An unusual aspect of CROSSING THE HORIZON is the treatment of the voice and text:
all of the words are spoken, and all of the singing is wordless.
Each character responds to what she has said through vocalizing the syllable "ah". The use of these intonations creates a primal acoustic experience that underscores the mythic aspect of the opera. Stylistically, the music mirrors the poetic text with respect to consonance, lyricism and simplicity.
To portray the alien abductors' methods of hypnosis, emphasis is placed on the trance effects of repetition and drones. Tonal tension is created in part through the use of suspensions (thematically, a resistance to letting go of the past), and the motion of objects is suggested by descending minor seconds (pseudo-Doppler effect), single-note crescendos, and movement around stationary notes.