Having witnessed firsthand the effects of anthropogenic climate change in the Arctic Alaska, the composer found himself ruminating a quote from François-René de Chateaubriand that became a motivation for the piece: "Forests precede civilizations, and deserts follow.
"[2] The work is scored for SATB chorus and a large orchestra consisting of four flutes, four oboes, four clarinets, four bassoons, eight horns, four trumpets, four trombones, four percussionists, four harps, and strings.
It's an experience that simply can't be replicated outside live performance, its uniqueness an antidote to the noisy stream of infinitely repeatable data in 21st-century digital culture.
Tom Huizenga of NPR wrote that the piece "shimmers in majestic stillness," adding, "Through intricate orchestration, Adams conjures glistening shafts of light, distant rolling thunder and flickering colors refracting in the haze of desert heat.
"[2] Andrew Clements of The Guardian further remarked:Where its predecessor evokes the unstoppable energy of the ocean, creating a slowly accumulating arc of sound that's sometimes joyous, sometimes apocalyptic, Become Desert is more static and seamless, not so elemental.