Phosphorus, by Christos Hatzis

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Phosphorus, by Christos Hatzis
Performed by Felix Reyes

Visual Model: Rebecca Hodgson

Video/Audio: Four/Ten Media

Composition: Phosphorus by Christos Hatzis

Sheet music:

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MALLETS USED:

M114
M115

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ABOUT THE PIECE:

"Phosphorus for marimba and audio playback was composed to commemorate Cameron Haynes, my wife’s nephew, who had passed away during his 25th year of life due to osteosarcoma, a particularly difficult form of cancer. Throughout his life, Cameron had struggled with Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of autism, which required constant care by his family. Due to the behavioral side-effects of his condition, Cameron was often the target of bullying, which made his way through schooling and life rather challenging. Despite these hardships though, Cameron always found a way to remain positive and optimistic and, in the end, his battle with cancer revealed a person of courage, strength, and most importantly a person who felt empathy for others, which is atypical of his condition.

My wife, percussionist Beverley Johnston, and I had been very much affected by Cameron’s passing. In dealing with my grief, I examined my own feelings and understanding of human mortality by the best available means to me: music. In this work two musical characters engage in a virtual conversation with each other. They are: (1) a quiet lament-like harmonic sequence for the marimba over descending minor thirds and (2) segments extracted from a dj mix by Cameron called “Phosphorus,” his high-school chemistry project, which he had proudly sent to us a short while before he was diagnosed with cancer. These two musical themes, which in my mind gradually came to represent Bev and Cameron as the two characters in this conversation, inhabit two different tempi, Bev’s at 75bpm and Cameron’s at 100bpm. They are radically different musical expressions: soft classical music that is close to my and Bev’s sound world on the one hand and a heavily distorted, de-sentimentalized and matter-of-fact report on the properties of the chemical element Phosphorus on the other.

Even though in his “phosphorus” mix Cameron speaks in a detached manner about facts devoid of any emotional content, I felt that, in a deeper sense perhaps unbeknownst even to him, he was talking not about Phosphorus, but about himself. Since the track inadvertently depicts some of the subtleties of Cameron’s mind, this music also aims to focus on the subject of autism and our misunderstanding and stereotyping of individuals suffering from it."

- Christos Hatzis

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ABOUT THE COMPOSER:
Born in Greece, educated in the United States, a Canadian citizen since 1985 and a Professor at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto since 1995, Christos Hatzis (b.1953) is one of Canada’s most important composers. Christos’ eclectic and powerful music is captivating audiences internationally and has been awarded several coveted Canadian and international awards, like the Jean A. Chalmers National Music Award, the Jules Legér Prize, the Prix Italia and the Prix Bohemia, in addition to two Juno Awards. Recently he has been receiving commissions from some of Canada’s and the world’s best-known soloists and ensembles, such as violinist Hilary Hahn, percussionist Evelyn Glennie, the Afiara Quartet, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and was the 2014 recipient of the HHF Life Achievement Award (The previous recipient was Mike Lazarides, founder and CEO of Blackberry.)

More here!

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ABOUT FELIX REYES:
As a rising percussionist, Felix Reyes is always looking for ways to incorporate his chamber music training with his interest in contemporary Japanese music and social activism. As a native to New York, Felix has performed with chamber ensembles throughout New York City in venues such as Carnegie Hall, National Sawdust, The Lincoln Center, Kaufman Music Center, and universities across the U.S. such as Indiana University, Princeton University, the University of Notre Dame, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Humboldt State University, and the University of Georgia. Felix has also performed internationally in countries such as El Salvador, Japan and Germany.

More info on Felix and his current activities can be found at his