Composed in the summer of 1987 at the request of the Elgart/Yates Guitar Duo, arcus vitae is a study in strictly controlled and systematically applied processes inspired by natural phenomena—in this instance, the life cycle of an organism from nascence through growth and decay to mortality. These processes affect all musical parameters—pitch/register, rhythm, timbre, articulation, and dynamic profile—which are subject to development, accretion, degeneration, and dissipation throughout the semi-palindromic work.