Ìérkos
ISMN : 979-0-2325-7125-6
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This work was commissioned by the network DYCE (Discovering Young Composers of Europe), with the support of the Creative Europe Programme of the European Union.
Premiered by Taller Sonoro (in Sevilla, Spain) and subsequently by Cikada Ensemble in Oslo, Norway under the direction of Christian Eggen, by Ensemble U: (in Tallinn, Estonia) and by Divertimento Ensemble (in Milan, Italy) under the direction of Sandro Gorli during November - December 2020. It was released on CD in 2021 by the Stradivarius label.
Program notes:
The word ìérkos is deeply rooted in the Ancient Greek language. In particular, it belongs in the local linguistic Greek idiom spoken on my homeland Cyprus, to denote nature’s ritual of blessing the soil: in early autumn, when the first rain falls and smooths out the soil preparing it for ploughing, planting or seeding. The word’s constituent prefix ìér- signifies ‘something sacred’ (Gr. ιερός/ pronounced ierós), while the ending of the word, -kos, is often used in the Cypriot idiom to replace original words ending in -jos (Gr. -γος). This conversion leads us to the second assumption, that ìérkos could actually mean ‘the sacred work’ (Gr. έργον/ pronounced érgon), or ‘the sacred work to be done upon earth’ (Gr. γαία/ pronounced géa). As there is no official etymology of the word, it most probably is the summing of all the above, and this is incidentally the meaning preserved to the word nowadays: a sacred work of blessing, or an act of sanctifying the soil, the Earth, creating a sacred space for the new crop to develop.
Ìérkos may well be considered a canticle to nature’s immense beauty and divine symmetry; the one and only sacred space we truly have.
Clarinet
Percussions
Piano
Violin
Cello
Pages - 96
Guilherme de Almeida
Michael Shingo Crawford
Max Käck
