'Memorial' by Michael Nyman

Memorial is an epic funeral march-like piece, composed by Michael Nyman around 1984-1985. This composition is one of the most praised of Nyman's works. The work premiered on 15 June 1985, and was dedicated to the memory of the Juventus F.C. fans killed in the Heysel Stadium tragedy. It's first commercial recording was on the soundtrack of 'The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'. The music to 'Memorial' that is best known portion is in fact only the fifth movement . The sixth movement has been released on compact disc under the title "Images Were Introduced" on the album 'The Kiss and Other Movements'. The second and fourth appear on the limited edition album, 'La Traversée de Paris'. The other movements remain unreleased, and Nyman has described the work as "dismantled. The composition borrowed a musical phrase from Baroque composer Henry Purcell's King Arthur, the prelude to "What Power Art Thou," sung by the Cold Genius in Act III, but the phrase is repeated in countless times, in a minimalist fashion. It had a strong effect on film director Peter Greenaway, who decided to model parts of his film 'The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover' on this composition. In fact, this composition is perhaps the best example of the integration of Nyman's music to Greenaway's work. The final sequence of the movie was entirely choreographed around the fifth movement. The sequence represents a procession bearing the body of The Lover, prepared by The Cook, served by The Wife as a dish for her husband, The Thief. The fifth movement is performed by the Michael Nyman Band and available on MN Records: http://amzn.to/2hVC2XZ