related works
Testudo : for contrabass and electronics / Yannis Kyriakides
Genre:
Multimedia
Subgenre:
Double bass
Scoring:
db tape
Limen IV : for trumpets, percussion and live electronics / Tilen Lebar
Genre:
Multimedia
Subgenre:
Mixed ensemble (2-12 players) with multimedia
Face : for female vocalist, recorder(s), violin, piano, electronics and video / Yannis Kyriakides
Genre:
Multimedia
Subgenre:
Mixed ensemble (2-12 players) with multimedia
Scoring:
voc rec vn pf electronics
Genre:
Multimedia
Subgenre:
Mixed ensemble (2-12 players) with multimedia
Scoring:
pf cl vibr elec
composition
Ode to Man (abridged version) : for 4 sopranos and electronics / Yannis Kyriakides; text based on Antigone by Sophocles
Other authors:
Sophocles
(Text writer/Librettist)
Kyriakides, Yannis
(Composer)
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.