Anaktoria, for mezzo-soprano, clarinet, viola, cello and piano, is a setting of a poem by the Greek lyric poet, Sappho (625 BC - 570 BC). The work can also be performed by counter-tenor. Hatzis wrote this work in the summer of 1990 during a brief stay on Mount Pelion, Magnesia, Greece which overlooks the Gulf of Pagasae. Though Anaktoria is considered a stand alone work, it also appears as the third song of the cycle, Three Songs on Poems by Sappho, which was completed in 1993.
Born in Greece, educated in the United States and a Canadian citizen since 1985, composer Christos Hatzis (b.1953) is becoming widely known as a leading figure in contemporary classical music. His works are performed and broadcast throughout the world, and their frequent combination of a powerful spiritual foundation with an immediately accessible appeal has made a deep emotional impact upon audiences and performers alike.
