From the composer's notes: (Written on) commission from the city of Beauvais, France, and premiered by cello soloist Jes??s Castro-Balbi and the Beauvais cello ensemble (Jacques Bernaert, director) the summer of 2001 in the city that commissioned it. The range and the technical possibilities of the cello are astounding. I was attracted by the feasibility of having wide open, warm, lush harmonies in the ensemble set against expressive lines in the solo cello, with several dialogues between the solo and individual cellos emerging from the texture of the ensemble.