Rising, Falling was written in 1999 as a fiftieth birthday present for the composer Stephen Potts. Although the music was originally conceived for solo violin it has proved to be most effective in versions for solo viola and solo violoncello.

Rising, Falling is one of four works ‘about melody’ that share variations of the same title. In this piece the performer is asked to play all the rising phrases up-bow and all the falling phrases down-bow.

This single movement work was created with the interaction of the Symbolic Composer software, an application co-developed by the composer.

The first UK performance of Rising Falling was given by the violinist Darragh Morgan at the opening recital at the Voices II - Peninsula Arts Contemporary Music Festival, Plymouth University, February 2007.