Memoriae Sacrum takes its name from a collection of short memoranda, written on the reverse sides of several pages of the alchemical treatise Aqua Vitae, Non Vitis by the 17^th century hermetic writer Thomas Vaughan. These passages largely consist of a very moving and intimate set of memories of Vaughan's late wife Rebecca and descriptions of the dreams Vaughan experienced in the period immediately after her death.

My piece consists of a 30 bar formant, subjected to up to four layers of variative activity, which gradually peel away, revealing the music in the form in which I first conceived it.? The work, with its four brief sections, retains the fragmentary nature of Vaughan's original, and, like it, relates to a larger project, using material originally intended for the three pieces which make up the memento cycle (2017- ).? I also like to think that the music's gradual sense of revelation hints at the vividness of Vaughan's early-morning dreams.

Memoriae Sacrum was written in June and July 2018, and is dedicated to the memory of Klaus K. H?bler. It was given its first performance by Pavlos Antoniadis at the BKA-Theater, Berlin on 3^rd December 2019.

https://soundcloud.com/katapataptwsi/james-erber-memoriae-sacrum-pavlos-antoniadis-piano?si=9707de2ec0fc426b976c85bceda9b444&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing