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 his ...
related works
Nerve : for orchestra, soundtrack and text projection / Yannis Kyriakides
Genre:
Electronical music
Subgenre:
Orchestra with electronics
Instruments:
picc 2fl 2cl 2ob 2fg 5h 2tpt 2trb trb-b tb timp 2perc str tape
Sonatine : viool, cello, 1937 / Albert de Klerk
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Other combinations of string
Instruments:
vl vc
Solo II : for clarinet solo, 1986 / Jan van Vlijmen
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Clarinet
Instruments:
cl
Energico : voor solo-strijker, 1979 / Wim de Ruiter
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Other combinations of strings and keyboard instrument
Instruments:
vl/vla/vc/cb
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