Charles Calomiris: Songs From The Lost & Found – Pano Hora Ensemble

This Da Vinci Classics CD includes works by Charles Calomiris, a Greek-born American composer. The notion of Pano Horas, signifying “Upper Villages,” manifests across diverse geographies, including Syros Island, the Taygetos Mountain foothills, and the Rocky Mountains’ Front Range in Colorado. These locales are linked by a shared enigmatic ambiance: Syros is the birthplace of rebetiko composer Markos Vamvakaris; Vordonia retains medieval grandeur within a backdrop of oregano scents and cypress trees; and the Colorado canyon resonates with red rock, sage, and pumas. In a Lost & Found by one of these Pano Hora, “lost songs” are invited from visitors. The songs’ provenance remains obscure, yet they bear compelling narratives. Obscured identities permeate the vanished songs’ themes. Guillermina Supervía and Rafael, exiled from Franco’s regime, taught in Washington, D.C., suggesting a student as the songs’ potential author. Emily Dickinson’s clandestine life birthed poignant 19th-century poems, often shared through letters. Allison’s fragmented operatic dreams, portraying a violin prodigy yearning for the American West, underline an incomplete score. Baroque humor pieces and Greek poet Fanis Tsoulouhas’ verses from “Sarcophagus” further enrich this collection. Traditional Peloponnesian dances – Kalamatiano and Tsamiko – commemorate heritage. “What Will I Say?” pays tribute to Coptic Christian victims of the 2015 tragedy. These scattered echoes intertwine, unifying diverse landscapes through lost songs’ unspoken narratives.