Activities

VOICES OF PROMETHEUS – Dimitris Kamarotos and Anna Pangalou

November 28, 2024

A composition by Dimitris Kamarotos for voice, wind instruments, and electronics

Performance by:
Anna Pangalou and the composer

Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 December 2024
at 19.30

Poet Percy Bysshe Shelley lends his voices to
Prometheus of Carl Heinrich Bloch.

“Do you hear this, hidden beneath the earth?”  *

A concert-performance at the CAMU, centered on the painting Prometheus Unbound by Carl H. Bloch (1864); featuring music by composer Dimitris Kamarotos, set to translated verses from the work Prometheus Unboundby the English Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1820).

The lyrical/musical work and its performance have been created for the Canellopoulos Museum as part of the exhibition “Prometheus Unbound – A Masterpiece Rediscovered” (https://camu.gr/en/activity/prometheus-unbound-masterpiece-rediscovered/).

Using the language of music and the Greek translation of P.B. Shelley’s verses, the performers bring the voices of natural elements from the poet’s lyrical work into a dialogue with the museum’s exhibits, particularly the painting of Prometheus Unbound.

Sounds, scattered in the museum spaces like a cluster of synthetic and natural beings, set the stage for an adventure of liberation. Composer Dimitris Kamarotos employs an expert system (AI) to create sonic “clouds”, from which the voices of P.B. Shelley’s creatures emerge.

The work unfolds as a sonic journey, exploring themes of non-violence, resistance to dogma, the ever-changing relationship between humanity and nature, and the need for the liberating power of imagination. Guided by the poet’s metaphorical language, ideas that permeate his work – as well as the progressive movements of 19th century Europe – are revisited. These ideas remain profoundly relevant even today.

The concert takes place at a unique meeting point, beneath the Acropolis, where memories of the past and our vision for the future intersect.

Sound designer: Costas Bokos

Duration: 45 minutes

Free admission with pre-booking
Booking by phone at 210 3319300, daily 10.00-15.00.

from Shelleys subtitle:
AUDISNE HAEC AMPHIARAE, SUB TERRAM ABDITE?

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
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Dimitris Kamarotos is a composer and musical dramaturg who contributes to the development of theater and film productions through music and sound design. After studying composition,   clarinet, musicology, and music analysis with Emile Damais, Marc Battier and Maurice Jarre, among others, he worked at IRCAM (Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique) and the Contemporary Music Research Center in Athens, where he collaborated with Iannis Xenakis as responsible for the UPIC. His music and sound design contributes to the development of theatrical dramaturgy. To date, his music has been featured in 14 performances of Ancient Drama at Epidaurus, as well as numerous contemporary theater productions with renowned directors in Greece and abroad. His compositions move freely between instrumental, vocal, electroacoustic, and electronic music. In recent years, he has been developing entire performances centered on music, utilizing acting codes derived from musical techniques.
https://dimitriskamarotos.com/
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Anna Pagalou
is a voice soloist, performative, and installation artist who explores the boundaries of classical vocal practices wιth new forms emerging from experimental sound practices.  She has studied classical singing in Cannes, Vienna, Rome, and Athens. Anna has been awarded prizes and scholarships from Onassis Foundation, Fulbright Foundation, and the International ‘Dimitri Mitropoulos’ Singing Competition, among others. She specializes in avant-garde and experimental contemporary music. Contemporary composers have written works for her voice.Her work with soundscapes and acoustic ecology, focusing on breath, time, and water in its various forms, has been featured in sound installation compositions in recent years. She seeks co-creation with artists and thinkers from diverse fields, exploring new paths of perception as a form of art.
https://www.onassis.org/el/people/anna-pangalou