Halo

Violoncello, Piano and Digital Audio

Work Details

Halo
(2014)
I. Red Halo – 3:15
II. Stacia – 6:45
III. Angelus – 10:45
WORK DURATION
20:00
WORK CODE
JP/HA
Instrumentation
Violoncello, Piano and Digital Audio
COMMISSION DETAILS
Ian Graham and Agi Lehar-Graham
Premiere
The Tennant-Austin Duo (James Tennant (vc), Katherine Austin (pno)), at the Auckland Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand, on 14 February 2016.

Halo sees Psathas display a masterful control of tension across the work's three movements. Atmospheric electronics blend with the resonance of the piano in Red Halo, creating a backdrop for the cello's moody improvisation-like statements. The momentum picks up with second movement Stacia's flowing piano ostinato and singing cello lines, with understated textural shifts unfolding throughout. The intensity escalates with the manic final movement, Angelus, as dissonant chords combine with bursts of frenzied melodicism.