Thalassografia-Small Nepenthian (2018/2025)

for saxophone quartet

Thalassografia-Small Nepenthian translates as “sea-etching.” Commissioned by EBM and first performed in Tallinn, Estonia, the work has been freshly revised for this tour. Minakakis conjures the Aegean seascape in shifting layers of sound: saxophone without mouthpiece whorls of air, salt‑spray slap‑tongues, and shimmering harmonics ebb and flow like waves against a rocky shore. The work’s lines overlap and recede, tracing sonic currents that suggest both the vastness and the restless instability of open water. 

This work was commissioned and premiered by Ensemble du bout du monde on September 22, 2018 at the Estonian History Museum in Tallinn, Estonia. The revised work was premiered on October 4th, 2025 at Susquehanna University by Ensemble du Bout du Monde.

Please fill out the form HERE to request the score and parts for this work.