Ictus

violin, cello, and piano
2021
9’

Written for Galan Trio (Petros Bouras, piano; Babis Karasavvidis, violin; Marina Kolovou, cello)

First performance: October 2021 (Georgia State University – Atlanta, GA)

Recording released by Neuma Records [Galan Trio: Kinesis]

Notes

In musical conducting, ICTUS (derived from Latin: to blow) refers to the very instant when a beat occurs. At a higher level in the rhythmic structure of a composition, the term may as well be interpreted as «the recurring stress in… a metrical series of sounds» (Merriam-Webster). At the same time, the term is also used in medicine to describe a sudden attack or seizure. As sudden attacks appear repeatedly and as accents and metric patterns shape this composition from the first moment to the last, both interpretations of the word become relevant.