Mnemosyne (2022)
For 2 Clarinets in B flat, Alto Saxophone, Bassoon, Piano, & Electronics. Written for Ensemble Mnemosyne and premiered in their debut concert at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
About
Mnemosyne
Inspired by the Goddess of Memory, Mnemosyne explores sounds and gestures relating to the Titaness’ role in early language and storytelling.
The piece opens with free, unfolding gestures in the winds and interjections by the piano as the melodies and harmonies slowly emerge above a drone. The use of simple effects on the winds including reverb and delay helps create a macro soundscape, reiterating each phrase as it lingers in the space and in the memories of the audience.
Lush piano arpeggios and breath-like gestures in the winds lead into a section which sources material from the oldest-surviving complete musical composition, Seikilos Epitaph, over a tide of incoherent whispers and sighs.
This is in direct reference to Mnemosyne’s relationship to early language, and extended to evoke the early composition of ancient Greek music.
In its finality, the piece gradually constructs a soundscape of all the ideas explored thus far, layering the materials by looping the textures and harmonies – analogous to having our memories returned.
Images by Chloe Wells
“a single unbroken gesture of lyrical winds, spacious piano and lush electronics“
— Damien Ricketson on Ensemble Mnemosyne’s debut concert
Ensemble Mnemosyne
Inspired by the mother of the Muses and Goddess of Memory – Mnemosyne – the ensemble presented an hour of continuous immersive music exploring ambient and electroacoustic styles. The program of their debut concert included original works such as Isabella’s Mnemosyne, and existing works that had been arranged and recomposed for the ensemble’s unique instrumentation.
Isabella Rahme 