Ekkodalen
for 8 violoncello (2026)
duration 8 minutes commissioned by Toke Møldrup 
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composer's notes
Ekkodalen (Echo Valley) takes its name from Denmark's longest rift valley, located in the heart of the island of Bornholm. Commissioned by cellist Toke Møldrup to write for the Svanekegaarden Cello Masterclass & Festival on the island, I found myself drawn to the valley's famous echoes, with the physical width of eight celli sitting side by side offering a unique opportunity to explore echoing and delay effects in live performance. The piece opens in a suspended harmonic field, from which the outer players introduce pitches that gradually coalesce into a flowing main theme. After a few rounds of this theme, each in turn adding layers of sustained notes, the music dissolves into a world of high harmonics. Out of these, a second theme emerges — one that starts to solidify and draw the music inexorably downward until a dramatic climax of broadening chords brings us back to the theme of the first section, this time answered by cascading echoes of the second theme. The piece's coda is itself an echo of the opening in a more animated form. Pizzicatos and undulating notes rebound between the left and rightmost celli, while the central players sustain high tones coloured by shifting harmonic inflections in lower muted voices. The music gradually recedes, dissolving into the distance. | ||
