| Isthmus Chorale SATB [Conducteur] University Of York Music Press
SATB Choir SKU: BT.MUSM570368679 For choir and fixed media. Compos...(+)
SATB Choir SKU:
BT.MUSM570368679
For choir and fixed
media. Composed by
Evis Sammoutis. Score
Only. Composed 2019. 14
pages. University of York
Music Press
#MUSM570368679. Published
by University of York
Music Press
(BT.MUSM570368679).
Isthmus denotes
a narrow strip of land
with sea on either side,
forming a link between
two larger ars of land.
The title is a metaphor
for an effort to bond
artistically my
experiences of living in
Cyprus, my birthplace,
and in the USA, my
recently adopted
homeland. Having lived in
a small, partitioned
island for my formative
years and in England for
eleven years, water has
always had a double
meaning: it has at once
served as a gateway to
other cultures but also
as a border, a violent
and absolute interruption
of a continuum. While in
the USA, or indeed in a
now connected Europe, it
is possible to travel on
land for days without
having to encounter a
border, in the countries
where I lived for most of
my life, that was not
possible. As an artist,
this notion of
establishing boundaries
and consciously trying to
break them is very close
to me, as my music deals
both with modernity but
also with tradition and,
similarly, with metaphor
and reality. As a
Cypriot, the sea, the
world of antiquity, the
mysteries of the oracles,
the notion of borders and
the pastoral are all very
central to my way of
thinking. In Cyprus,
different layers of
history are frequently
superimposed on a single
building that might still
preserve its Roman,
Byzantine, Venetian and
Ottoman features in its
layers of stone and
architecture. Similarly,
ancient ruins or the
barbed wire of modern
conflict often interrupt
placid fields. An
isthmus, therefore, can
be seen to symbolize my
artistic struggle to join
strikingly different
experiences and notions
in a cohesive way.
Similar to an isthmus, in
this short piece, I
connect these experiences
with the purpose of
creating a distinct and
unique sonic context,
connecting technology and
tradition, the pastoral
with the urban, the
musical with the
extra-musical and the
abstract with the
concrete. For example,
the choir does not always
sing in the traditional
sense, but the singers
imitate various natural
sounds, such as water,
air, crickets or birds,
to create a vivid visual
impression for the work.
Scandinavian herding
calls blend with field
recordings from the seas
of Cyprus and the lakes
of Upstate New York,
communicated within
clearly defined, singular
acoustic sources and
spaces through wireless
speakers. The text used
is both onomatopoeic,
articulating an imaginary
language, but also
literal, with a setting
of the poem, “To make a
prairie” by the iconic
American poet Emily
Dickinson and a tiny
fragment from
Callimachus’ “Hymn to
Demeter.” Technology is
used sparsely and very
intentionally to
articulate the expressive
qualities of pastoral
imagery, creating one
unified synthetic timbre
with the choristers’
sounds. This piece is
dedicated to the
wonderful singers of the
Georgia Institute of
Technology Chamber Choir
with special thanks to
Professors Hsu and
Ulrich, without whose
support this composition
would not have been
possible. Practical
notes: A choir of no
less than 24 singers is
sought with 4 additional
soloists (2 Sopranos and
2 Altos). Each singer
must have their own
wireless speaker, secured
either in the music
folder or as a strap
inside their shirts. All
sounds must match in
volume the sound from the
speakers, creating one
unified timbre. The
speakers should not be
noticeable to the public.
The four soloists are
placed offstage at the
beginning of the work.
From 1:35’ onwards they
enter the hall and take
their positions, ideally
at the four corners of
the hall. If the hall is
too large, the singers
can find alternate
positions, but these
should always be
antiphonal. The four
soloists sing
predominantly in the
“kulning” style and
the antiphonal aspect is
very important to the
work. There are two sound
files for each section
(SATB) that are triggered
by each singer’s mobile
device. The first occurs
at the start of the
piece, and the second,
about a minute before the
end. The sound files are
able to be purchased
separately, on CD, or are
available directly from
UYMP. $5.95 - Voir plus => AcheterDélais: 4 to 6 weeks | | |
| Messe de Mort Chorale SATB Breitkopf & Härtel
Vocal soli, SATB choir, orchestra (solos: TTB - choir: SST(A)TBB - 2.0.0.0. - 0....(+)
Vocal soli, SATB choir,
orchestra (solos: TTB -
choir: SST(A)TBB -
2.0.0.0. - 0.0.0.0. -
vl.2va.vc/db) SKU:
BR.EOS-8047-15
Requiem. Composed
by Andre Campra. Edited
by Jean-Paul Montagnier.
Choir; Softcover.
Eulenburg Orchestral
Series. Mass; Requiem;
Baroque. Part. 24 pages.
Duration 55'. Breitkopf
and Haertel #EOS 8047-15.
Published by Breitkopf
and Haertel
(BR.EOS-8047-15). ISBN
9790004789735. 8.5 x 11.5
inches. Among
Campra's Latin works, the
,Messe de mort' is
perhaps one of the more
successful and today it
is one of the more
frequently performed. It
is also the most
enigmatic score of his
entire output. Despite
extensive researches, no
evidence of any sort has
yet been brought to light
to document its origin,
purpose, date of
composition, first
performance or reception.
A stylistic analysis
indubitably supports the
contention that the
,Messe de mort' is a late
work, composed perhaps
between 1722 and 1729.
The present edition
is based on the
manuscript from the
Bibliotheque Nationale de
France (Paris). It it the
oldest known source of
the work. The very few
errors have been
corrected. (Jean-Paul
Montagnier) Vokalensemble
Stuttgart und den
Kammerchor des
Kopernikus-Gymnasiums
Wasseralfingen. Fur diese
beiden ganz
unterschiedlichen
Chorformationen hat
Martin Smolka 2012 auch
gezielt seine Partitur
angelegt. Biografisch ist
das Agnus Dei eine Art
kleines Requiem fur
seinen kurz zuvor
verstorbenen Vater. Das
liturgische Agnus Dei
rahmt den deutschen Text
Eh das Madchen entschlief
... der bei Auffuhrungen
in anderen Landern durch
eine Ubersetzung ersetzt
werden soll.
Der
SWR-Redakteur Hans-Peter
Jahn schreibt dazu im
Programmheft: Die fur
Smolka typischen
minimalistischen
Taktzellen schaffen eine
archaische Sinnlichkeit.
Eine einfache und
zugleich streng gebaute
Vokalmusik mit
Tiefenwirkung.
Nac
h der Urauffuhrung war
die Esslinger Zeitung
hellauf begeistert:
Smolka ist ein Meister
der Stimmbehandlung und
der chorischen
Klanggestaltung. Im
Zentrum des Stucks gerat
die Musik zum Stillstand:
im leisen gleichmassigen
Summen uber dem plotzlich
fortissimo ein
tschechisches Kinderlied
erklingt eines das der
Vater seinen Kindern
haufig vorgesungen hat.
Das alles war sehr
beruhrend. Und eigentlich
noch mehr als das. My
father PhDr. Jaroslav
Smolka (1933-2011) was a
leading Czech
musicologist author of
books Czech Cantata and
Oratorium Fuga in Czech
Music Smetana's Orchestra
Music Smetana's Vocal
Music monography of Jan
Dismas Zelenka and many
others. He was a
legendary teacher of
Music History at Prague
Music Academy critic
recording producer
composer; for almost 50
years he was an important
and highly respected
personality of Prague
musical life. My
father devoted a lot of
time and energy to
musical education and
activities of my sister
and me using often quite
original methods such as
teaching of intervals and
counterpoint through
Bartok's Microcosmos ear
training filling all
imaginable moments of
everyday life or lessons
of harmony analysis
starting with Overture to
Tristan and Musorgsky's
Catacombs. The Martinu
song Wondering Maiden was
his solo number in our
home vocal productions
which he used to sing
with amazing devotion
while his huge voice was
audible in several
neighboring
streets. My Agnus Dei
is closely bound to all
this history e.g. by
using canon and
preferring beauty of
dissonant seconds like
Bartok or quoting Martinu
and his refined
neoclassical harmony.
Father would be probably
a bit critical about the
minimalistic monotony of
the main body of the
piece. Nevertheless
firstly he would
improvise a short lecture
of history of Agnus Dei
in Requiem in Czech Music
naming by heart many
dates and all examples of
changes of order of the
traditional text by
composers. Examples would
be sung
probably. (Martin
Smolka). $10.95 - Voir plus => AcheterDélais: 3 to 4 weeks | | |
1 |