Search - Apostolos Paraskevas :: Visions of Azure

Alexandros Kalogeras (b. 1962) composed Seven Visions in the Shade of Azure for Apostolos Paraskevas, on the occasion of the Second Guitar Congress-Festival of Athens of 1993. The sounds used are exceptionally Greek in color, like the clear blue of the sky and the sea that the title suggests. The piece is in the form of a rondo, seven variations on the same motive, and technically very challenging. In A lí aube du dernier jour (Dawn of the Last Day), Francis Kleynjans relates the story of someone who is about to be executed in the guillotine during the French Revolution. The programmatic elements of this music are quite obvious to the listener: the piece starts with the sound of the seconds passing while in the cell, creating an atmosphere of suspense. The dawn comes and bells are heard; the guard opens the cell door (scratching), the steps of the guard (light strikes on the wood) blend with those of the prisoner, as the music becomes more and more anguished. The piece ends with the abrupt sound of the guillotine.