Contemporay Acousmatic Music

Kokoras

Electroacoustic

Electroacoustic Music

Live recording of the premiere of "Traced Upon Cinders".  Either/Or Ensemble, conducted by Richard Carrick, and the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Cary Hall. (April 12, 2014 - recorded by Ryan Streber).

"Traced Upon Cinders" is a partner piece to my percussion sextet "Etched in Sand" (2013).  The notes to "Etched in Sand" read:

“To etch is to cut, carve, or engrave a text or design onto a surface (traditionally metal, glass, or stone).  This process leaves a permanent design on the original surface.

“I recall going to the shore as a child and spending hours etching designs into the wet, hardened sand at the threshold of beach and sea.  With the sun on my back I would revel in the glory of these beautiful and ephemeral pieces of art that I created using the sand as my canvas and a stray seashell as my stylus.  As evening encroached, the tide would slowly come in, its regular cycles of crashing waves a whispering reminder of the passing of time.  The gently lapping water would inevitably creep towards my etchings, and as it neared I waited, in tense anticipation, for the arcs of water blindly reaching up the beach.  As the first finger of water washed over my design, the image began its transformation into a subdued echo of itself.  For a short time – an eternity – I would solemnly watch my day’s work gently fade away into the original blank canvas.”

As an adult, I often look back to memories of moments from my childhood.  I trace these images over and over again in my mind, seeking new meanings and connections.  But as time passes their fidelity erodes; they are now cinders of the burning moments they once were, and quickly they do fade.

"Traced Upon Cinders" was written for the Either/Or Ensemble.

-Nina C. Young

Traced Upon Cinders (2014) for 13 musicians

‘Âphâr is an Hebrew word that means “dust”.
This piece is inspired on the dream of Jacob, described in the Old Testament:
Jacob had a dream: He saw a stairway erected on the earth with its top reaching to the heavens. The angels of God were going up and coming down it and the Lord stood at its top. He said, I am the Lord, the God of your grandfather Abraham and the God of your father Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the ground you are lying on. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth (Genesis 28).

To climb Jacob’s ladder is a very difficult process. Each step you take is harder than the previous one and takes more time and effort to accomplish. These steps are heavy, and the dust in your feet is spread around, and finally disappears. If you reach the top of the stairs, everything else is gone, and a door closes to the rest of the world, you have reached infinity.
‘Âphâr was composed at the composer’s personal studio and at the Electroacoustic Music Studio of the University of Aveiro. It received the first prize in Yamaha-Visiones Sonoras competition (Mexico) in 2007.
Also check the version with video at:
https://vimeo.com/143418505

Aphar

This work is part of a cycle of four works related to representations of the four elements in the Old Testament. Neshamah means “breath” and is inspired in the following biblical text:
Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature (Genesis 2:7).
This piece was commissioned by the Ibermúsicas Project and was composed at the Centro Mexicano para la Música y las Artes Sonoras and at the Centro de Pesquisa em Música Eletroacústica of Federal University of Minas Gerais. It received an honorable mention at the Concours International de Composition Electroacoustique de Monaco 2016 and at the Destellos Competition 2016.
Also check the version with video at:
https://youtu.be/RIzLRAQ9h0M

Neshamah

Hydatos belongs to a cycle of four pieces inspired by representations of the four elements (fire, water, earth, wind) in the Old Testament.
Hydatos is a Greek word that means “water”.
This piece is inspired on the first verses of the Old Testament (Genesis Chapter 1:2)
“And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
This piece was commissioned by Gulbenkian Foundation, and was composed in the composer’s personal studio and at the NOVARS Center in Manchester.It received the Second Prize at the Concours International de Composition KLANG! 2015. 
Also check the version with video at:
http://youtu.be/D87vRy5sLr0

Hydatos

NACHO DE PAZ:  Ion (2002)
"Luigi Russolo" International Composition Prize
(electronics)
(2003, Varese, ITALY)  


NACHO DE PAZ:  Ion (2002)

NACHO DE PAZ: m-87 (2002)

NACHO DE PAZ:  L'anima di Theia (2006)
(electronics)

NACHO DE PAZ:  L'anima di Theia (2006)

NACHO DE PAZ: Prana (2004)
Premio Internacional de Composición
Electroacústica SGAE (2004)


NACHO DE PAZ: Prana (2004)

This piece is inspired on the first vision of the prophet Ezechiel:  
Et vidi et ecce ventus turbinis veniebat ab aquilone et nubes magna et ignis involvens et splendor in circuitu eius et de medio eius quasi species electri id est de medio ignis (Ezechiel 1:4).
And I looked, and behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire unfolding itself; and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire.
Et Ignis Involvens was commissioned by Gulbenkian Foundation, and was composed at the composer’s personal studio and at the University of Keele Electronic Music Studio. It received the first prize at Metamorphoses 2006 Competition (Belgium).
Also check the version with video at:
http://youtu.be/ZxJ0L0n2Q6o

Et Ignis Involvens

N'vi'ah is an Old Testament word meaning prophetess. 
A prophetess conveys one or more divine messages often in the form of inspired songs. And many times her words are cryptic, requiring interpretation or even translation. This work uses isolated phonemes as musical material. Intelligible words are not articulated, leaving to the listener the imagination of what their contents and meanings could be. N'vi'ah was commissioned by the Ibermúsicas Project, and composed at the Human Interaction Laboratory - Diego Portales University in Santiago de Chile. It is dedicated to Federico Schumacher.

N'vi'ah

Breakwater (2000) for electroacoustic sounds. 
Total duration  8' 16

 © Panayiotis Kokoras

Breakwater [tape]

Response (2001) sound composition for fixed media. 
Total duration 9' 21 minutes.

© Panayiotis Kokoras

Response [tape]

Holophony (2003) for string quartet. 
Duration 09:40 minutes.

Ensemble Holophony
Preview Full Score at www.panayiotiskokoras.com/en/works.html
Studio edited mix © Panayiotis Kokoras

Buy on cdbaby

Holophony [strng qrt]

Sonic Vertigo (2003) for amplified mixed vocal ensemble and electronics. 
Total duration 7' 45 minutes

Preview Full Score at www.panayiotiskokoras.com/en/works.html
© Panayiotis Kokoras

Sonic Vertigo [choir elec]

Shatter Cone [vln elec]

Morphallaxis (2008) for amplified flute, percussion, violoncello and electronics.
Duration 10' minutes.

Ensemble Holophony Project
Preview Full Score at www.panayiotiskokoras.com/en/works.html
Studio recording © Panayiotis Kokoras

Morphallaxis [fl perc vc elec]

Crama (2006) for flute, clarinet, piano, violin, viola and violoncello.
Duration 11' minutes.

Ensemble Holophony Project
Preview Full Score at http://www.panayiotiskokoras.com/en/works.html
Studio edited mix © Panayiotis Kokoras

Crama [fl cl pno vln vla vc]

Anechoic Pulse [tape]

Magic [tape]

Construct Synthesis [tape]

Panayiotis Kokoras studied composition with Yannis Ioannides, Henri Kergomard, Kosta Varotsi, and classical guitar with Evangelos Asimakopoulos in Athens, Greece. In 1999, he moved to England for postgraduate study at the University of York where he completed his MA and PhD in composition with Tony Myatt. His works have been commissioned by institutes and festivals such as the Fromm Music Foundation (Harvard), IRCAM (France), Guggenheim (New York), MATA (New York), Gaudeamus (Netherlands), ZKM (Germany), IMEB (France), Siemens Musikstiftung (Germany) and have been performed in over 1000 concerts around the world. His compositions have received 98 distinctions and prizes in international competitions and have been selected by juries in more than 350 international calls for scores. He is president of the International Confederation of Electroacoustic Music (ICEIM-ICEM) and a founding member of the Hellenic Electroacoustic Music Composers Association (HELMCA) and from 2004 to 2012 he was a board member and president. Kokoras’ sound compositions develop functional classification and matching sound systems written on what he calls Holophonic Musical Texture. As an educator, Kokoras has taught at the Technological and Educational Institute of Crete, and, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece). Currently, he is Regents Professor of Composition at the University of North Texas and director of the Center for Experimental Music and Intermedia (CEMI).