In the score program notes, he wrote, "I was attracted not only by their superb artistry, but also by the appealing sonic possibilities of two flutes; most of the time in this concerto the soloists play together, forming a kind of super-flute that affords richer textural and expressive resources than any single instrument."
The first movement is an elegy for Stucky's friend and fellow composer Witold Lutosławski, who died a few months prior to the work's composition.
Conversely, Stucky described the second movement as "a scherzo in near-perpetual motion, whose materials (including lots of major and minor triads) are playful and sometimes quirky."
As the movement goes on, the soloists win more and more of the orchestra over to their livelier music, until by the end the hymn has disappeared entirely, absorbed into the joyful clamor of the descant.He concluded, "Why 'Hymn'?
Reviewing the world premiere, Timothy Mangan of the Los Angeles Times described the concerto as "an 18-minute work remarkable for elegant writing and a serious but altogether entertaining manner."