Acoustic - electronic
compositions
Overture to the Sun
2023
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Overture to the Sun was premiered by the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and conducted by Alejandro Cantalapiedra at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam on Sunday 18 February 2023.
The piece explores a story of solitude and companionship, intelligence and sensitivity, and light and darkness.
Inspired by the book Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro, the piece questions the idea of dualism and heterogenous principles; contrasting, chasing, and mimicking melodies and harmonies. Two entities are meeting, complementing, transforming, conflicting, and dissociating on a journey to find the hidden sun for adventure, hope, and ultimate salvation.
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Performer: Het Nederlands Kamerorkest
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Babadu
Holland Festival
2023
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For the National Composer's Day, a music train runs throughout the country all day.
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The Amsterdam City Composer of the Day, Meriç Artaç, writes a new composition commissioned by the Holland Festival, especially for the opening.
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Asko|Schönberg ensemble and trombonist Jörgen van Rijen kicked off on the 17th of June at 9:00 on the IJboulevard behind the Central Station in Amsterdam. The piece is based on a graphic score.
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Performer: Asko|Schönberg and Jörgen van Rijen
Åžahmaran
2023
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The world premiere of a new composition in three parts composed by three women composers, as a dedication to historical and mythological female figures, They Have Waited Long Enough brings on forgotten women's stories from the Anatolian heartland.
The Turkish writer Ece Temelkuran gives a voice to the mythological Åžahmaran, who is a hybrid between a snake and a human, and a symbol of female (and non-binary) power.
The premiere was on the 14th of June at Basilica Cistern, Istanbul The premiere was on the 14th of June at Basilica Cistern, Istanbul during the Istanbul Music Festival. ​
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Commissioned and Produced by Istanbul Music Festival, Wonderfeel Festival, and Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival.
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Performers: Katharine Dain – soprano
Raphaëla Danksagmüller – duduk and kaval
Nemeth Quartet – string quartet
AardZee
2023
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Earth See is a reflection on the first walk at Earth Sea agricultural plots. The location hardly has any straight lines. The narrow entrance at the bridge, on the right, is the open space, where the earth's waves and the sea mountains are seen for the first time. Then a larger, spacious area.
The piece is a dialogue between the upward force of waves and the earth and grounded, still water that found its iciness long ago.
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The premiere was on the 18th of October at Amstelkerk, Amsterdam.
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Performer: Black Pencil Ensemble
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Lost & Found
O. Festival
2022
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Writer Elfie Tromp, composer Meriç Artaç, and director Arlon Luijten created live musical scenes of life at Rotterdam Central Station during Lost & Found for O. in May 2022. For five days, from 16 to 20 May 2022, could be found in the glass box in the station hall.
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Conductor: Mikel Fernández
Vocalists: Hanna van Rooijen, Maris Pajuste, Kristia Michael, Sara Lešnik
Instrumentalists: Maarten Vergauwen, Tille van Gastel, Adrian Bartolome, Jesus Fabre Lasheras, Bram van Weverberg
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Holy Slime
2022
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Holy Slime was inspired by a picture from ESA/Hubble Space Telescope where the dust and fas scattered throughout the galaxy, all different angles of the cosmos Layers and layers of energetic star formations, all embedded in a complex gas and pitch-dark dust, all their colorful shapes one after each other inspired for the creation of the piece.. Horizontal layers remove the sense of time as melodies move from one instrument to the next, and the reactions to all these, the effects like fast passing notes made all the little stars around.
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The piece premiered on the 14th of October 2022.
Performer: Pynarello Ensemble
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The Arrival of Mr.Z
2021
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The Arrival of Mr.Z is the outcome of a two-year trajectory as artist-in-residence at the Dag in de Branding Festival. For the opera, Artaç invented five different musical characters.
The piece addressed issues about faith, philosophy of life, ideals, and power.
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NRC **** " In addition to the beautiful design, and excellent execution (...), this was due to Artaç's music: alternately lyrical, powerful, visual and atmospheric"
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Gece
2021
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The Turkish word gece means ‘night’ and can also be used to express ‘blindness’ and ‘vulnerability’. Gece’s domain, therefore, is dark, in which she (a soprano) lonely wanders, with nothing to hold on to but her nostalgic tales.
The lights in her wig are the only source of light for her tales and melodic lines.
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Performers: Brigitte van Hagen, soprano
Robbrecht van Cauwenberghe, bajan
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Prologue Lullaby
2021
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A newly written prologue by poet Julia-Beth Harris and composer Meriç Artaç places the act firmly in the present. This creates a modern story about the tension between power and impotence, between a sense of duty and passion.
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Premiered at Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ, Amsterdam
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Henry Purcell - Dido en Aeneas
Meriç Artaç en Julia-Beth Harris - Prologue
Peter Leung - regie
Irene Verburg - soprano
Sophia Faltas - mezzosopraan
Musicians of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
Dancer from the Nationale Ballet Academie
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Yori
2020
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Yori is a fearful and introverted character who is hiding – also in the cheerful melodies and harmonies played by his alter ego, the bass clarinet. Yori is challenged to show himself by voices in the electronics, but then he panics acutely: the music freezes.
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Performer: David Kweksilber
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FAUST [Working Title] -
The Moon Bridge
2020
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FAUST [working title] opens up the space of Dutch National Opera to other sounds, music and languages, and explores the abundance of voices that are present in the world. Together with inspiring composers, arrangers and musicians from different places, the team imagines new landscapes in the world of music theatre.
This clip is a part of a new large-scale music theater production of FAUST [Working Title], an arrangement by Meriç Artaç of The Moon Bridge - Florence Beatrice Price.
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FALAZ
Cello Biënnale
2020
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Falaz is a new cello concerto by Meriç Artaç written for Score Collective Ensemble and Pieter Wispelwey.
It premiered at Muziekgebouw aan 't Ij, Amsterdam during the Cello Biennale.
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Conductor: Ed Spanjaard
Performers: Pieter Wispelwey
Score Collective Ensemble
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*52:35 Falaz by Meriç Artaç
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Mr. Z
2020
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The empty and abandoned city of Istanbul is the backdrop for Mr. Z. Meriç Artaç, artist-in-residence at Festival Dag in de Branding, who was intrigued by the surreal sight of the city of her childhood. This desolate atmosphere sets the tone for the short film shot in Istanbul, in which she introduces the character of Mr. Zanzun.
Mr. Z scours a series of empty and abandoned places in the city, where he tries to capture the sounds of citizens hiding away from him. Mr. Z. is a fearsome and thoroughly enigmatic character hunter, who stalks his prey like a predator and collects their sounds like a magician.
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Director: Arif Gökdeniz Uslu
Performer: Selimcan Yalçın
Zizos
2020
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Zizos is a new work by Meriç Artaç (Istanbul, 1990), artist-in-residence at Festival Dag in de Branding. She introduces a three-headed character named Zizos, inspired by the mythological figure of Cerberus. In this piece, Meriç creates a new language for the universe of Zizos, where each word or vowel is connected to a specific movement. Thus the score is written not only in music but also as a choreography.
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Soprano: Viola Cheung
Barione: Vojtěch Sembera
Flute and voice: Irene Ruiperez Canales
Percussion: Natalia Alvarez-Arenas
Costume: Carmen Schabracq
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Rudan's Coffee Break
2019
Inspired by Pera Museum’s Kütahya Tiles and Ceramics Collection Exhibition Coffee Break, Artaç centralizes the sounds of some objects associated with coffee preparation and service, such as coffee beans, grinder, kettle and coffee cups. The composition takes on a new dimension with the sounds that are heard from Rudan’s radio during his preparation.
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Rudan’s Coffee Break invites the audience to explore the main character Rudan’s mind, with the inspiration it takes from coffee’s adventure, from the bean to the cup. During this journey, Hezarfen Ensemble accompanies the fictional character Rudan with their acoustic performance, and Meriç Artaç with her electronics.
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Performer: Hezarfen Ensemble
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KAYRA
2019
Callejón del Ruido Festival presented the chamber opera KAYRA on the 29th of March 2019 at El Teatro Juárez, Guanajuato, Mexico!
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Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad de Guanajuato under the direction of Roberto Beltran-Zavala and the singers Dhyana Arom and Cynthia Sánchez performed Artaç's opera KAYRA.
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Conductor: Roberto Beltran-Zavala
Performers: Dhyana Arom and Cynthia Sánchez
Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad de Guanajuato
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GAIA
2018
GAIA was premiered on the 11th of March 2018 at DeLaMar, Amsterdam. The piece is composed for Doelen Ensemble and for 4 speakers.
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Works from; Aaron Copeland, Leonard Bernstein, Max Richter, Philip Glass and Meriç Artaç.
The DoelenEnsemble and the International Dance Theater bring Edward Hopper's paintings to life with Aaron Copeland, Leonard Bernstein, Max Richter, Philip Glass and Meriç Artaç, and Neel Verdoorn's choreography.
Performers: DoelenEnsemble
Maarten van Veen - piano
Lisa Jacobs - violin
Lars Wouters van den Oudenweijer - clarinet
m.m.v. Internationaal Danstheater
Neel Verdoorn - choreografie
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Abashante!
2016
Abashante! was performed on the 27th of May 2016 at Maaspodium, Rotterdam. The performance was a part of the project "Psyché & Electra" with AKOM Ensemble.
Choreography: Kirvan Fortuin
Composer: Meriç Artaç
Ensemble: AKOM Ensemble
Conductor: Roberto Beltran-Zavala
Dancers: Lea Giamattei, Erika Poletto, Justyn BrÄ…zowy, Alex de Vries, Yann Dorsaz
Light & Set Design: Kirvan Fortuin
Costumes: Codarts Costume Department
Iris
2015
An Iris (alpine variety) flourishes high up in the freezing mountains where chilly winds rage. Nights are rough. At dawn, rays of light set the mountain ablaze. The flower is unmoved. Observant, with an unblinking gaze. But not for long...The piece was premiered by the Asko|Schönberg ensemble in Amsterdam in the spring of 2015.
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Conductor: Bas Wiegers
Performer: Asko|Schönberg Ensemble
Resurrection of Cemetery Wake-up
2014
Moments of Resurrection of Cemetery Wake - Up from Made in Rotterdam 2014 and the Big Day Festival 2015 in De Doelen, Rotterdam.
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Conductor: Roberto Beltran-Zavala
Performer: AKOM Ensemble
Cemetery Wake-up
2014
"When the night falls on our cemetery, we, the dead, come to life.
A different life, a different after life.
Different characters, different after-life characters.
Slowly we wake up, one at a time, confused, dreamy, hypnotized, in denial, angry. Close your eyes and walk along.
Sooner or later you will be one of us."
Performer: AKOM Ensemble
The Clock
2013
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This piece is the story of 3 rotors represented in 12 minutes.
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The 3 rotors that turn the clock in motion are trying to finish another hour. When the hour is completed and the 3 rotors do their job successfully the gong will sound, and by that, it keeps the people in order. Every hour is a new beginning for monotony.
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Pictures
2013
"Pictures" is a musical representation of 5 paintings that are passing by. Every painting emphasizes a specific aspect like color, emotion, or dynamics. Each picture has its characteristics and way of expressing itself through the art form of music.
The first painting is "The Scream" by Edvard Munch. The second is from the Poplar series (Autumn) of Claude Monet. The third is a painting of Picasso for a VIP art fair.
The fourth painting is Donald Zolan's "Sabina In the Grass" and the piece ends with Vincent Van Gogh's " The Starry Night".
Performer : AKOM Ensemble
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The Writer Quadraphonic
2013
Piece for electronics that was performed in February 2013 in Gaudeamus Jonge Componistenbal.
The piece is about "the writer" who is typing a story about a girl who is singing in different rooms of a big house. While singing she appears in different rooms.
The best way to experience this piece is to close your eyes and make your imagination about a writer, a singing girl, and a house.
Happy Bassoon Piece
2012
Piece for solo bassoon that was performed in May 2012. This piece is based on extended techniques of the bassoon. The piece is an experimentation with new sounds and possible ways to play the bassoon.
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Performer: Sara Sibley
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