- Puhpowee (2024)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for Piano+ and percussion
Potawatomi, a Native American language of the Great Plains region, as described by Robert Macfarlane in his book Underland - A Deep Time Journey, includes the word ‘puhpowee’, which might be translated as ‘the force that makes mushrooms emerge from the ground overnight’. In all its technical vocabulary Western science has no such term, no words to encompass this mystery. In Potawatomi, by contrast, almost all words declare the animacy or in-animacy of that to which they refer. The language is predisposed to recognize life in otherness, and to extend the reach of that category of ‘life’ far beyond its familiar limits in Western thought. This concept fascinated and inspired me, motivating my imagination in the composition of this work. Given that the piece is greatly concerned with timbre and sound, the Piano+ system was ideally suited to take a major role in the piece, since it provides such a variety and range of new sounds from an existing instrument. This approach also continued over into the use of percussion, which was selected and designed in order to contribute to the timbral and then rhythmic world of the piece.
Click here to view the score and listen to a recording.
Click here to view performance notes, which describe the Piano+ system.
- In Limbo (2016)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for cello and piano
In limbo: a state of uncertainty or unresolved status, in between a sense of fleeting moments.
- The Steelworkers (2012)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for 3 trumpets, trombone, and percussion
ca. 8'30"
"The Steelworkers" was composed in the Autumn of 2012 and was inspired by the nine-month long Greek steelworkers strike that was then underway. This was a historical strike which will be remembered, among other reasons, for taking place at such a unique moment, in Greece being forced to enter the memorandum of understanding that bring extreme and inhuman measures into a society that was in a state of shock. In the work I tried to express my feelings and thoughts arising from this major conflict, the individual issues and fluctuations which were to remain with us for such a long time, and the images in my mind of the workers inside the factory. The steelworkers fought throughout all these months with incomparable strength, resistance, self-denial, collectivity, and solidarity - with huge costs to their own lives that were to become evident for those who continued to followed the story in the years that followed.
Dimitris Gkogkas, trumpet
Alex Mavropoulos, trumpet
Nikos Sarris, trumpet
Spyros Vergis, trombone
Panos Ζiavras, percussion
Click here to listen to a recording of the piece.
- I Have Done With Phrases (2010)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for soprano, bass, portative, hand gong, and electronics
Dedicated to Tobias Schlierf and Effie Minakoulis.
Performers in the recording:
Εffie Minakoulis, mezzo-soprano
Tobias Schlierf, bass and portatif
Dora Panagopoulou, hand gong
Click here to listen to a recording.
- Moveable Types (2004)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for two cellos
This piece was performed by cellists Gita Ladd and Juan Sebastian Delgado at the Livewire Festival of Contemporary Music on 24 October 2024 at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Recording and audio engineering was done by Alan Wonneberger.
Click here to watch a video of the performance.
- MESA sto mesa ("INSIDE the inside") (2006)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for actress, flute, cello, video, and tape
- Me tropo ypeniktiko ("In an Allusive Way") (2002)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for percussion (4 players) and pre-recorded synthesizer
The piece is part of the music theatre work "Rabila Co" mixing live music with speech, poetry, electroacoustic music, physical and digital imagery, and dance. Rabila Co was performed between 4th-6th October 2003 at the Theatre Xororoes, Athens, Greece. The concept, musical composition and overall direction was undertaken by Sofia Kamayianni, with choreography by Olymbia Agalianou.
The video is of a performance by the Kroussis ensemble under the direction of Kostas Sifakis.
Click here to watch a video of the performance.
- Double Bass Quartet (2002)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for double bass
ca. 3'40"
The recording is of Vangelis Zografos performing on double bass.
Click here to listen to the recording (YouTube).
- Rabila Co (2001)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for percussion (4 players), and tape
The piece is part of the music theatre work "Rabila Co" mixing live music with speech, poetry, electroacoustic music, physical and digital imagery, and dance. Rabila Co was performed between 4th-6th October 2003 at the Theatre Xororoes, Athens, Greece. The concept, musical composition and overall direction was undertaken by Sofia Kamayianni, with choreography by Olymbia Agalianou.
The video is of a performance by the Kroussis ensemble under the direction of Kostas Sifakis.
Click here to watch a video of the performance.
- Clepsydra Mm (2009)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for flute, clarinet, percussion, and electronics
ca. 11'27"
This piece has a narrative character obviously connected with time as all the stories. I cannot not specify the story that it tells, as it was more or less abstract in my mind during the composition of the piece. However, the path after some time revealed itself and became clear. The live instruments are always in a dialogue with the tape. It was part of the project “3x3 Contemporary Music from Greece and the USA”.
Clepsydra is the Greek word for hourglass.
Click here to view the score and listen to a recording.
- Vides yia stravoxyla ("Cranky Pasta Recipe") (2006)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for soprano, saxophone, tuba, cello, piano, and actress
ca. 10'30"
This piece is actually a cooking recipe, but one whose instructions are fantastical rather than realistic. It aims to trigger the listener’s imagination and alternative outlook through humor. The score is a graphic one with many ‘open’ elements that invite experiment and interpretation. This score was studied and realized cooperatively by the composer and the specific ensemble involved. The Storytelling Project was an eclectic mixture of contemporary music and narration – a musical performance featuring elements of theatre mixed with instruments, vocals, electronics, improvisation, original texts and movement.
Storytelling Project, Spiza Patras, European Capital of Culture, 9 Μay 2006
Sofia Kamayianni: composition, piano, percussion
Rania Kelaiditi: actress
Dina Mantzari: soprano
Irina Dimaki: violoncello
Dora Panagopoulou: composition, piano, percussion,
Joe Tornabene: composition, saxophone, actor
Tim Ward: composition, tuba, live electronics.
Click here to watch a video of the performance.
- Workshop of Dreams (2005)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for flute, clarinet, cello, piano, and percussion
Written for amateur players, or players unaccustomed to contemporary music
- The Mystery of r/r/r (2009)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for piano quartet (violin, viola, cello, and piano)
The piece, written in 2004, is built from three parts with bridge passages between each part in the form of solo piano sections. The mystery refers to my esoteric world at that time as well as to several abstract senses that I could not explain to myself. The ostinato of the third part is based on a Greek word meaning 'unsolved', with the mystery ending up in this way.
The linked video recording was performed by Airi Yoshioka (violin), Maria Lambros (viola), Gita Ladd (cello), and Audrey Andrist (piano).
Click here to view the performance.
- Arithmosofia-Arithmoplixia (2003)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for one violin, three cellos, and two basses
In ancient times people discovered that the study of numbers and their relation between them could lead them to wisdom, to the knowledge of holy rules–the universal laws?–and to the growth of their mentality. ARITHMOSOFIA .
What are numbers for us today? An endless expression of quantity? What happened to their previous quality? It seems that we are living in a cataclysm among thousands of crazy numbers, which “allow” us to communicate. ARITHMOPLIXIA.
So, this piece had the meaning to show the huge distance between the wisdom of "number" (arithmos-sofia) in ancient times and its devolution nowadays where you use it and you hear it everywhere and all the time in a crazy, absurd way. The exaggeration of the text in the second movement shows this frenetic reality.
The piece was selected in 2004 for the annual contemporary music workshops held in the Athens Megaron concert hall and organized by the Greek Composers' Union under the direction of Theodore Antoniou.
Click here to view the score (English).
Click here to view the score (Greek).
- Stigmi-Anadrasi ("Moment-Feedback") (2002)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for string quartet
ca. 4'45"
Click here to view the score and listen to a recording of the second movement.
- HUMANUS ZPKO9/3-Phase experiment (2001)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for recorder and tape
ca. 7'15"
A scientific experiment in a lab. Scientists have created a humanomorphus being and an animal. The being is called HUMANUSZPKO9. The experiment takes place in three phases and the piece refers to the procedure of these phases (observations of the scientists and reactions of the HUMANUS).
The piece is dedicated to Patrick Richmond, who is performing.
Click here to view the score and listen to a recording.
- Inconsistency (2000)
-
Sofia Kamayianni
for piano, cello, and small percussion
ca. 7'15"
Click here to view the score and listen to a recording.