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
Dreams of the Blind : for ensemble, electronics and video text / Yannis Kyriakides
Genre:
Electronical music
Subgenre:
Gemengd ensemble (2-12 spelers) met elektronica
Instruments:
voice rec cl trb vibr pf g-e vn db tape video
Pulverization : for 52 strings, (1972) / David Porcelijn
Genre:
Orchestra
Subgenre:
String orchestra
Instruments:
24vl 10vla 10vc 8cb
Geographies: Shanghai by night : for saxophone quartet / Peter van Onna
Genre:
Chamber music
Subgenre:
Saxophone
Instruments:
ssax asx tsx bsax
Drie romances : voor sopraan en piano, opus 41 / op tekst van Heinrich Heine, Géza Frid
Genre:
Vocal music
Subgenre:
Voice and piano
Instruments:
sopr pf
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