C O N S T A N T I N
E C A R A V A S S I L I S’
Winged Victory of
The Victory of Samothrace was created by a rhodian sculptor for a victory
won at the beginning of the 2nd century B.C. (and dates approximately
190 B.C.); it is now hosted by the Louvre Museum in Paris.
-
For the Greeks,
the goddess of Victory was a beautiful young woman with large wings. This
exceptional monument was raised upon the isle of
- musée du Louvre
Since entirely succumbing to the beauty of this
masterpiece when I first visited the Louvre in 1992, I have had several dreams
and visions* where the marble is (seemingly) starting to look more and more
like human flesh. It was not but a natural choice to use the Victory as the
main source of inspiration for my Master‘s thesis while a graduate
composition student at the University of Manitoba, where I read music with
composers Dr. Gordon Fitzell, Dr. Michael Matthews
and Prof. Orjan Sandred.
-
The result is an one-movement piece which more or less
wrote itself, with myself being only
a moderator in the sections where critical thought and strategic organization is
more (or equally) important to intuitive creativity. Its programmatic function
is partially inspired by the great story of the ancient Greek sculptor
Pygmalion and his masterpiece Galatea, which was brought to life by the Goddess
Aphrodite: In my imaginary scenario I use sound as a propelling power that
instigates movement, life and ultimately (and ideally) the “incarnation”
of the Goddess Victory.
-
Designed around a
tonal centre and suffixed within a modified sonata form, with representative
components of the form as the three main sections of the work (introduction,
development, recapitulation), the piece uses a harmonic language built on
non-functional tertian sonorities, which are in part produced by the contrapuntal
combination of the four major thematic ideas. Modified and reduced (and
manipulated) versions of both the introduction and the recapitulation are
integrated in several areas of the piece, (a naturally occurring element
throughout my work to-date).
-
The work as a whole is meant to cause the ensoulment (empsychosis) of the marble statue when performed before it
in a ritual setting; art is used as a vehicle so strong as to inspire, urge and
incite the display of human qualities in the stone. In order to create this
effect, I designed four main musical themes, each one commanding a certain
quality:
Updates:
FEB 15th
- 2007
Symphonic Version read by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra:
Young Composer’s Program,
2007 Telpay International New Music Festival.
Yoonhak Baek, conductor
Dawn Bruch, soprano.
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MAY 29th
– 2007
World Premiere
(Chamber Version)
EVA CLARE HALL
–
Aaron M. Sivertson, conductor
Dawn
Bruch, soprano.
Audio Samples
(III-
strings, IV – soprano)