Originally commissioned by the Scotia Festival of Music for percussionists Evelyn Glennie and Beverley Johnston, Hatzis's Tongues of Fire was arranged as a concerto for percussion and symphonic wind ensemble by composer Kevin Lau in 2009. Its four movements are set in alternating keys (movements 1 and 3 in D and 2 and 4 in A). As the title implies, there is a Pentecostal theme running through the piece but not in any programmatic sense. It is more a meditation on the emotional and psychological states of Christ's disciples during the early days of the Church than a depiction of the story of the Pentecost. It is also a reflection on the turbulent times that we live in presently and our desperate search for some semblance of structure in the midst of ever growing discontinuity and fragmentation.
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.
