Ákri / Άκρη

About

Ákri is Briar's first orchestral piece to be premiered in her career as a composer, and was part of Orchestra Wellington's Mentorship Program, with the mentorship of John Psathas. Being of Greek heritage, Briar was drawn to the word Ákri ('Ακρη), a Greek word meaning ‘edge’. The significance of this word comes from the experience of belonging to two vastly different cultures or nationalities. The word ‘edge’ comes to mind in the sense that one is on the edge of belonging to each culture, but never fully or wholly to either. Such an internal dilemma brings with it many challenges and questions about identity, creating dramatic contrasts in the emotional landscape, from a sense of belonging and calm, to a sense of angst and existential dissonance. Ákri explores these themes through shifting harmony and a single melodic motif that carries throughout the piece, forever trying to ‘fit in’ to a harmonic world that seems ever changing and modulating. The melodic motif in character is reminiscent of Greek traditional melisma. At times this motif harmoniously 'belongs' in the musical environment that surrounds it, yet soon enough it is abandoned, hanging over into silence, as if dropping off the edge of a cliff. The repetition of this process however makes you soon realise that this motif is actually the thread that bridges the space between changes.