The Fall

for Two Violins

Overview

IOANNIS (JOHN) PSATHAS

The Fall

for Two Violins

Commissioned by Chamber Music at the World’s Edge Foundation (AWE Festival)for the 2025 World’s Edge Festival

duration: 3 mins.

2025

The Fall was written for Justine Cormack and Benjamin Baker as part of the 2025 World's Edge Festival. I was invited to be the composer in residence and had one of the best experiences ever during my time in Wanaka and Queenstown.

This short violin duo moves through an energised melancholy, determined and strong, attempting to defy gravity; the opening melody eventually makes it to a higher octave and the piece climbs even higher when the players start trilling. But gravity ultimately wins, pulling the music down to the lowest notes on the instruments, collapsing all energy, and leaving the two parts spent, but in the most intimate proximity to each other.