AN EXCITING JOURNEY BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN BYZANTINE TRADITION, WESTERN HARMONIES AND JAZZ.
With Charis Alexiou in the role of narrator, the musical work Dance of the Torches by Vassilis Rakopoulos is presented, the title of which refers to one of the most famous events of the Byzantine horse race. In contrast to church music, little is known about the secular music of Byzantium. Immersed in the mire of time, we can sense it in the surviving frescoes in the half-light of the monasteries, in the folkloric descriptions and the fantastic echoes of the great processions, in the events and spectacles of the Byzantine racecourse, including the pyre dance. The attempt to reconstruct lost aspects of Byzantine secular music was the challenge and the source of inspiration for the composition of this important work. The Dance of the Torches uses a mixed musical language and explores the possibility of coexistence of different idioms, such as the scholarly Byzantine tradition and wider Eastern music, intertwined with elements from the Romantic period and especially jazz. Dreamlike soundscapes alternate with intense stylistic juxtapositions, imposing and intensifying choral parts exchange leading roles with soloists, while the work unfolds in parallel with a narrative based on texts from Greek literature.
In this fascinating journey-bridge between Byzantine tradition, western harmonies and jazz, fine Greek and foreign musicians, as well as cantors, take part. The Athens Philharmonia Orchestra and the Athens Academic Youth Choir also take part. Nikos Maliaras is the musical director. Scientific advisor, Dionyssis Kapsalis.
CO-PRODUCTION
Formix
Megaron the Athens Concert Hall
