Thanatos for Solo Flute

From the Publisher

I met the Polish composer Marcin Blazewicz (1953-2021) in August 1980 in Hungary, where he attended a master class by the French composer François-Bernard Mâche. It was the start of a long friendship with an exceptional musician who was full of energy and creative imagination. When the master class ended, Marcin agreed to write a solo flute piece for me. This became Thanatos, which I received a few months later. It is a very strong piece and one that is representative of the writing of a young composer, who, inspired by the acoustical discoveries of recent years, explored tonal possibilities through many long-forgotten playing techniques.

Thanatos, the God of Death, fascinates and frightens, is sometimes desired, but always exercises his power in our minds. (Henrik Svitzer once told me about an enormous reptile, which was discovered recently and which the scientists had named Thanatos, evidence of the power brought about our minds by this ancient Greek god).

Why did Marcin Blazewicz want to present his mediation on Thanatos at such a young age?

The philosopher François Cheng explains that death is a gift of life, inextricably linked to it. An artist as much in love with life as Marcin Blazewicz had, inevitably, to engage in this reflection. In fact, by facing Thanatos, Marcin celebrates life with uncommon strength, similarly to exorcism.

Thanatos explores the feelings of the human soul facing life and death. His music includes a wealth of colors and uses all possible techniques of flute playing with perfect mastery. He expresses anger as well as nostalgia or tenderness. As always, Marcin's music reveals an astonishing technical mastery which is at the service of what he wants to express.

I consider Thanatos to be a chef-d’oeuvre among the compositions written for solo flute during the 1980s.

Pierre-Yves Artaud
Bourges, 09/18/2022

Item Details

Instrumentation

• Part 1: Flute