Hymntunes V: Seikilos Song from Ancient Greece for five flutes and clappers (2000, revised 2010).

Hymntunes V is based on the ancient Greek Seikilos Song. The melody is played at the beginning of the work. This statement of the theme is ceremonial in effect and serves as an introduction to the less formal section that follows. The center section of Hymntunes V is composed in such a way that it reflects traditional village life. It begins with clapping, much like the way traditional people clap to set a rhythm for the day’s work. Some people work faster than others. Someone pounding grain might strike faster than someone working iron. This creates polyrhythms, where one person is creating a rhythm with two strikes to someone else’s three strikes. These poly- rhythms are combined in various ways to create a complex musical texture. In the middle of the work, the melody returns over the musical texture of the village. As it disappears, village life fades, a more formal statement of the first few notes of the theme appears and the work comes to an end.

Hymntunes V appears on the Woodwind Music of Robert Fruehwald, Vol. 2

Hymntunes V (excerpt).