It is a musical performance of contemporary scholarly music consisting of works by composer George K. Papageorgiou and recitation of poems from the collection "The Flowers of Evil" by Charles Baudelaire. The musical work is written for a small orchestral ensemble (flute, clarinet, violin, cello, double bass, piano and percussion).
The artistic fulfillment is underwritten by the Chronos Contemporary Music Ensemble, consisting of leading musicians of the Cyprus Symphony Orchestra and the acclaimed actor Fotis Apostolidis, in the recitation of the poems.
In lieu of a note
In "Flowers of Evil", the melodic lines oscillate between neo-romantic melancholy, the neuroses of sounds and the demonic alternation of rhythms.
The scenery and the projections of Stavros Kika's visual works, like pieces of a large puzzle, complement the music, defining the dark palette of the work and acting as the metaphysical mirror of the protagonist's (narrator's) psychic drama. At the same time, scintillations of light imagery add faint notes of optimism, but these are almost immediately drowned in the depressing intensity and perversion of the speech and music.
The dense nostalgic melodies and the characteristic neo-romantic style of the composer, intertwine with the demonic sonic tensions. The rich timbre of the instruments shifts unexpectedly between the breakdown of the melody, imparting the sensitivity yet fragile psyche of a sickly bohemian existence, euphorically imprisoned between the melancholic romanticism of the 19th century and neurotic modern society.
The poet and his work
The Figaro newspaper wrote in 1857: 'Charles Baudelaire is the model of the cursed poets; after him nothing in modern art and thought will be the same'.
"The Blossoms of Evil" is one of the most important works of world literature and the poetic masterpiece that definitively defined modern poetry (what Homer is to poetry, Baudelaire is to modern poetry). It was first published in three different editions between 1857 and 1868 and because of the first edition Baudelaire was convicted of indecency with six of his poems being banned by the French judiciary.
In the work, disgust drowns the vile and the foul overrides the vulgar and unites with the obscene. A hospital for every insanity of the spirit.
Credits:
Music Composition/ Directoring: Giorgos K. Papageorgiou
Visuals - Projections: Stavros Kikas
Narrator - Actor: Fotis Apostolidis
Choreography - Dance: Stefani Pastellas
Orchestral ensemble "Chronos Contemporary Music Ensemble”:
Virginie Bove - flute
George Georgiou - clarinet
Sorin Alexandru Horlea - violin
Jacub Otcenasek - cello
Gergana Georgieva – piano
Photos by: Stefanos Kouratzis