Sema

The word „Sema“ in Azerbaijani means a “Sky”. However, this word has more than one meaning. On one hand it’s a female name and on the other it’s a philosophical term, which means a ritual, a mystical dance of Dervishes in Sufi-Philosophy.

I was personally fascinated by the philosophical meaning of the word Sema (Sky). I found it quite interesting and unique how this word stresses the very connection and love of Humanity towards the Nature (the Universe or God). Before composing “SEMA” I spent a lot of time reading various poems. I was particularly inspired by the poems of Yunus Emre (a 13th century poets). His thoughts about Love, Nature, Sky, and Universe were for me a revelation and have inspired me to compose this piece.

I wrote and dedicated "Sema" to Duo MARES – (Esra Pehlivanli -Viola and Marko Kassl -Accordeon). It was first performed during the 19th Bellapais International Music Festival in Northern Cyprus.

The piece is made of 2 parts:

The first Part is Adagio – it’s here, in the very beginning, that the dialogue between two instruments starts and where I’ve used a lot of sound effects and play techniques for both instruments.

The second part is Allegro moderato. It’s full of contrast and very rhythmic. There are a lot of tempo changes here. The end of the piece – Coda – sounds very emotional and ostentatious. Here the theme from the Part 1 is being expanded and varied.