaches the sirens, the melodic fragments unite into an entrancing lullaby at The Temptress (m. 101) with a duet performance between the flute and harp. The music becomes more melodious, signifying the danger the voyagers face and increases until it is almost too late. Waking from their stupor, the men rally their wits and resilience to temptation through a quickening of melodic gestures and rhythm. A series of calls through shifting harmonies and orchestral tessitura resembles the call to arms. A bloody battle then ensues represented in the music in a spunky syncopated groove theme. This "jazzy" musical groove transforms into fluid sixteenth passages as the men overcome the Sirens. And as the ship sails farther from her foe, the voyagers' victory culminates into victorious gestural outbursts marked by bell tones of the ship's success. The music then reaches a close with returning wisps of the sirens call in the ship's wake at The Melodic Wind Dissipates (m. 194). And when finally all seems calm on the horizon, a foreboding reminder of the deep abyss is heard.

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