Simon and Ennoia
Odilon Redon: Helene (Ennoia), 1896.
Notes
Simon and Ennoia had quite a complicated gestation. It began life as a piece called Worker's Rubble, which was commissioned by the MusICA series in Lndon in 1983. I was dissatisfied with that piece, but retained a lot of its prime materials and began reworking them. The prime materials were fragments of some of the favourite melodies of Mr Alfred Worker, which I had used in the earlier composition A Worker Speaks. These are buried in the textures of Simon and Ennoia, often providing a kind of cantus firmus. They include: Svendsen's Romance in G for violin and orchestra; 'Forgotten Dreams' by Leroy Anderson; the 'Air de ballet' from Zemir et Azor by Gretry; and a cadence from 'Pieds-en-l'air' from the Capriol Suite by Peter Warlock. Some synaesthetic materials from Scriabin also made their way into the mix and all these various elements are combined with much original material to create a dream-like piece inspired in its turn by my readings in alchemy. I was particularly interested in the figure of Simon Magus and the following account of the Thoughts of God (Ennoia):
"As described by Epiphanius, in the beginning God had his first thought, his Ennoia, which was female, and that thought was to create the angels. The First Thought then descended into the lower regions and created the angels. But the angels rebelled against her out of jealousy and created the world as her prison, imprisoning her in a female body. Thereafter, she was reincarnated many times, each time being shamed. Her many reincarnations included Helen of Troy, among others, and she finally was reincarnated as Helen, a slave and prostitute in the Phoenician city of Tyre. God then descended in the form of Simon Magus, to rescue his Ennoia, and to confer salvation upon men through knowledge of himself". (Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Simon Magus". Encyclopedia Britannica. 25 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 126-130).
Performance notes
Simon and Ennoia is scored for string trio, marimba and vibraphone (the percussionists also jangle some cowbells or resonant metal at one point). The BBC broadcast from 1990 included a bass clarinet, which may be regarded as optional.