[1] Notes on Light has a duration of roughly 28 minutes and is composed in five movements:[1] The work is scored for solo cello and an orchestra comprising four flutes (3rd and 4th doubling piccolo and alto flute), two oboes, two clarinets, bass clarinet, two bassoons (2nd doubling contrabassoon), four horns, timpani, four percussionists, harp, celesta, piano, and strings.
[1] Jeremy Eichler of The Boston Globe, reviewing the world premiere writes: "At work from the start is Saariaho's sensitive ear and highly individual feel for orchestral color, later enhanced by bright splashes of percussion.
These "erratic" tones are characteristic of the piece, and of Saariaho's work in general: not one note is simple - they slide away stretching or volatilising into harmonics."
Reviewing a performance of Notes on Light for reduced orchestra, Allan Ulrich of the Financial Times writes, "...the soloist broods, rejoices, rhapsodises, laments and establishes a formal contour with a pair of recurring intervals.
"[4] Rebecca Wishnia of the San Francisco Classical Voice said it "develops this orchestral writing to even greater heights" and wrote:The same restrained touch Saariaho uses in The Tempest Songbook characterizes this work, but because more instruments are involved (in addition to strings, winds, and brass, the 19-person orchestra includes celesta, piano, harp, percussionists, and timpani) the coloristic combinations snowball.