Out Of The Ruins, by Michael Nyman, for SATB with optional organ.

This work was written in the aftermath of the 1988 earthquake in Armenia for a BBC television documentary. Scored for mixed voices, SATB with optional organ accompaniment. Duration 21 minutes.

Composer's Note:
"In the late summer of 1989, BBC director Agnieszka Piotrowska asked me to write a choral work to accompany her documentary about the way in which the Armenians were coming to terms with the effects of the earthquake which struck on 7th December 1988, killing over twenty five thousand people. When I agreed, I could not possibly have predicted the profound effect the process of composing and recording would have on me; from Agnieszka's choice of text - lines from the BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS by the 10th century Armenian poet, Grigor Narekatsi (which I have used in the odd-numbered section of five-section work), through to the recording which took place late into the night in the 4th century Echmiadzin Church, an hour's drive from Yerevan. I am especially grateful to the choir who learned a long and difficult work in an unreasonably short space of time and to their conductor Khoren Meykhanejian who has produced a performance of quite astounding beauty." - © Michael Nyman