Sin is byzantine and Love is ancient

Love. “Light and darkness”. Archetype of life and bereavement. Primitive instinct of suffering, guilt, surrender, withdrawal, painful deception, but also of escape, resistance and redemption.

With the subtitle of “The songs of sin” as an initiative concept, with an austere, “vesper”-like sound, this concert attempts a re-approach of Manos Hadjidakis’ music and songs, observed through the sensitive interpretational viewpoints of Andreas Karakotas & Eleni Michalopoulou and through the orchestrational prism and timbral pallette (piano, violin, accordion, mandolin, contrabass) of the Plaza Ensemble.

A concert dedicated to “everyone that can still be “corroded” by music and song”.

The program comprises songs and instrumental arrangements from the song cycles: “Magnus Eroticus”, “Village named Desire”, “Blood Wedding”, “Songs of sin”, “Immortality”, “Mythology”, and more.

Song: Andreas Karakotas, Eleni Michalopoulou
Piano: Thanasis Bililis
Violin: Akis Archontis
Accordion: Costas Tsougras
Contrabass, mandolin: Yannis Polymeneris
Staging and lighting: Dimos Avdeliodis

Duration: 100min. (Intermission included)
Hall: Theatre
Tickets: €10

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Andreas Karakotas was among Manos Hadjidakis’ closest collaborators during his last creative period, and has been the interpreter of the song cycle “The songs of sin”, based on poetry by Dinos Christianopoulos and Yorgos Chronas. He has also interpreted Apostolos Kaldaras’ “Ballads of the Fringe” on poetry by the composer and Kostas Virvos. He has made premiere recordings for discography of songs by Nikos Mamagakis, Manolis Rasoulis, Michalis Bourboulis, Stamos Semsis, Yorgos Kazantzis, Vaggelis Yannakis, et al. He has collaborated with Mikis Theodorakis, Stavros Kougioumtzis, Nikos Xydakis, Thanasis Papakonstantinou on live concerts, with Dimitris Papaioannou on dramatic ballet (chorodrama) and with Dimos Avdeliodis on theatrical projects.

The PLAZA ENSEMBLE was founded in 2002 by Thanasis Bililis (piano), Akis Archontis (violin), Costas Tsougras (accordion) and Yannis Polymeneris (bass, mandolin). The members of the ensemble have studied music (performance, theory, composition, orchestration) in Greek and European Conservatoires and Universities, and for the last 20 years they have been performing and recording very divergent styles of music (classical music, contemporary or avant-garde music, soundtracks, Greek songs, nuevo Tango, jazz, improvised music, et al).

Every instrumental or vocal work that is incorporated into the Ensemble’s repertoire is adapted and re-arranged by the members of the group, aiming at both the projection of its idiosyncratic sound palette and at the suggestion of an original orchestration and interpretation of the work. The ensemble’s repertoire includes music by Astor Piazzolla, Nino Rota, Manos Hadjidakis and European or international film music composers. The ensemble has performed in Thessaloniki (Thessaloniki Concert Hall – 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012, at the 40th and 42nd Dimitria – 2005 and 2007, at the Thessaloniki Museum of Modern Art – 2010), in Zurich (Herbst in der Helferei – 2006), in Athens (Athens Concert Hall – 2009, American College – 2004 and 2006), in Rhodes (2nd International Rhodes Festival – 2008), etc. In 2011 their collaboration with soprano Sonia Theodoridou was published in CD under the title “Songs from the Big Screen” (Human Voice Productions, Berlin).