Terry Riley originally composed Cantos Desiertos as a suite for guitar and flute, but chose to include a later version for guitar and violin in his larger "Book of Abbeyozzud" collection. This extended series, whose invented named conjures the kind of mysticism and exoticism one might well expect from minimalist pioneer and adopted New Age guru Riley, contains a number of pieces and suites with Spanish names, all of which were inspired in some way by Spanish musical styles. Cantos Desiertos, composed on commission from the Avedis Chamber Music Series and guitarist David Tanenbaum, is even more "authentic" in this regard: four of the five movements in this particular suite were created during a vacation in Puerto Vallarta. Riley tells us that the pieces were inspired by "spicy food dripping with chilies washed down with beer in the evening, and [composed] in the long, dark, hotel afternoons...when everyone else was at the beach." The suite has an appropriately leisurely feel, the stylized Spanish elements borrowed and synthesized with an unapologetically lyrical and sentimental melodic sensibility.

The first movement in the suite, however, was not a product of Riley's vacation, and takes its most direct inspiration from a rather more tragic event: the death of French composer and countertenor Frank Royon le Mee. Riley's musical memorial is not mournful, however, but bittersweet. Mee died of AIDS before Riley could fulfill a longtime desire of meeting and collaborating with him, and, as suggested by the title, "Francesco en Paraiso," Riley imagines the French musician happily singing away his eternities in a Spanish heaven. This opening movement establishes at once the endearingly casual atmosphere of the work, as the guitar provides lilting accompaniment and chromatically descending bass motions to counterpose the violin's plaintive melodies. The second movement, "Cancion Desierto," is the longest in the suite, and features more active dialogue between the instruments. A lively exposition of the main melody, which Riley tells us is borrowed from sitarist Krishna Bhatt, is executed first by the violin alone and then both guitar and violin in tandem; this is then contrasted by a slow, melancholy guitar solo; this in turn leads into an integrated duet texture which gradually regains momentum until arriving in much higher spirits at the original theme. The theme reappears in the subsequent movement, "Quijote" (Dreamer), but is cleverly hidden from all but the most perceptive of ears: the mysterious guitar ostinato, heard throughout the movement underneath the violin's melodic explorations, is actually a portion of the "Cancion" melody rendered backwards. The violin assumes a prominent and highly expressive role in the fourth movement, "Llanto" (Lament), beginning with a series of long, arching lines underscored by guitar chords and slowly working itself into a outburst of textural and melodic conflict before suddenly subsiding into sustained, hushed tones once again. The final movement, bearing the evocative title "Tango Ladeado" (Sideways Tango), returns to a more lively character, with frequent and heavy syncopations and aggressive articulations in both instruments.

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