Dimitris Savva is a Cypriot electroacoustic music composer. He received his Bachelor degree (distinction) in music composition from the Ionian University and his Master degree (distinction) in Electroacoustic composition from the University of Manchester. In January 2015 he started his fully funded PhD in Sheffield University. His compositions have been performed in Greece, Cyprus, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Belgium, France, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Canada and USA. Many of his compositions won prizes in prestigious competitions such as Metamorphoses 2012 -2014 -2018, Iannis Xenakis 2018 and SIME 2019.
Echo is a tragic nymph. She is the nymph that was punished with the curse not to be able to speak her own words but only to be able to repeat the last words spoken from another person. This cruel punishment led to her tragic end. She lost her body and became a spirit existing in all that places-spaces that echo back our voices.
Echo did not consider the consequences of her actions, she did not reflect on them and as a result she received this cruel punishment. Is it possible to think Echo as a symbol of a process that can lead to completion? When Narcissus asked Echo “who are you” he received the echo-repetition of his question. This triggered something inside him; he made him realise that he is the son of the river-nymph. What he really wanted then was to reconnect with his mother and with his real nature, to become one with the source of his creation. This liberated him but at the same time brought his human life to an end. The myth could be a reminder that reflection is a way to understand and realise things about us. Echo is one of these reflections, she can make our voice that asks the question “who are you” to return to us and ask us who we are. How do we feel when we hear our voices asking us who we are? Can this, as previously suggested, lead to understanding and realisation or is it also possible to lead to destruction? The easiest but also the most honest answer is that both are possible. If both realisation and destruction are possible then can we choose which one from the two we want? If it is possible to choose, what will you choose?
Credits: I am grateful to Agnese Banti, Iliana Karaliga and Fotini Dakaki for providing me with their beautiful singing sounds and Machi Dimitriadou Lindahl for her excellent dance sounds; most of which have been used in this composition.