In CLOSED CIRCLE, decentralization is used as a pretext to form a totalitarian structure. I use the ellipse as a motif of decentralization, and the circle as one of totalitarianism. For instance, the music consists of an ever-repeating march orchestrating the circle (with each iteration bringing it closer to its complete form), and a sung aria embodying the ellipse, an aria lamenting incompleteness, submission and fragility.