Thalassografia-Small Nepenthian - Stratis Minakakis

The title of Stratis Minakakis’s Thalassografia–Small Nepenthean intertwines etymology, myth, and personal remembrance. Thalassografia translates as “sea-etching,” evoking the constant motion of the waves, while nepenthean refers to the mythical flowers in Homeric poetry believed to banish grief (ne = away, penthos = sorrow). The work was composed in memory of Minakakis’s aunt, who passed away from cancer in 2018, and draws upon Greek literary images of the sea as an agent of lethe, erasing sorrow and easing the burden of memory.

Throughout the piece, the music oscillates like the sea itself: calm and meditative in some passages, overwhelming and threatening in others, yet always charged with awe. Within nano-microtonal textures, listeners can trace hidden lamentation lines, inspired by Mediterranean singing practices ranging from northern Greece to Sicily, Corsica, and North Africa. These lines breathe an expressive, human voice into the soundscape, recalling traditions of vocal lament that blur the boundary between grief and consolation.

Alongside this imagery of waves and song runs another structural principle: genetic sequencing. Much of the musical material derives from intervallic “codes” that generate families of scales. While each sequence is unique, their similarity suggests shared DNA. In the fourth movement, this code deliberately degenerates: scales crystallize into chords, which then fracture into distorted remnants of the original material. This musical erosion—marked by heavy yet sustained accents—functions like a primitive script of mutation and eventual destruction, offering a final gesture of fragility and transformation.

With its fusion of myth, memory, and sound design, Thalassografia–Small Nepenthean invites us to hear the sea not only as a force of nature but also as a metaphor for remembrance, loss, and renewal.

(Program note written by Don-Paul Kahl, based on texts by Stratis Minakakis)