THIS PIECE IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS A DOWNLOAD. CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE DOWNLOADABLE VERSION.
In the summer of 2021, I was very saddened by the enormous amount of wildfires that swept across the world, with parts of the Aegean coast of Turkey that I am familiar with burnt down dramatically. Filled with feelings of helplessness, I set out to compose a piece to foster hope that nature would regenerate itself as much as possible. I had in mind a peşrev, a piece to open a concert program, similar to an overture. From Ashes features five parts, called hane, which are connected by a teslim. Here the teslim consists basically of a riff. The formal structure of the piece is an ABCBDBEBFB, with B’s representing the teslim, ritornellos. I imagined the flowering process of a plant where petals open one by one through the piece, becoming more and more ecstatic. Along with the riff-like teslim, I hoped of catching a glimpse of the course of life in which rebirth can occur, or a creature can be born from its ashes.
Duration: 4' 28''