Jasminarie
op. 45, 2011
Duo for tarhu and voice
Duration: 7 min.
Commissioned by the Embassy of the Republic of Cyprus, Berlin, on the occasion of the cultural series “Zyprischer Frühling 2011”
World premiere: 3 April 2011, Gasteig Black Box, Munich. Soprano: Sonia Theodoridou, tarhu: Michalis Cholevas
Composer’s notes
For quite some time now, I have been blending traditional Greek and Western contemporary sounds in my compositions. It is my wish to create something completely new, and at the same time keep traditions alive. This is also true for the idea of being inspired by a traditional melody as a base for new music. The Cypriote song “Jasmine” was the starting point for the composition Jasminarie.
With these thoughts in mind, Jasminarie combines the modern Western opera voice of a soprano, with the sound of the tarhu (that was built as a copy of historical models). Both voices are composed contrapuntally, yet are free in their performance. The tarhu is playing a kind of ostinato, based on a melody, while the soprano chooses her entries freely.