Athos

Athos (2004) (3:39) for Violin. Copyright © Mihai Popean, 2004. All Rights Reserved.

Cover image: Tensionart (Ion Oroles Manolache). athos-mountain-greece-orthodox-1457162 (https://pixabay.com/en/athos-mountain-greece-orthodox-1457162/), CC0 Creative Commons license, Free for commercial use, No attribution required. Used by permission.

Popean, Mihai. Athos Op. 9 No. 2 The Path to Enlightenment No.2 (2005) (5:00)

Program notes

Athos (2004) is the second work in a cycle of seven meditations for violin solo entitled The Path to Enlightenment. The collection was written for and dedicated to violinist Ioana Galu who premiered Athos at the New Music Festival in Heidelberg, Ohio. The seven works present seven different spiritual journeys, Athos representing “the way of the monk” and the element air. A programmatic work, it is based on an ancient Chinese fable and was inspired by the composer’s visit to several religious sites around the world – the Meteora and Athos monasteries in Greece, the Holy Sites in Israel, and several monasteries in Romania. In a musical language derived from a four-note cluster (G#-A-B-C) and structured on a vertical architecture, Athos recreates for the listener the spiritual journey of one’s quest for spiritual truth.

Performances:

Student Composers’ Forum, Bryan Recital Hall, Moore Musical Arts Center, Ioana Galu – violin, Bowling Green State Unievrsity, OH, USA, Sept. 18, 2008.

Student Composers’ Forum, Bryan Recital Hall, Moore Musical Arts Center, Ioana Galu – violin, Bowling Green State Unievrsity, OH, USA, Oct. 3, 2006.

Werner Recital Hall, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Ioana Galu – violin, University of Cincinnati, OH, USA, June 1, 2004.