Gourzi, Konstantia

Konstantia Gourzi

(born in Athens/Greece, 31 March 1962)

Konstantia Gourzi’s name often appears as composer as well as conductor in the announcements of her concerts. Her portfolio of compositions includes not only operas, film music and works for music theatre and orchestra, but also numerous solo pieces and chamber music. Konstantia Gourzi’s musical work is documented in detail through radio recordings, television broadcasts and live streams. Recordings of her extensive discography were released at ECM, NEOS, NAXOS and SONY Classical.
Astrolávos, the Angel at the Bottom of the Sea (2015/16), op. 68

Nine Constellations for Solo Oboe

I. the scream – intenso
II. the dance – lirico
III. mumble – galleggiante, religioso
IV. astonishing – leggiero ma ben marcato
V. a short dream – molto calmo
VI. lullaby – canto
VII. longing – molto legato, intenso
VIII. time zone – canto da una distanza
IX. silence – liberi, in movimento

Composer’s notes

Astrolávos for solo oboe is the third composition in a series of pieces for various scorings, all dedicated to angels. These include angels that have been painted or sculpted by artist friends of mine and also objects that have angelic meanings for me. They have inspired me to portray them in sound, and bring them to life musically.

Astrolávos is the name of the antique astrolabe – a dial to measure the altitudes of the sun and the stars – which was found on the seabed in front of the Greek island Antikýthira. The astrolabe was equipped with a highly complicated mechanism, which allowed it to show certain constellations of our solar system very precisely. It has inspired me to a musical interpretation. The piece consists of nine miniatures that are played one after the other while keeping a continuous „pulse“ – just like a mechanical clock. That way, a particular temporal rhythm is created.

The titular picture „Astrolávos“ came about at the same time as the composition itself, in collaboration with the Greek artist Yannis Gourzis.

Konstantia Gourzi – A biographical essay > READ

More information about the piece > HERE