Adamu - Ivan Kurz

There seems to be no doubt that the biblical therm „Adam“ can be derived from the Sumerian Adamah = Earth; Adamu (from the same root) = an earthling. This term, however, might also be a wordplay: „dam“ means blood; „A-dam“ would mean „the one from blood“ (the created one). I hold the view that until the Bible begins to deal with the genealogy of Adam (a specific person), the Book of Genesis uses the term Adam to speak of a created being to designate a species.

So much for the name of the piece that intends to be subjective and – of course – a very partial musical portrait of a human being. It works with four thematic fields that should correspond with four possible spheres of human consciousness (the sphere of the Spirit, the sphere of intellect, the sphere of the animal soul, and the sphere of the material body). The form of the piece is derived from a selected sequence of the human DNA chain that also consists of four elements – komplex organic compounds, the so-called nucleotids: A-G-C-T.

The fourth string quartet was commissioned by the Doležal quartet and written in 2011.

Other compositions by Ivan Kurz published in Czech Radio:
Angelic Landscapes for barytone and grand orchestra
Expectations
Gendarmerie Humoresques, suite for orchestra
Christmas Songs and Carols
I Can Hear the Angels Sing
Livig Spirit
The Feathers of the Firebird