R-evolution #Passion

R-evolution offers an artistic portrayal of the two main characteristics of Greek spirituality before the outbreak of the Greek War of Independence. It highlights the ideas of universality and innerness, which were both developed by the Fathers of the Church during the Byzantine period, survived during the Ottoman Rule, but changed after the Revolution. It is to this situation that the title refers: R stands for restricted (a term borrowed from cinema), therefore we’re talking about a restricted evolution.

The work is a kind of blend of heterogeneous elements, both in terms of music and orchestration, pieced together with a common artistic compositional aesthetic that marks the composer’s writing (apophatic composition). In this spirit, R-evolution brings together a Byzantine choir, a piano, a saxophone ensemble, and elements of electronic music, as a symbol of universality. At the same time the musical material conveys the innerness of the work’s aesthetic: it symbolises the innerness of Byzantine thought and of those Fathers of the Church known as Mystics, who express the deeper secret meanings and experiences of theological thought and inner life (mysticism).

The period when these concepts can be better expressed at a deeper level is the Holy Week. Holy Week is not only a journey through the Passion of Christ; it can also be the synopsis of the spiritual life of every Christian, who journeys through their own passion (the emptying process through which the individual divests oneself of their selfishness) and is led to Resurrection (the emergence of the person and of all-encompassing love).

This is what the second part of the work’s title (Passion) refers to. Both parts together make up a holistic image of the mystical theory of eastern Christianity. — D. B.

Dimitris Bakas

Born in Katerini, he studied composition with Theodore Antoniou. He continued postgraduate studies in contemporary music composition at the Goldsmiths, University of London, where he also completed his PhD thesis on the same subject under the supervision of professor Roger Redgate. During his doctoral studies he attended the postgraduate programme of electroacoustic music of Stanley Glasser Electronic Music Studios (Goldsmiths University, EMS). During the years 2010-2011 he was a visiting researcher at the Columbia University, New York. He has participated in international conferences, done residencies and received international distinctions. He is also active as a sound artist involved in works that are mainly displayed in museums. He is a member of the Hellenic Electroacoustic Music Composers Association (HELMCA), the Centre for Contemporary Music Research (KSYME), the Hellenic Society for Acoustic Ecology, and the Temp’Ora Project (Bordeaux, France).

Athens University History Museum

The Athens University History Museum is housed in the building known as “Kleanthis’ Residence” or “Old University” that is situated at 5 Tholou St in Plaka, underneath the Acropolis. Its history dates way back before the 18th century, making it one of the few surviving buildings of the pre-Ottoman era. It has the rare privilege to be housed in the same building that housed the first University of independent Greece (1837-1841), which was also the first University in the Balkan peninsula and the wider Eastern Mediterranean region. It first opened as a Museum in 1987, inviting visitors to learn all about the foundation of tertiary education in Greece and the academic legacy of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

First Sacred Music Festival info leaflet available to read and download here