an archive of uprooted songs
Voice, percussion, accordion, lyra, reeds, flute, guitar, keyboard, contrabass, bass clarinet, live electronics, video, scenography [60′]
For Ensemble MAZE with guests.
The Musical Folklore Archives in Athens is one of the sources of inspiration for this. Started in 1930, founder Melpo Merlie recorded hundreds of songs from refugees arriving to Athens from the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. Songs were recorded from the now Turkish regions of Cappadocia, Pontos, Syrna (Izmir), from the borders in the North, Epiros, Thrace, Kastoria and from some of the islands that were under Italian occupation such as Leros, Karpathos and Halki. The recordings were made on phonograph and a documentation was kept, photograph and text of the singer or musician.
an archive of uprooted songs explores a selection of mostly a cappella recordings, electronically processed to varying degrees, ranging from granular textures to ghostly resonances, and intertwines them with live music in a dynamic, immersive experience. The piece unfolds across multiple musical layers, delving into the light and dark qualities embedded in the source material. Electronics form a rich sonic foundation for the interplay of song, commentary, and contextual fragments.
Each a cappella recording is paired with a specially composed accompaniment, performed in synchrony with the original and also treated as standalone sound material added to the evolving 'archive'. The musicians engage with this archive through an open, interactive score, an approach pioneered by MAZE. While the musical language occasionally references the original songs, it ultimately establishes a distinct mode of expression, characterised by fragmentation and reassembly, unfolding in hypnotic, gradually transforming cycles.
