Score
Islamic Angels : for solo piano / Anthony Moles.
Library shelf no. 786.2/MOL 3 [Available for loan]
Work Overview
Islamic Angels is inspired by the Duino Elegies by Rainer Maria Rilke. In these ten poems Rilke employs the imagery of angels as rich symbolism. However, these angels are primarily as depicted in Islam, rather than those in the Christian sense.
For Rilke, the angels of Islam were a symbol of
transcendental beauty - something that we humans only catch a
fleeting glimpse of in our time here on earth. Also, these angels
could be a dark entity:
Who, if I
cried out, would hear me among the angels'
hierarchies? And even if one of them pressed
me
suddenly against his heart: I would
be consumed
in
that overwhelming existence. For beauty is
nothing
but
the beginning of terror, which we still are able to
endure,
and we are so awed
because it serenely disdains
to annihilate us. Every angel is
terrifying.
(The First Elegy trans.
Stephen Mitchell)
Islamic Angels is in four larger sections and lasts approximately 8 minutes. I myself can only hope to capture the merest glimpses of the beauty and sorrow, the yearning and unbounded passion radiating from the pages of the awe-inspiring Duino Elegies.
Islamic Angels is in memory of my former student Angus Reekie.
Work Details
Year: 2019
Instrumentation: Piano.
Duration: 8 min.
Difficulty: Advanced
Dedication note: Dedicated to Christopher Murrary; written in memory of Angus Reekie.
Performances of this work
21 Sep 19: St Luke's Anglican Church, NSW. Featuring Anthony Moles.
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