Composition Commission issued to Sarah Nemtsov

Decoder Ensemble, Hamburg, Germany

The Decoder Ensemble Hamburg has – with the support of the EvS Music Foundation – given a commission to the composer Sarah Nemtsov with the title Roses for my funeral. The result is a multimedia work for ensemble which combines video, sound and live-music in an evening-long performance. The work itself encapsulates many aspects of illness, death and loss: “A musical-visual format – music and film tightly woven into a great fable about death, about dying and disappearance, about illness and pain, about loss, grief and anger. Between a longing and a fear of death. Insanity. Fighting. Resignation. Acceptance and thankfulness. Not just darkness, but also light. Moments of compassion and defiance are felt, hope, the power of love and empathy. Ultimately, the test of death is a test of life. The piece is essentially a stock-take of many aspects of death, loss, illness, dying. A bizarre form of encyclopaedia.” (Sarah Nemtsov)
The aim of the project is to create a sensitivity and artistic consideration to the question of death and dying – how we approach it as individuals and as a community. Inspired by the artistic impulses of the composer, the participants confront the themes raised through a long-term process. In addition to the concerts themselves, this involves direct meetings with those who are dying as well as musical events in hospices. Cooperation with the radio station Deutschlandfunk Cologne will likewise enable a journalistic aspect to unfold, with a more intense reach with relevance for the community as a whole.

February 15, 2019
Elbphilharmonie Hamburg (Kaistudio), Germany

April 3, 2020
DLF Forum New Music Cologne, Germany

Further information:
decoder-ensemble.de