Kairos from Európe by Kairos Collective / Michiel van der Meulen
KAIROS
Stankina
This piece I wrote after a failed first attempt to write a saz semâî, during my first seminar in modal composition by the abovementioned Ross Daly, back in 2011. At the time, the Ottoman classical repertoire was fairly new to me, and I couldn’t manage the distinct phrasing of either usul aksak semâî, or the makam of choice. Back home I wrote this composition in a completely different style but in the same structure—ax-bx-cx-dx: four different verses (hâne), the fourth in a different meter, and a refrain (teslim)—to get this sense of failure out my system. I also decided to keep working on modal composition, which has proven to be a great, immensely fulfilling journey.
Kairos (Καιρός), in ancient Greek mythology, is the personification of the right moment, the time to act or an opportunity to be seized. It also means time as it is experienced, i.e., non-linearly, unlike Chronos (Χρόνος), which is time as measured. To me, the concept of Kairos is important. Experiencing it requires you to live now, and allowing yourself to be guided by the spur of the moment from time to time, rather than by your calendar. As quite a few people will be able to confirm, I have trouble with keeping to schedules. But I had perhaps my most Kairotic moment at the age of 17, during the split second I first saw a girl and decided I wanted her to be mine (and vice versa). That girl is now my lovely wife. She likes this piece very much and I cannot but dedicate it to her.
Kairos is to me a clear example of what contemporary modal music is: its phrasing and rhythm draw from music from various south-western Balkan regions, but the piece is not in any way part of the traditions found there. The final section just happened spontaneously during the rehearsals. Instead of simply going back to the refrain, the musicians used its theme for a very atmospheric outro.
Kairos Collective is the occasional ensemble that Michiel van der Meulen assembles to record or perform his contemporary modal music. Kairos is the personification of the right moment, the time to act or an opportunity to be seized, encapsulating the spirit and atmosphere of the collective's sessions.