Sappho · Fragments for women’s chorus, flute and cello [1997] was commissioned by the “Arbeitskreis für Musik in der Jugend” for the project “KomponistInnen schreiben für Kinder und Jugendchöre.” Thus the use of flute and cello in this work for women’s choir is intended to assist intonation. According to Hiller the two instruments may also represent the aulos and lyre, the instruments which in classical antiquity accompanied the declamation of poems. He writes about the ancient Greek poetess: With her verses Sappho, who lived on the Aegean island of Lesbos, has for thousands of years inspired poets, visual artists and composers to create new works of art. In our time, forexample, Aribert Reimann, Wilhelm Killmayer, Iannis Xenakis and Carl Orff have composed monuments in sound to her. The fragments of her verses which survive give rise to speculation about what is missing, to new interpretations, and to the idea of filling the gaps with music. What also fascinates me in Sappho’s texts are the glowing eroticism, their iridescent glitter, and their constant high tension. These poems must be sung, especially by women, to whom Sappho dedicated most of these beautiful lines.
- ISMN: 9790007089665 (M007089665)
