Views
4 years ago

In the Fire of Conflict

by Christos Hatzis | Percussion and Digital Audio

In

In the Fire of Conflict is named after the theme for the 2008 Toronto Summer Music Festival for which it was written. Originally written for cello, marimba and digital audio, it was later arranged by Hatzis as a percussion quartet, and in this edition for percussion soloist. Set in two continuous movements, the live percussion part is performed with the rap music in the digital audio part, sourced from American rapper Steve Henry, a.k.a. ‘Bugsy H.’, of the Christian rap group Poetik Disciples. The live percussion weaves constantly around the rap lyrics, often drawing melodic contours from the prosodic contours of the spoken text. Reflecting on this commission, Hatzis writes: I was becoming very concerned with the rise of gun violence in recent years in Toronto, my home city, but also with the constant rise of violence around the world in either organized conflicts, such as war, or spontaneous eruptions, exacerbated no doubt by food shortages, global warming and demographic explosion particularly in areas where daily survival is most difficult, and by the diminishing hope among the majority of people alive today that our current way of life can continue in its present form indefinitely. Although my own spiritual focus has always been on the incoming Aquarian eon, expected to be an eon of peace and spiritual enlightenment, I am also aware of the fact that we are still in the closing years of the Piscean age, the age of enantiodromia or conflict according to Carl Jung; that things will get worse before they get better, much worse; that there will come a time soon when our faith in God will be the only life vest that will protect us from drowning spiritually in the vast sea of hopelessness that surrounds us already. This is the story I wanted to tell through this work, but I wanted to say it not from the vantage point of spiritual certainty, but from the impenetrable darkness of someone struggling to stay afloat amidst this sea of hopelessness. As I was trying to determine how to enter and understand this state of mind, I remembered a visitor to my MySpace site a few months earlier, an American Christian rap group called Poetik Disciples. I have always been fascinated by the prosodic rhythmic discourse of hip-hop music, but certainly not by its implicit endorsement of misogyny and violence that one so often encounters in hip-hop lyrics. Poetik Disciples use the same musical techniques to essentially create devotional songs and that was very inspirational to me. I contacted the leader of the group, Steve Henry, who, as it turned out, had experienced personally the “bottom of the well” by way of gang violence, loss and incarceration, and asked him if he could help me with this project. A few days later he sent me some rap tracks which he created for this specific project, and I knew then that my work would be very much PE108 – vi

emanating from his specific material, which has been incorporated into the accompanying audio playback component of the piece. My thanks to percussionist Beverley Johnston for her countless editorial suggestions, all of which have been incorporated into the final version of In the Fire of Conflict. Performance notes In the Fire of Conflict has been arranged for performance by one percussionist with digital audio. This publication includes parts for digital audio, cues for which are shown on the smaller staves in the score. Each movement is on a separate track. This work must not be performed without this component. A Marimba/Crotales part without audio cues is provided. • A five octave marimba is necessary for the performance of this work. • The choice of mallets is to be determined by the performer. • Slight amplification may be used on the marimba part for balance with the digital audio playback. • Audio monitors may be necessary for the performer to hear the digital audio material clearly. In-ear monitors are preferable to floor speakers. • The notation of the audio part in the score is only for purposes of synchronization and it does not represent a complete representation of the audio track. • At * dampen the bars instantly, not allowing for any reverberation. • Movement I, mm.111-112 includes an alternative passage provided on an ossia stave for ease of performance. Digital Download • The digital audio files may be downloaded using the Download Coupon attached to the rear of this publication from our website at no extra cost. • To download the files follow the instructions in the Digital File Download coupon in the sleeve. PE108 – vii

Score Library