Meditations on the Seven Last Words of Jesus on the Cross

Based on Joseph Haydn's (1732-1809) work The Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross [Die sieben letzten Worte unseres Erlösers am Kreuze], Hob. XX:1b (1787)

Joseph Haydn vividly describes the Good Friday ritual in the Cathedral of Cádiz in Andalusia for which, in 1785, he was asked to compose seven slow movements for each of the Seven Last Words of Jesus on the Cross: "The walls, windows, and pillars of the church were hung with black cloth, and only one large lamp hanging from the centre of the roof broke the solemn darkness." Intense theatricality and a solemn atmosphere in a three-hour service for the Last Words of Jesus – a summation of his earthly action. The Seven Words are scattered throughout the Passion narratives as recorded in the four Gospels of the New Testament. They were compiled by many writers as early as the 2nd century AD and were gradually systematised in an attempt by early Christian theology to consolidate its teaching with a consistent and thorough account of the life, passion and death of Jesus. The series of Words we know today is traditionally interpreted as referring to the concepts of forgiveness, salvation, relationship, abandonment, distress, triumph and reunion. Through a performative reinterpretation of the Seven Last Words and Haydn’s music, this musical performance for narrator and string quartet under the dramaturgical supervision of violinist Fani Vovoni aims to read and hear them anew.

Brief biographical notes

Fani Vovoni

Studied violin at the Carinthian State Conservatory in Klagenfurt with Helfried Fister and at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts with Ernst Kovacic, from where she graduated with distinction (2007). She also studied baroque violin with Hiro Kurosaki and later with Reinhard Goebel at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg. She was a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra as well as the European Union Baroque Orchestra. Her main interests are historical performance practice and contemporary music. A further interest in modern performance forms led to a postgraduate course in applied dramaturgy at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna (2021). She is cooperating with various ensembles such as Klangforum Wien, Camerata Salzburg, Barruco, Concerto Stella Matutina, Il Pomo d’Oro, Black Page Orchestra, Ex Silentio, Latinitas Nostra etc. She has performed at many prestigious festivals throughout Europe, America and Asia. Her first performative and dramaturgical work was presented at the Music and Theatre Days Vienna (2019) and at the WUK Vienna (2020).

Christos Thanos

Actor, stage director and musician. He graduated from the Athens Drama School – Yorgos Theodosiadis. He has studied piano, guitar, theory and composition. He is the artistic director of Our Festival. He has directed the plays: The Descendants written by him and Iro Bezou, Kazantzakis’ The Serpent and the Lily, Interview and The Krausers' Game by the Emeis group, Mayakovsky’s A Cloud in Trousers, Jez Butterworth’s The River, For No One Above It Is Easy Below written by Idyli Tsaliki and himself. As an actor, he has collaborated with Theodoros Terzopoulos, Dimitra Trypani, Loukas Thanos, Spyros Evangelatos, Korais Damatis, Christophoros Christofis, Vassilis Nikolaidis etc. He has composed music for the theatre. He is the founder of the theatre workshop at the Eleonas Women’s Detention Centre in Thebes. In addition, he is an acting & improvisation instructor at the inclusive Liminal Open Days seminars.

David Bogorad

Danish-American violinist and violist. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Oberlin Conservatory where he studied with Professor Milan Vitek, baroque violin with Professor Marylin McDonald and viola lessons with Professor Karen Ritscher. He also received a diploma in viola with the highest honours from the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki. He made his debut with the Danish National Radio Symphony and has appeared since then as a soloist on both violin and viola with various orchestras in Greece, France, Denmark and the USA. As a chamber musician, he has collaborated with artists and ensembles such as Avi Avital, Kyoko Hashimoto, Ramon Jaffe, Mo Yi, Gert von Bülow, The Prima Trio, Trio Quintillian and the New Hellenic Quartet. He currently holds the position of Assistant Principal of the second violins in Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra.

Faidon Miliadis

Began his violin studies at the New Conservatory of Thessaloniki with professors Kostas Vozikis and Irina Dragneva. He then studied with Adrian Levine at the Royal College of Music in London and Kati Sebestyén at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, acquiring a bachelor's and a master of arts degree, supported by the Greek National Scholarship Foundation. His main focus has always been chamber music, performing in venues and festivals across Europe, while as a member of the European Union Youth Orchestra, he repeatedly toured Europe and America. Presently, he resides in Athens where he regularly collaborates with artists and ensembles on a wide range of projects, from early music concerts to avant-garde staged performances. As a soloist, he has performed with the Thessaloniki State Symphony Orchestra and the Athens State Orchestra, where he served as Concertmaster since 2021 and is now leading the second violin section. He is a founding member of the trio elGreco, one of Greece’s leading chamber music ensembles.

Alexis Karaiskakis-Nastos

Born in Athens in 1987. His artistic activities as a soloist and collaborative musician include performances in prestigious concert halls, in Greece and abroad, such as Megaron – The Athens Concert Hall, Thessaloniki Concert Hall, GNO Alternative Stage, Athens Epidaurus Festival, International Music Days of Kalamata, Onassis Stegi, SNFCC Lighthouse, Countess du Barry Music Pavillion, Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmed Cultural Centre, Davie Hall in Florida, Tonhalle in Zurich, Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania in Vilnius etc. He performs with equal flexibility baroque, classical and modern violoncello while his repertoire ranges from baroque to contemporary music. He studied at the State Conservatory of Thessaloniki, the Regional Conservatory of Boullogne-Billancourt in Paris, from where he graduated with distinction and two first prizes, and got his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Arts in Zurich. His violoncello professors were Yiannis Tsitselikis, Xavier Gagnepain, Raphael Crétien and Roel Diltiens and his chamber music professors were Ortense Cartier-Bresson and Stephan Goerner. He is an alumnus of the Athens College and an activist for a better musical future in Greece, elements that render him obnoxious.