Prayer Of The Possessed (1998) 10’36’’
4perc, recorded voices (CD, voices performed by the composer.)
written for: Percussive Rotterdam
first performance: Percussive Rotterdam, Zaal De Unie, Rotterdam
recorded on CD: by Noneuclid (CD: Transcarnation), 1998 / 2001
used as film music in: Coda, a Tijmen van Vlier Movie
The text of this piece is taken from the Book Maqlu (Mesopotamia, ca. 3000 b.C.), an exorcism called “A Most Excellent Charm Against the Hordes of Demons that Attack by Night”, designed for a specific type of magical accident:
The magician, returning from astral travel, finds his body possessed by discarnated hostile spirits. Trapped between his paralyzed mortal shell and the nothingness of unbeing, he mentally recites this spell to cast out the demon and regain control over his body.
In respect to the antiquity of the text, the instruments used are the oldest known to man: drums, and the human voice. A broad variety of musical influences shaped this piece: Mongolian overtone singing, Tibetan throat singing, Balinese Ketjak, flamenco rhythms and Death / Black Metal-style vocals form what I like to call “Underworld Music”.
listen: Prayer Clip!
