This is a magnificent ten-minute orchestral piece, inspired by the impact that the mosaics in the Cathedral of Palermo had on the spirit of the composer. It was written in 1957 for George Szell the Cleveland Orchestra. Hanson said about this work: "I used the descriptive title with the idea that it might suggest to people the way mosaics seem to change color and even form as lights and shadows play upon the compositions. It is, of course, a kind of variation form, having elements both of the passacaglia, the chaconne, and the broader variation forms. The variations, however, are not on the passacaglia-like theme which opens the composition but rather on the specific relationships, harmonic and melodic, which occur in that theme. From the strictly theoretical standpoint, it might be called a variation on the relationship of the major third, the minor third and the minor second". The work begins with the low strings and woodwinds introducing the main theme. Next, the ominous voices of the brass instruments are heard dominating the ensemble. This introduction is followed by a series of variations of contrasting moods. The first is playful; in the second, modal harmonies play against an constant beating in the background; the third has a dancing rhythm; the fourth wavers from elegiac to tragic; the dancing rhythm returns in the fifth in a more somber context; the finale brings back the opening theme leading to a bright conclusion.

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