Bells of Halkis (2007)

I wrote this for inclusion in a programme of music by the Greek composer Nikos Skalkottas, and I was asked to refer in some way to his music. It seemed appropriate to write a free fantasy on the same folk-tune he used in his Variations for Piano Trio of 1938 - it has an instant and seductive memorabilty which I felt would be recognisable through its various transformations and superimpositions.

The tune itself alternates, or is overlaid with the imagined bell sounds from the island of Skalkottas's birth, Halkis.

The first performance was given at the Hellenic Centre in London in March 2009 by Dominic Saunders and was subsequently recorded by the composer on 'Rob Keeley: Songs, Chimes and Dances' NMC 179.

– Rob Keeley