''Memorial'' is an epic funeral march-like piece, composed by

Michael Nyman Michael Laurence Nyman, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 23 March 1944) is an English composer, pianist, libretto, librettist, musicologist, and filmmaker. He is known for numerous film soundtrack, scores (many written during his lengthy ...

around 1984–1985. The work premiered on 15 June 1985.Michael Nyman. Liner notes. ''

The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover ''The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' is a 1989 crime drama art film written and directed by Peter Greenaway, starring Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren and Alan Howard in the title roles. An international co-production of ...

'' It was written to commemorate the deaths of 39 fans, almost all Italian, at the 1985 European Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus at the Heysel Stadium (also known as the

Heysel Stadium disaster The Heysel Stadium disaster ( ; ; ) was a crowd disaster on 29 May 1985, when Juventus fans were escaping from an attack by Liverpool fans while they were pressed against a wall in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, before the start of ...

). The whole piece was performed just once. In 1989, Nyman began "reassigning" elements of ''Memorial'', as he often does with earlier work. The first appearance on a commercial recording was of the fifth movement, on the soundtrack of ''

The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover ''The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' is a 1989 crime drama art film written and directed by Peter Greenaway, starring Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren and Alan Howard in the title roles. An international co-production of ...

''. The piece incorporates and builds on a musical sequence from "What Power Art Thou”, an aria from the opera ''

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

'' by

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: ; September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer of Baroque music, most remembered for his more than 100 songs; a tragic opera, Dido and Aeneas, ''Dido and Aeneas''; and his incidental music to a version o ...

. Michael Nyman also mentioned that Memorial was built upon a piece of his soundtrack for Peter Greenaway's film ''

A Zed and Two Noughts ''A Zed & Two Noughts'' is a 1985 film written and directed by Peter Greenaway. This film was Greenaway's first collaboration with cinematographer Sacha Vierny, who went on to shoot virtually all of Greenaway's work in the 1980s and 1990s, until ...

'' titled Time Lapse.

Releases

The fifth movement appeared in ''

'', and re-recorded versions appear on

Michael Nyman Band The Michael Nyman Band, formerly known as the Campiello Band, is a group formed as a street band for a 1976 production of Carlo Goldoni's 1756 play, ''Il Campiello'' directed by Bill Bryden at the Old Vic. The band did not wish to break up aft ...

's ''

The Essential Michael Nyman Band ''The Essential Michael Nyman Band'' is a studio album featuring a collection of music by Michael Nyman written for the films of Peter Greenaway and newly performed by the Michael Nyman Band. It is the seventeenth album release by Nyman. The al ...

'' and '' The Composer's Cut Series Vol. II: Nyman/Greenaway Revisited''. ''

After Extra Time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a Tie (draw), tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is ...

'' and ''The Very Best of Michael Nyman: Film Music 1980-2001'' are reissues of the ''Essential'' and soundtrack versions, respectively. The sixth movement has been released on compact disc under the title "Images Were Introduced" on the album ''

The Kiss and Other Movements ''The Kiss and Other Movements'' is the sixthcounting the withheld ''The Cold Room'' album release by Michael Nyman, and the fifth recording (fourth full album) with the Michael Nyman Band. The title track is an "operatic duet" between Dagmar Krau ...

''. 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."

References

{{Michael Nyman Funerary and memorial compositions Compositions by Michael Nyman 1985 compositions