Composed 1995; 6 minutes

Philip Glass wrote Echorus for two violins and string orchestra—a work whose title neatly captures its musical idea. The word blends “echo” and “chorus.” Throughout the piece the two solo violins lead the texture while the surrounding strings respond with resonant reflections—echoes that bloom into a larger string sonority, grounded by a chaconne-like structure. Short phrases ripple outward, repeating and expanding in gently shifting patterns—in waves rather than dramatic contrasts, characteristic of Glass’s style. Glass describes the effect simply: the orchestra becomes “a kind of echo chamber” for the solo lines. The result is transparent, hypnotic—a dialogue of voices suspended in shimmering resonance