composer
General: 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 ...
related works
Der Komponist : Version for ensemble and electronics / Yannis Kyriakides
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
Large ensemble (12 or more players)
Instruments:
fl/picc fl-a 2cl/cl-b cl-b 2tpt trb 3perc synth acc pf 2vn vla vc db tape
Back to the beginning again? : for bassoon and tape, 1984 / Lárus Halldór Grímsson
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Bassoon; Electronics with different instruments; Bassoon with electronics
Instruments:
fg tape
Musica Reservata : for English horn and piano / Mateo Soto
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Oboe and keyboard instrument
Instruments:
eh pf
In Search of a Prayer : for cello / Micha Hamel
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Cello
Instruments:
vc
composition
Ein Schemen (A Recomposition of Ein Deutsches Requiem) : for harp, electronics and choir / Yannis Kyriakides
Other authors:
Brahms, Johannes
(on a theme by)
Description:
This composition is a reworking of Ein Deutsches Requiem by Johannes Brahms. The seven movements, which flow seemlessly from one another, are each based on the corresponding movement from the original Brahms Requiem. The music focuses on a small number of elements from the original material and stretches it out into a landscape. Time is suspended and the listener can navigate in the space, moving through traces of Brahms. The music of the harp which frames the choir parts, is an encoding of the original texts from the Requiem. It creates a perspective on the static flow of the choir and electronic parts which changes gradually through the piece.
The title of this recomposition is a quote from a line in part III: ' Sie gehen daher wie ein Schemen.' 'Ein Schemen' is an old German word for shadow or apparition, probably derived from the Latin word 'Schema'. I find it an apt word to use in this context because it reflects the nature of this piece. It is both about the connection of the living to the dead, and at the same time, it says something about the relation of this piece to the original work of Brahms. It is composed in its shadow and it is permeated by his notes as ghostly presences.
Yannis Kyriakides