Synchromy Visits

French horn and cello
10.5 minutes
2023

Synchromy Visits is a duet written for cello and French horn inspired by the painting Cosmic Synchromy by Morgan Russell. Cosmic Synchromy employs a painting style Russell and his colleague Stanton Macdonald-Wright utilised called synchromism; where colour is to a painting the same way sound is to a symphony. The pair tried to mimic tonal systems using colour patterns like colour scales and colour harmonies.

This piece aims to illustrate different visits to see Cosmic Synchromy. The painting is represented in the cello, and visitors are represented in the horn. The cello part introduces the painting at the beginning. They play the same material with little variation to depict the different visitors and observations of the painting. The cello stays static on stage, while the horn player moves around. This portrays a painting on a wall, with visitors coming and going.