Ekstasis is a work for string sextet that explores some of the many ways in which humans have, for thousands of years, tried to reach states of ecstasy and transcend ‘the self’. Whether through the use of drugs and substances, sex or religious fervor, acts of violence, meditation or ritual, we are all driven to habitually seek out a whole range of ecstatic experiences and, momentarily at least, lose control. Inspiration for this work came from Jules Evans ’brilliant book, The Art of Losing Control: a philosophers search for ecstatic experiences, but more specifically I’ve drawn from a broad selection of art, literature and pop culture. Each movement looks at a very particular type of ecstatic experience though the piece itself can be divided into three main sections: 1. Corporeal ecstasy (drugs and sex); 2. Physical ecstasy (violence); 3. Spiritual ecstasy (mediation and religion). Gavin Higgins