A novel and its music
On your way back to your homeland, you suddenly find yourself in a dream-like situation, where pieces from your past come alive. Is this a dream – your life, your loved ones who are no more? Or is it that you are going from fantasy to reality and back again? Does the dream mimic life, or is life, in the end, nothing but a dream? Nikos Houliaras’s latest book, «To Ergastirio tou Ipnou» (The Sleep Workshop), lies at the heart of tonight’s Orchestra of Colors event at the Melina Mercouri Foundation. Part of a series of events titled «Windows in the Night,» and «curated» by poet Ioulita Iliopoulou, it involves a contemporary work of literature presented with an original musical score written especially for the occasion. Excerpts from the book were chosen by Ilioupoulou, in order to provide a complete picture of the novel, and will be narrated by actor/director Stamatis Fasoulis. The original score was composed by Dimitris Sykias and will be interpreted by pianist Vikki Stylianou, flute player Ivona Glinka and cellist Vangelis Nina. «The main characteristic of the author’s novel is the dream element. He leaves the reader hanging in a situation that is not clearly reality or dream. It is this twofold quality that the music will attempt to describe,» said the composer. «The parts which were composed in order to accompany the narrator as background music were developed through the computer. The interludes, on the other hand, were composed for traditional instruments, the piano, the flute and the cello.» Melina Mercouri Foundation, 9-11 Polygnotou, Plaka, tel 210.331.5601. Starts at 8.30 p.m.
