Animal Rights was first composed at Interlochen, Michigan in 2003 as a brass quintet. In 2005 a percussion part for the Meridian Arts Ensemble was added. As the movement titles suggest, there is a hint of program throughout. Cock Crow is a wake-up call rooted in the motoric momentum of trains and fourths. Chicken Strut is a jazzy, angular response to the opening call. The scale is octatonic (half-step/whole-step) and the metric design shuffles expectations without mercy. The dancers in this movement have poor short-term memories, but actually seem to end up arriving where they intended. The third movement's title, Turtle Rap, suggests a tragic elegance reminiscent of the chordal slippage in Wagner's Liebestod. Everything rounds off to a close with an accelerated return of the cock crowing. Recorded by Meridian Arts Ensemble, 8 Bells 009