Nikos Giousef, Irene Tiniakou, George Katsanos – Adagios from the Underground (2LP)

In the Understage area of the Alexandra Trianti Hall, the musical saw in the hands of Nikos Giousef, and accompanied by piano, samplers and analog synthesizers, is transformed into a voice. An otherworldly child’s voice, a Siren’s voice or a castrato voice, as it has been described, it easily climbs to tonic heights that the human voice can only reach with great effort. The pieces chosen for the program reflect this criterion, with works such as the aria “Erbarme Dich, Mein Gott” from the oratorio of J. S. Bach’s St Matthew Passion, Ave Maria from Franz Schubert’s Ellens Gesang III, H. Purcell’s Music for a while as well as choral works like Lacrimosa from W. A. Mozart’s Requiem and the First part (Grave) from G. B. Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater. S. Rachmaninov’s Vocalise is also a very interesting choice for musical saw, a song without lyrics as it is. The program also includes two works by greek composers, Ioannis Planiteros’s Ina ti, written in the 17th century and still performed nowadays by local choirs in Zakynthos, and The Trawler from Nikos Skalkotas’s popular ballet The Sea, as a tribute to the great composer on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of his death. George Katsanos, in three ambient tracks of the album, is really traveling us in the mysterious amazing music world of “Adagios from the Underground”.