Sic Transit Gloria Mundi (2023)
Commissioned by Riot Ensemble
Performed by Riot Ensemble at the University of Liverpool in October 2023
‘Sic transit gloria mundi’ is inscribed on numerous Flemish Ruckers harpsichords and translates to “Thus Passes the Glory of the World”– a kind of reminder of the impermanent nature of all things, and perhaps even referring to the ephemerality of sound itself, or, the quick decay that is characteristic of the harpsichord’s plucked mechanism and thus referring to the instrument itself. The harpsichord has a long history of moving in and out of popularity, as it gradually became replaced by the fortepiano in the 18th century, and since then has underwent many periods of revival. Within popular culture since the 20th century, it has carried connotations that are distinctly evocative of the past due to its unique timbre – often associated with the haunted, ghostly, and sinister, especially within film scores. This piece is a meditation on impermanence, transitoriness, forgotten sounds, and sonic spectres. It is an aural hallucination on time, historicity, ghosts, and the sonic living dead. The phrase ‘Sic Transit Gloria Mundi’ is used as a kind of mantra for the movement through various sound histories, as we are reminded of the fact of impermanence and invited to actively lean into the ephemerality of sound as we listen.
Sarah Dacey - soprano
Philip Haworth - oboe
Goska Isphording - harpsichord
Marianne Schofield - doublebass
Sam Wilson - percussion
Darren Bloom - conductor