1997 KHEPERA for alto-flute en alto-clarinet

KHEPERA (1997) was written when it transpired that the contrabass flute was too much of an obstacle for Harry Starreveld, forcing him to give up any hope of a future performance of Athena Keramitis. This duo for alto flute and alto clarinet is much more user friendly and a sweet alternative to that much more demanding score.

Khepera is the Egyptian God whose task it is to breathe new life in the mummified bodies of the deceased in the underworld. It was written in memory of my friend, the composer Jos Kunst, who died in 1996.

Several performances of the work have been given by the duo Harry Sparnaay and Harry Starreveld, as well as by Jos Zwaanenburg and John Anderson of the Barton Workshop. More recently it was performed by musicians of the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble in several cities in Russia.

Khepera can replace Athena Keramitis, and be played in conjunction with Gravity’s Dance, Aura and Heterostase to form the cycle ECLIPSE.