lumen de lumine
One of Constantine’s frequent collaborators, pianist Maria Pikoula, is also featured pianist in From Sappho’s Lyre, having recorded no less than two hours of his chamber music. Pikoula gave the world premiere of Portraits (for two pianos) in the early 2000s in Toronto and has since recorded, edited, and performed Constantine’s work in the United States and Europe.
Recorded and mastered at Futura Productions in Roslindale, Massachusetts, by well-known producer John Weston, pianist Maria Pikoula’s first released CD Variations and Inspirations includes a deeply felt take of Caravassilis Lumen de Lumine (from the Book of Fantasias). In the liner notes, Pikoula remarks: “I also include in this album two musical works that are very to my heart and which deeply resonate with me in a spiritual sense, Gretchen am Spinnrade by Franz Liszt and Lumen de Lumine by Greek Canadian composer Constantine Caravassilis.”
Lumen de Lumine was written during my first encounter with Canada’s Northern Lights in the summer of 2004, near Winnipeg, Manitoba. After experiencing this extraordinary natural phenomenon, I came to the profound understanding that light can only be born from Light in spiritual matters. A few years later, I brought this piece to the home of the late Ann Southam and played it for her while discussing minimalism. Although Ann did not want me to change a single note, and we both considered the piece finished, I decided to change the opening after her passing. The work begins with the sound of the bells from the Metamorphosis Church of my hometown (Pythagorion, Samos Island, Greece) before and during a funeral procession, signalling Ann’s departure from the earth plane.
Lumen de Lumine is dedicated to the loving memory of my teacher and mentor, Ann Southam, OC (1937-2010)
—about lumen de lumine
—Constantine Caravassilis
Listen to Lumen de Lumine on YouTube: