Book of Flames and Shadows is a continuous sequence of music lasting about an hour, incorporating two pieces by James Weeks (*1978) and madrigals by Jacques Arcadelt (1507-68). Its theme is the discovering, or awakening, of the sensual and erotic power of the spoken word, and its transformation into song, through the love poetry of Petrarch (1304-74) and his later imitators, including Pietro Bembo (1470-1547).