A musical memorial commemorating a culture that, at the zenith of its brightest period, suddenly sank into the sea.

IMA (Prayer) is a sequel to Péter Eötvös' Atlantis, composed in 1995: a musical memorial commemorating a culture that, at the zenith of its brightest period, suddenly sank into the sea. But while Atlantis gives the impression of a slow exploratory journey into the past and in an underwater world, IMA contemplates the sunken continent from the present.
On 12 April 1961, Gagarin was the first astronaut to leave the Earth and fly around it in a space capsule. The impact of this event on the then seventeen-year-old Péter Eötvös culminated in the composition of Cosmos, 'as with Gagarin's space flight the world suddenly opened up, appearing infinite' to him.
The string quartet 'Correspondence' reproduces the dramatic relations between Leopold Mozart, living in Salzburg, and his son, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, in 1778 living in Paris, through excerpts from their correspondence. The instruments of the string quartet are sounded as if they were 'conducting conversations'. The emotional tension of the writing and reading of the letters, the words, the thoughts, the ulterior motives, the lurking doubts are all dramatized. The appended text will aid the listener in understanding and following more easily and precisely the quickly developing and complexly unfolding events.

Track Listing

• IMA (2001-02) for mixed choir and orchestra I.
• IMA (2001-02) for mixed choir and orchestra II.
• IMA (2001-02) for mixed choir and orchestra III.
• Cosmos (1961/99) version for two pianos
• Correspondence (1992-93) scenes for string quartet - Scene I.
• Correspondence (1992-93) scenes for string quartet - Scene II.
• Correspondence (1992-93) scenes for string quartet - Scene III.

Additional Details

Label: BMC Records

Genre: Classical

Run Time: 59 mins

Release Date: 06/15/03

UPC: 5998309300851