Programme Notes

Sungji Hong - Eplisthisan

EPLISTHISAN, commissioned by Ensemble TIMF, draws inspiration from The Descent of the Holy Spirit (1546), a Byzantine icon painted by Theophanes the Cretan at the Holy Monastery of Stavronikita in Mount Athos, northeastern Greece.

EPLISTHISAN is characterized by recurring elements that function as the structural material for the development of the work. These include the descending glissando, the descending scales, and the repetitions of a single note. The three ideas interplay and operate concurrently, with the descending glissando gesture played slowly on strings or rapidly on the piano. The descending figures are also played either softly in a legato manner or heavily accentuated, while the repetition of a single note is presented sparsely or almost fiery tremolo-like. It is divided into three sections, and the whole piece develops around or between these gestures, turning on themselves or going through transformations.

EPLISTHISAN was first performed by Ensemble TIMF under the direction of Clement Power at Seoul Arts Center-IBK Chamber Hall on September 14, 2023.


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