I haven’t been getting on the blog to often lately, so I thought I’d just drop in a quick post about a series of pieces that I wrote ages ago, but I’m thinking of revisiting in the future.

These works are 3 pieces called Sikinnis, starting with a piece from 2010 for solo flute, a trio for flute, viola and harp from 2013, and a piano solo in 2015, which went on to form a key part, in variation, in Orpheus and also has a version, titled Sikinnis IV for piano trio, that has yet to be premiered.

What follows here is the program note for Sikinnis III.

A sikinnis is a vigorous dance performed during a satyr play in ancient Greece theatre. These dances are strongly associated with the half-faun character of satyr’s and generally explore hyper-masculine, male fantasy.

In my works titled “Sikinnis” I am generally exploring the idea of dance, joy and sexuality. In these pieces I generally contrast two musical ideas with different aural outcomes, and to me, emotional experiences. In this third Sikinnis I’m most interested in the muddy, almost overly resonant textures, as at the beginning of the piece. To me there is a fascinating melancholy in the sustained sounds available with use of the piano pedal.

Generally these moments arise from the lower register of the piano to then focus on more hyperactive rhythms.

This is contrasted with higher register material which is less rhythmically rapid and more focused on melody, line and a sense of sparkly-ness.

There is a third element in block chords, which help form a basis for the ongoing resonance of the piece.

It fascinated me for a long time. There are a few other works with this title, the ones I most enjoy are by Hanz Werner Henze and Wolfgang Rhim.

I’ve always had the vision for a large scale orchestral work focusing on dance to have this title. Maybe in the future?