“Large plate of mosaic glass”, eastern Mediterranean, ca.225-200 BC
Room 22, British Museum
This beautiful object reflects the overall structure and the various strands of material in Sharenilo. The title is Macedonian for “colourfulness”. I look at the two movements (1.Mosaic, 2.Nitki, or “threads”) as complementary: the first is more active, with a variety of colours and ideas (deliberately, of very different nature), but gradually revealing a calmer structure; the second is more peaceful, but glitters with various strands, as if one is looking at similar material from another perspective. In other words, the two movements are approaching the same plate of mosaic glass, from different angles …
The titles are deliberately in Macedonian, not least because “Sharenilo” refers to current events in my home country, where a “colourful revolution” has been taking place during the last two months. Without going into detail, I see the protests as an explosion of energy (a reaction to a lengthy suppression), manifested in some very creative ways of expressing the revolt, and underlined by inspiring and promising ideals. The protests started around the same time I began working on my piece, and perhaps some of this character and energy has filtered through and coloured the music. In addition, the current government in Macedonia has repeatedly placed emphasis on links with ancient Macedonia. This is a complicated and controversial issue, and I would like to think of my piece as being a small, symbolic gesture questioning this obsession – but at the same time, the variety of strands and colours in the music parallel the character of Room 22, which, for me, brings out the richness and diversity of creative expression found in the Hellenistic world.
|