gedicht nr. 2: begrüßung der galaxie 0140+326 RDI

op. 15, 1998

For flute, clarinet, piano, two percussionists, violoncello, double bass
Duration: 15 min.

Commissioned by the Ensemble Köln
World premiere: 12 Mai 1998, Alte Feuerwache, Cologne. Ensemble Köln, conductor: Konstantia Gourzi

Composer’s notes

Inspired by the discovery of the 0140+326 RDI Galaxy in March 1998, I immediately started to write a poem and a composition about it. The galaxy is 12.2 billion light years away from the Earth, and imagining how it might sound lead to a dramaturgical form for the piece, with noises and a narrative character.

Repeated notation without bar lines provide space for sounds to unfold freely, without the pulse of a particular time. The poem is read at the beginning or the end of the performance.

Poem No. 2: Greeting the Galaxy 0140+326 RDI

I am overcome with dizziness, as if the earth were spinning faster
…the wind is bringing smells from Vesuvius
Our galaxy is a swing, moved by God
…others went for a walk and brought the winds. 
– We heard the first cries of our birth – 
I don’t know what heaven has in store for us. 
But when the stars grow tired, I see
That they drip
And become shells on the beach
…and sometimes on the mountains. 
– Beating hearts and tears – 
We have left our first prison 
– While the moon and the sun were learning to dance – 
And we bring you presents: 
Stone, stars, clouds, water, colours to paint you. 
– Our earth is already waiting for the voices of her soul – 

Konstantia Gourzi