Minakakis: Ek Vatheon, Ekekraksa Soi (performed by TJ Borden)

Ek Vatheon, Ekekraksa Soi: www.stratismin...
Performed by TJ Borden on October 26, 2023 in Jordan Hall, Boston, MA
PROGRAM NOTES
"Ek Vatheon, Ekekraksa Soi" (“Out of the depths I have cried to thee”, Psalm 129) is inspired by the performance tradition of Northwestern Greek lamentations called “Moirologia”. The piece reveals a fragile “inner voice” that moves between expressive extremities. The cello imitates three Greek instruments typical of Greek folk ensembles: the traditional clarinet and its characteristic glissandi, the ‘laouto’ (a string lute), and the ‘lyra’ (a three-stringed chordophone). The combination of these different timbral roles suggests an element of instrumental polyphony within a single instrument.