Keynote Interview 2025: Meriç Artaç

How does the Bosch Requiem come into being? Where does a composer begin, what are the frames of reference, how do you relate to history and the current era? All of this will be discussed during the keynote interview at New Music Conference 2025.

The Turkish-Dutch composer Meriç Artaç wrote the ninth opus in the Bosch Requiem series. This annual commissioned composition by November Music not only celebrates our deceased loved ones but also the visionary ideas of artist Hieronymus Bosch. Meriç Artaç’s Requiem for Mariza (1990) is a contemporary mass, written especially for Cappella Amsterdam, the New European Ensemble, and vocal soloists.

The new composition retains the structure of a traditional requiem, interweaving existing requiem texts with newly written verses by Sarah Sluimer, which reflect on the stages of grief. Artaç combines the rich sonic palette of the New European Ensemble with electronics and the expressive tones of the kemençe (a Persian string instrument), creating a soundscape in which the final echoes of Mariza resonate.

Merç Artaç’s Requiem for Mariza will have its concert premiere during November Music. The staged premiere will follow in March 2026 during the Opera Forward Festival, directed by Silvia Costa.