Relentless (solo percussion, audio track, video)
Overview
I met Zoi in person on the 13th of March 2023, at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Köln, Germany. We knew we were to work together to create something new, and I proposed a new piece using projected, synchronised text. I had just been touring Second-Hand Time with Michael Houstoun and Dawn Hardwick and felt that this combination of dynamic live performance, big backing track, and punchy visual text, gave audiences a powerful emotional and psychological experience.
Our challenge was finding a topic. I wanted very much for Zoi to feel that this new piece had emerged from her as much as it did from me. I asked her what really mattered to her at the moment, thinking we could build around that. I sensed it was hard for her to instantly come up with an appropriate subject. So I asked what made her truly angry at the moment. Her response was 'the treatment of women, by men, in Greece'. We talked further on this, the conversation becoming both intense, and confronting. I felt it was perfect as an impetus for the new work and said so.
Zoi then agreed to speak to someone about creating the text. This came from Eleni Petridi (in Greek) and was eventually translated to English then converted into the kind of 'haiku' delivery that I've felt works so well for this format.
I then composed a score for percussion and backing track. The idea is this could be performed by one player, or many (even hundreds).
The piece was premiered very successfully by Zoi, on the 26th of August, 2023 at the Music Village in the mountainous town of Agios Lavrendios.
Text by Eleni Petridi
Woman
has always been a symbol of
power
strength
and life
Why then
from the moment
of their existence on this planet,until today,
have women
had to fight?
Women
throughout time
have had
and still have
to struggle
to get an education
to work
to vote
or even worse
to speak
to be free to move
and to choose a partner
From Homeric times
to the present day
the structure of societies
has been constantly changing
Kingship
Tyranny
Oligarchy
Democracy
each a label
describing a way of exercising power
as it suits
the powerful
Every time (every label)
despite the relentless evolution
of human societies
basic human rights
are violated
Women
have been subjected
to the tortuous violation of their human rights
for millennia despite countless bloody struggles
fighting for equality free speech and free
artistic political and personal expression
And now
Democracy
male-dominated
so not much
of a democracy
since women
to start with
did not
have the right
to vote
or participate
in the political life
of their country
Rights
only acquired
after
mass
heroic uprisings
of violently
suppressed
women
21st Century
humanity at its peak......
Relentless was written for Zoi Argyriou at the invitation from Panagio Karamouzi. It was premiered in late August 2023 at the Music Village in Agios Lavrentios, Pelion, Greece. Words are by Eleni Petridi.
