Pharmakeia (2020)

PHARMAKEIA

Temenos

Verse A

Circe

Verse B

Temenos [from the Greek temno to ‘cut’] has a more ancient predecessor in the Sumerian, temen, which referred to a sacred space, the origin of the Latin ‘templum’ (or the English ‘temple’ ), terms which also holds the root to the English word ‘time’. Here space and time are ‘cut off’ from everyday activities, the foundation of both the temple and ritual, these sacred spaces are often chosen by a process of divination. Divination (or sympathetic magic) comes through the observation of natural phenomena for ex. an olive grove may be seen as a dwelling that housed god’s image. Carl Jung relates the temenos to spellbinding or magic circles where the ‘temenos’ resembles among others a “symmetrical rose garden with a fountain in the middle (a squared circle)”.

Strophe (from Greek στροφή, ‘turn, bend, twist’) is a concept which properly means ‘a turn’, as in the distribution of weight within a musical measure, or a turn from one side of a [Greek] chorus to the other. Here strophe a turns away from ‘Temenos’ and towards ‘Circe’; strophe b turns away from ‘Circe’ and towards a by now silent Temenos.

Circe (Kirke) was a goddess of sorcery (Pharmakeia) who was skilled in the magic of transmutation, illusion, and necromancy. Circe’s (Kirke’s) name is derived from the Greek verb kirkoô meaning ‘to secure with rings’ or ‘hoop around’ – a reference to the binding power of magic.

The two movements (strophe a & b) cannot be performed independent of the cycle Pharmakiea.

WP : London Sinfonietta 22 November 2020 (online) Co-commissioned by the London Sinfonietta and Ensemble Intercontemporain. Circe was commissioned by Ensemble Musikfabrik and Kunststiftung NRW