About the performance
The text of Antigone, Fragments comprises eighteen fragments - lyric poems in the form of monologues - which are to be read on the background of Sophocles' Antigone. Spoken by selected characters (Antigone, Ismene, Haemon, Eurydice and the Chorus), they give voice to their experiences, feelings and reflections. This is a free reimagining that foregrounds a female perspective on the experience of violence, the shock of wartime catastrophe and personal tragedy. At the same time, the parallel moments of their everyday lives add an extra dimension. The fragments, or poems, do not seek to offer psychological explanations for the dramatic characters' actions. Rather, they form a tentative search for the inner and outer sources of strength that make meaningful, dignified survival possible. Paradoxically, the strength they seek is found precisely in powerlessness, in being lost, in tenderness and belonging - and, not least, in love.
The complete text of the poetic cycle is incorporated into the musical setting. The roles are not assigned to individual performers; instead, the performers appear in different combinations from one song to the next. Alongside their instrumental or vocal lines, all of them also take on the role of narrator through spoken text. Although the instrumental forces comprise only piano and percussion, they offer a broad palette of colour and expression, developed through elaborated individual sounds, lapidary economy, and a concentrated expressive potency. The percussion includes historical and folk instruments, which contribute to the desired expression their authentic and richer sound. The piano part includes colourful effects such as playing directly on the strings, clusters, and other extended techniques. The soundscape also incorporates field recordings, mostly from natural settings, which serve to broaden the sonic and narrational space.
About the authors
Brina Jež Brezavšček graduated in composition from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana under Prof. Uroš Krek. She also studied musicology and piano. She participated in masterclasses for piano and composition (Croatia, Hungary, Austria) and combined study and composing in electronic / electroacoustic music studios (RTV Belgrade, CIRM Nice, GRM Paris). While the majority of her work consists of chamber music, her oeuvre also includes orchestral, vocal-instrumental, solo, electroacoustic, theatrical, and choral works, as well as compositions for children and youth. Until her retirement, she worked as a professor at the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana. She was also the co-founder and director of several contemporary music societies (Muzina, Sirius A B, Sozven). She was awarded the Kozina Prize, the highest professional accolade bestowed by the Society of Slovene Composers, for her chamber music oeuvre.
Barbara Korun graduated in Slovene Studies and Comparative Literature and taught in secondary schools for nearly two decades. She worked for several years as a language editor and dramaturg in Slovenian theatres and currently works as a freelance writer. She has published eight poetry collections and received multiple awards and nominations, both in Slovenia and internationally. She also writes critiques and essays and actively promotes poetry written by women. Upon presenting her with the Mira Award, the jury of the Slovenian PEN Centre wrote "Through her live performances and accompanying texts, Barbara Korun has for years been offering Slovenian readers insights into gender-sensitive relationships with the present. At the same time, she invites the reader to a re-examine the past and encourages the building of a genealogy of women's poetry in Slovenia and worldwide."
