About the Music

Impulse for three bass clarinets and percussion was written in 2023 for the composition program at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. We thank the composer for sharing the following program note about the work:

This piece draws inspiration from the philosophical texts of the Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis and can be best described as a self reflection process towards a goal for transformation, change and personal freedom. It depicts the need of the man to escape from absurd thoughts and dead ends that often surround his world interior, the need to feel his deeper core of existence and his pulse of his inner voice and the need to be in contact with his raw, authentic inner self. Τhe first section of the piece reflects his decision to dive into the unconscious unraveling hidden parts of himself that he wants to confront and fight. Sudden bursts of short gestures that sometimes become aggressive reflect his inner impulses and the desire and effort to escape from something, while a repetitive rhythmic motif symbolizes a state of inertia and the fear for change. Melodic themes that travel around different tonal centers project his approach to his inner pulse and self, while chromatically descending bass lines express musically a sort of weakness and the fear to take risks. Through this internal struggle he achieves to feel and listen to his inner impulses while approaching a state of freedom and a new outlook towards life that is more luminous, active and spiritual, guided by his own will.

Extended-range bass clarinets required. Score: 41 pages; parts: 11-14 pages each.

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About the Composer

Roxani Chatzidimitriou (1992-) is an award-winning Greek composer and pianist. Her compositional work includes more than 60 pieces for orchestra, ensembles, electroacoustic music and music for film, theatre and contemporary dance. She studied at the National Conservatory of Athens (Piano Diploma), at the University of Macedonia (bachelor degree in Applied Music Studies) in the Ionian University (master degree in Composition for Film, Theatre and Performing Arts) and at Royal Holloway University of London (master degree in music composition).

Her music has been performed in the United Kingdom, Canada (Lunenburg Academy, Nova Scotia), Spain, Cyprus and Greece, recorded by ERT National Symphony Orchestra (GR) and also presented in Mixtur (SP), BSO Composer’s day (UK) Megaron - Athens Concert Hall, Athens Marathon International Film Festival (GR) amongst others.

Some of Roxani's projects include her collaboration with Cosmote History Tv (2021), the release of her debut album "Chronographies" (2021) and the commissioning of two orchestral pieces by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (El Systema Greece – Lullaby Project 2022 & Blending Melodies 2023). Recently, her composition "Zero Star Cognac" for orchestra won the first prize in the "International Composition Competition "Ruth Crawford Seeger Prize 2024" in Chicago, USA. On 2024, she will release her second album for string quartet, bass clarinet, piano and electronics.