The libretto of Three Lyrics was written by Terry Blake, a minster for the North Amarillo Church of Christ in Amarillo, Texas. The first and last cantos are paeans to the harp and guitar, respectively. The second canto is a gentle elegy to Time and Death. The use of nature and its manifestations serve to unite the three poems.

The overall style of this sonata begins with music similar to pre-World War I French music in the first movement and become progressively more modern with each movement. The classical forms of composition are used for each movement. There is a different combination of instruments throughout every movement of the sonata to offer orchestral variation.