composer
Yannis Kyriakides was born in Limassol, Cyprus in 1969, emigrated to Britain in 1975, and has been living in the Netherlands since 1992. He currently lives in Amsterdam with his ...
related works
The Lost Border Dances : for double string quartet and electronics / Yannis Kyriakides
Genre:
Electronical music
Subgenre:
Gemengd ensemble (2-12 spelers) met elektronica
Scoring:
4vln 2vla 2vc tape
Stranger I : for ensemble / Alexey Sioumak
Genre:
Electronical music
Subgenre:
Gemengd ensemble (2-12 spelers) met elektronica
Scoring:
fl cl sopr pf vn vla vc tape
Pots 'n Pans Falling : for 6 amplified musicians and recorded child violinist / Edward Top
Genre:
Electronical music
Subgenre:
Gemengd ensemble (2-12 spelers) met elektronica
Scoring:
fl cl perc pf vn vc tape
Horó/Xopo : for amplified chamber ensemble / Peter Kerkelov
Genre:
Electronical music
Subgenre:
Gemengd ensemble (2-12 spelers) met elektronica
Scoring:
cl-b g-e perc keyb vc db
composition
Ode to Man (abridged version) : for 4 sopranos and electronics / Yannis Kyriakides; text based on Antigone by Sophocles
Other authors:
Sophocles
(librettist)
Description:
Ode to man was written for the vocal group Silbersee, for their production Homo Instrumentalis. It is based on the text from the chorus of Antigone by Sophocles (line 332-375) known as The Ode to Man. This is one of the most famous choral odes in ancient Greek tragedy, where, in what seems to be an ironic tone, the technological achievements of the human race are set out. Man’s ability to conquer nature, to develop language and law and to create great civilisations is set against the fact that the one thing he cannot conquer is his own mortality. This ambiguity is reflected in the first line: “Deinon”, the word used in the description of these achievements can mean both “terrible” and “wonderful”.
The theme of man against nature is one that is explored in the music also. I wanted to use the text in a way that it is constantly being deconstructed into its phonemes. The voices slowly move from the articulation of the text to pure raw vocality. The grating presence of the electronic sound is always in a state of overpowering and unbalancing the voices.