Beginning and developing along 19th century European common harmonic and melodic practice, Thunder Drum's first movement Elegy for a Lost World is a vague reminiscence of a two-theme classical sonata form. The industrial-like "quantized" loops in the playback audio of the second movement, Games, are combined with pre-recorded samples of Inuit throat singing, while the third movement, Reconstitution, begins quietly with a timid thematic development, reaching an epic, triumphant but also symbolically hollow ending.
Born in Greece, educated in the United States and a Canadian citizen since 1985, composer Christos Hatzis (b.1953) is becoming widely known as a leading figure in contemporary classical music. His works are performed and broadcast throughout the world, and their frequent combination of a powerful spiritual foundation with an immediately accessible appeal has made a deep emotional impact upon audiences and performers alike.
