Potirion Sotiriu
Victoria Bond
About this work:
Premiere: February 9, 2000 Nebraska; Paul Barnes
Commentary: The idea began as a fragile melody, sung by the pianist Paul Barnes, on a foggy hillside in the Czech city of Zlin. Paul and I were on our way to a recording session for my first piano concerto and he was relating to me his ecstatic experiences singing in the choir of a Greek Orthodox Church. I asked him to hum the melody of one of the chants, and he sang, in a beautiful and clear voice, a melody, which in Greek is called Potirion Sotiriu meaning "Cup of Salvation" in English. The melody was haunting in its purity and profundity and I resolved, then and there, to incorporate it into a piano piece for Paul.
Year composed: 1999
Duration: 00:15:00
Ensemble type: Keyboard:Piano
Instrumentation: