This is a live recording of Via Trionfale: Verso il Loto Benedetto, performed by Manhattan Brass, on October 31, 2005, Symphony Space, New York City, USA.

The title of this composition is Italian for "Way of Triumph: Towards the Blessed Lote Tree" and was initially inspired by my visions of the triumphal processions of heroic victors, marching to the Capitol to receive their accolades, in ancient Rome. (I lived in Rome for over five years, during which time I spent many Sunday afternoons walking to the Capitol). The second vision which served as poetic impetus for Via Trionfale... was that of the lote tree, which, in the Islamic tradition, symbolizes the boundary between human and divine knowledge. The lote tree, or lotus, is also a universal symbol of transcendence. The symbolic dimension of Via Trionfale...is concerned with those who heroically transcend terror in all its forms and the ultimate victory, both material and spiritual, which ensues from that transcendence.

Via Trionfale: Verso il Loto Benedetto for brass trio by Katia Tiutiunnik, performed by Manhattan Brass

This is a live recording of the premiere of Tre Preghiere di Nabuccoduriussor (Three Prayers of Nebuchadrezzar), for solo guitar, performed by Luke Tierney, in the Great Hall of University House, the Australian National University, Canberra, as part of the Festival of Contemporary Arts, on September 28, 2001. Tre Preghiere di Nabuccoduriussor  was inspired by translations of prayers from three cuneiform inscriptions composed by King Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon (604-562 BC). Nebuchadrezzr composed these prayers to commemorate the construction of a processional street, and the reconstruction of a palace and temple respectively. In his introduction to the translations of these prayers, Benjamin Read Foster says that they reflect the great piety and reverence of the successful, energetic king. It was these qualities that I wished to portray in Tre Preghiere di Nabuccoduriussor.

Tre Preghiere di Nabuccoduriurssor for solo guitar by Katia Tiutiunnik,  performed by Luke Tierney

This is a live recording of the Australian premiere of Danza delle Fate Arabe for solo guitar, by Katia Tiutiunnik, performed by Luke Tierney, in the Great Hall of University House, the Australian National University, Canberra, as part of the Festival of Contemporary Arts, on September 28, 2001.

The title, Danza delle Fate Arabe, is Italian for "Dance of the Arabian Jinn" and was directly inspired by my research relating to the Jinn of the Arab/Islamic world.

Danza delle Fate Arabe for solo guitar by Katia Tiutiunnik, performed by Luke Tierney

Voices in the Night (2005)by Katia Tiutiunnik features  multi-channelled recorded excerpts of  David Pereira's September 28 2001 performance  of Katia Tiutiunnik's solo, Al-Hisar for violoncello, in addition to  multi-channelled recorded voices of Katia Tiutiunnik and Hamzah Anthony Michael Tiutiunnik reciting poetry by Lucy Aponte. Voices in the Night was  engineered by Sukato engineered by Sukato and was composed  for the "Lullabies for Free Children" project, World Music Days 2005, Daniel Pearl Foundation.

Voices in the Night Tiutiunnik by Katia Tiutiunnik, poetry by Lucy Aponte

This is a live recording of the premiere of To the Enemy, performed by Sidonie Henbest (soprano),  Andrew Wiering (percussion) and Nick Parnell (percussion), at the ABC Studio 526, Adelaide, on August 26, 2010, as part of the 2010 Soundstream New Music Festival. 

To the Enemy is a setting of the following poem, also entitled To the Enemy,  by the internationally renowned poet, Eva Salzman:

Sit down, have a chair and relax,
you who've made the former friends bleed.
Here are all my questionable expenses
for the tax-man, the faithless to read.

Okay, so I drink, talk to strangers,
loudly befriending at parties
those lacking position, power or wealth,
who aren't distinguished or arty.

I slept with a man who was handsome
instead of the powerful editor
(not that I've ever claimed purer ethics -
it's just that I never knew better).

Please outline what's wrong with my life plan,
help map the route of my passions,
edit me into comfortable style
according to science or fashion.

It's not that I don't have ambition
or a liking for money or fame.
Is it just that i misinterpret the rules?
Don't I cheat well enough at the game?

- Eva Salzman

Ancient Dreams

Popular tracks