Four Love Songs, op. 5: for Soprano and Piano

Four Love Songs, op. 5: for Soprano and Piano (1997)

Lyrics: Katerina Stamatelos.

Duration: 9 minutes.

Four Love Songs: World Premiere Information

Karin Laine, soprano

Katerina Stamatelos, piano

Composers’ Workshop Concert, Clapp Recital Hall, The University of Iowa, School of Music, Iowa City, IA, February 23, 1997.

Four Love Songs: Program Notes

When the premiere of the Four Love Songs took place, my composition classmates (mostly young men) gathered around me to ask me "who" had inspired this poetry! I answered to them "nobody": and it was a fact. The poems were written during my adolescence (between 14 and 17 years old!). I had not known "love" yet. So, even for me, this poetry was perplexing. I reflected a lot about the question set by my classmates and, finally, I understood. The poetry clearly referred to a strong love experience of the...past! But, which past??? That was the main question.

At that time, I believed in reincarnation (I don't anymore). Under this perspective, this poetry made sense: it was a clear narration about the loss of a very strong love. Of a love that had waited for eons to be reborn: the poetry spoke of the longing for a reunion with my "Beloved One"!

The Beloved-One-That-Never-Came: the naivete of adolescence...Or simply...a

Fairytale: real love does not exist and every sensitive woman finds that out-sooner or later. Or, better, real love DOES exist-but only within yourself-not outside! A depiction of this kind of love has been manifested in the poetry used for my Daemon Songs. This poetry 'came out of nowhere' and, as I found out later, was prophetic. It deals with the Holy Matrimony (Ιερος Γαμος) of the alchemists. 

The painting above has been created at the age of 14, same age as the first on the Four Love Songs:  it pictures a 'small harbour' exactly as in that particular song!

Four Love Songs: The Recording

The recording of this composition was done during the live performance of the work at its world premiere, as stated above.

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