Connesson, G :: Kaptara

Kaptara... Seven letters that contain that ‘mystery of the distant’ that I have so often sought in my music. This is the name given to the Minoan civilization in the writings of Mari, the ancient Syro-Mesopotamian city. The Cretan civilization is often identified as the source of the myth of Atlantis: Kaptara is therefore a possible name for this island, this sunken Eden, of which I have dreamed so long. My piece opens with an introduction in Indian Shri mode (transposed several times), like a door opening onto an ‘elsewhere’. It leads into a first dance that gradually comes to life. In a slower, more lyrical middle section, a new, highly vocal theme blossoms. Finally, a second, virtuoso dance concludes the piece in a rhythmic trance that repeats the motif of the introduction. -Guillaume Connesson