Description

The second concert of the Composition Masterclass Cycle confronts us with works that are in dialogue with memories of the past: voices, songs, texts, traditions. Kharálampos Goyós reworks material from his opera Anthony’s Death (2020), intertwining sonic memories from the animated TV series Candy Candy (1976–79) with the philosophical discourse of Slavoj Žižek, into a new instrumental composition, and expands the concept of opera music. Giorgos Vavoulas is inspired by Kafka’s short story “The Bridge” [Die Brücke, 1931] and deconstructs it: the narration unfolds not from the beginning to the end but through fragments and alternating rhythms; the work moves between the voice as speech and the voice as pure sound, between storytelling and its deconstruction. Andreas Tsiartas interlaces his own texts with poems of the Cypriot poet Vassilis Michaelides, and builds a music theatre that merges the Cypriot dialect with other languages, pushes the singer and the string quartet to the limits of their expressive powers, and opens up a rich field of sonic variety.

Ioannis Angelakis engages in dialogue with the aria “Lascia ch’io pianga” from Handel’s opera Rinaldo (1711), weaves the contradictions of disparate materials into a seamless unity between voices, instruments, and electronics, and reveals memory as fragile, distorted, and derailed. Margarita Ermidou converses with the world of Epirus’ folk song and focuses on a delicate balance between tradition and contemporary performance techniques. Giorgos Koumendakis reworks and recomposes the Smyrnaic songs of Marika Papagika, preserving their energy, subtlety, and authenticity, and constructs an original transition from past to future with no return. Finally, Dimitra Trypani draws on Pantelis Boukalas’ book The Oracle (1994), which evokes the prophetic words of Tiresias in a new form, unfamiliar from the Attic tragedies. The works of the second concert build bridges or create fractures, highlighting the past as a living organism that sings and resonates in the present—not as a fossil but as a promise. They invite us to reflect on the unrestrained power of imagination to redefine our traditions and transform our past into new aesthetic experiences in unexpected ways.

At a glance – Synopsis

Kharálampos Goyós

I Was Rejected for Lack of Originality

Suite from the opera Anthony’s Death

for string quintet (2025)

— “As I was watching him fall…”

— Intermezzo I: ”Unnatural stuff”

— “A cousin of mine used to say…”

— Intermezzo II: ”Don’t talk nonsense”

— “The others have got the hounds”

— Intermezzo III: ”Paule!”

— “Lucia! Dead!…”

— Intermezzo IV: ”In those days”

— Recapitulation: ”We, that keep missing the target”

Duration 15’

Composer's notes:
I Was Rejected for Lack of Originality is an attempt to test whether the music from the opera Anthony’s Death can survive when transplanted into the abstract conditions of a concert setting—detached from the text and dramatic framework that were integral to its conception. The piece was created following the kind invitation of Tassos Rossopoulos and Ioannis Angelakis, curator and assistant curator, respectively, of the Greek National Opera Composition Masterclass Cycle. The idea to adapt the music of Anthony’s Death for string quintet originated with the double bassist Yorgos Arnis. The conceptual chamber opera Anthony’s Death was completed in 2020 on commission from the Greek National Opera Alternative Stage and premiered there in 2021, directed by Dimitris Karantzas. The libretto, co-written with Yannis Filias, draws on memories of the animated television series Candy Candy (1976-79) and the philosophical writings of Slavoj Žižek.

— Kharálampos Goyós

Giorgos Vavoulas

Sigma Dia Epsilon

for male voice and ensemble (2025)

Duration 7’

Composer's notes:

Cold and solid, at dizzying heights, alone.
A human step approaches, pain.
I turned to see; I was torn in two.
The title Sigma dia Epsilon (s/E) refers to the physical relationship of stress to strain—to the way a body responds under load. The piece, composed between April and August 2025, is inspired by Franz Kafka’s short, enigmatic text “Die Brücke” (The Bridge, publ. 1931). The narrator does not know the purpose of his existence—nor does he question it. He exists simply as a structure, silently at the service of others. When external pressure is finally applied—perhaps in his first act of self-awareness, with a single turn of the gaze—the elastic limit is breached. And then, he collapses.

— Giorgos Vavoulas

Andreas Tsiartas

Vorvópila

for mezzo soprano and string quartet (2025)

based on poetry by Vassilis Michaelides, in an adaptation and with original text by Andreas Tsiartas

Duration 14’

Composer's notes:
Vorvópila, in the Cypriot dialect, means foul-smelling mud (from the ancient Greek word vórvoros). The text of the work is based on an adaptation of two poems—”O Ermis eis tin Kypriakin Voulin” (“Hermes in the Cypriot Parliament”, 1888) and “Mia Epistoli eis tin Kypriakin Dialekton” (“A Letter in the Cypriot Dialect”, 1881)—written during the British rule by the great Cypriot poet Vassilis Michaelides (1849-1917), as well as on texts by the composer. The (god) Hermes, embodied as a female figure, takes the floor in a Parliament. In a linguistic mishmash (Greek, English, Turkish), she denounces the country’s degradation and the Parliament’s utter indifference. Gradually, she becomes more “humanised”, and her sinking into apathy is even more confusing: Where does she end up? Does she give in, or resist this mire? This question reflects the reality of humankind to this day: no one takes a courageous and truthful stand in the face of events. The premiere of the work at the Alternative Stage will be presented in its concert version. I would like to express my gratitude towards the Department of Humanities of the European University of Cyprus for funding my attendance at two workshops (December 2024 and April 2025) via Erasmus, as well as to the Department of Contemporary Culture of the Deputy Ministry of Culture of Cyprus for funding my attendance at the June 2025 workshop.

Ioannis Angelakis

[ lived__space ]

for trombone, violin,^* double bass and electronics (2025)

Duration 14’

Composer's notes:
The musicians are asked to make sounds that cannot be fully controlled, are not fully notated, are inherently unstable, constantly moving, and come with their own logic of unfolding. They also make indeterminate vocal sounds, which are inextricably interwoven with their instrumental sounds and highlight a special relationship between their body, voice, and instrument. The goal is to create a sense of sonic unity, where the boundaries between the three instruments, between vocal and instrumental sounds, as well as between acoustic and electronic sounds, remain blurry; a sense that the instrument touches the voice while, at the same time, the voice sings through the instrument. By performing sounds that are embodied and autonomous, the three musicians construct a lived sound space, a constellation of interrelated bodies that develops and mutates within a demarcated space, just like a living organism.

— Ioannis Angelakis

Margarita Ermidou

I Reminisce and Rejoice

for tenor, trombone, cello and piano (2025)

Duration 6’

Composer's notes:
In this experimental version, the well-known folk song from Epirus “Alismono kai chairomai” (I Reminisce and Rejoice) is deconstructed and rebuilt into a new sonic landscape. The familiar melody appears and fades, fragments into repetitions, and transforms through sounds, improvisational lines, and unexpected rhythms. The goal is not to revive an old form, but to create a new experience where the past meets the present. The purpose is not to represent the past, but to transform it—to let “Alismono kai chairomai” be heard again, not as a distant memory, but as a living pulse resonating in the present.

— Margarita Ermidou

Giorgos Koumendakis

Point of No Return

for string quartet (2008)

Duration 14’

Composer's notes:
 The composer follows the trail of the anonymous creators of folk songs, rearranging or recomposing traditional musical themes, while preserving their energy and elegance, the authenticity of their primordial model, their pulse and soul. The work has been inspired by the voice of Marika Papagika in the songs “Manaki mou, manaki mou” and “Smyrneiko Minore” that she recorded in New York in the early 20th century. The work was premiered at the Pallas Theatre, Athens, on 20 October 2008 by the Kronos Quartet, to whom it is also dedicated.

— Yannis Tselikas

Dimitra Trypani

The Guardian

for cello, double bass, bass drum and choral ensemble (2025)

Text by Pantelis Boukalas (excerpt from his book The Oracle, Agra Publications, 1994)

Duration 4’

Composer's notes:
The Guardian is a musical choral monologue written in July 2025. The text on which it is based is from Pantelis Boukalas’ book O Mantis (The Oracle, 1994), in which the clairvoyant Tiresias speaks for the first time all alone and uncensored, without confrontations and conflicts, as we are used to seeing him in the Attic tragedies. In the work, a Chorus brings news of the future, becomes a messenger, prophecies what we want and do not want, shows the future and warns. The sparse, simple touches from the cello and double bass open the way to the empty space in which the choral speech—strictly structured, rhythmically and frequency-wise—is heard. The title The Guardian is used purposefully in English for reasons that will be understood during the performance of the work, which has a very pure theatrical form in its execution.

— Dimitra Trypani

Creative team – Cast

Artistic curator of the GNO’s Composition Workshop Cycle: Tassos Rossopoulos
Assistant to the artistic curator: Ioannis Angelakis

Musical direction Nicolas Vassiliu

Soprano: Niki Lada 
Tenor: Christos Kechris 

Choral ensemble: 
Iro Bezou, Dorita Chorafa, Marianna Kavallieratou, Valia Karagiorga, Maro Konstantinopoulou, Faidon Miliadis, Giorgos Nikopoulos, Christos Thanos, Dimitra Trypani, Nikos Ziaziaris

Ergon Ensemble:
Clarinet, bass clarinet: Kostas Tzekos 
Trumpet: Spiros Arkoudis 
Trombone: Andreas-Roland Theodorou 
Violin: Faidon Miliadis,^* Kostas Panagiotidis, Vasilis Soukas, Dimitra Triantafyllou
Viola: Krystalia Gaitanou 
Cello: Alexandros Botinis, Dimitris Travlos
Double bass: Nikos Tsoukalas 
Piano: Stefanos Nasos, Christos Sakellaridis

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