Symphony of Sorrowful Songs was a concert devised and developed by myself in collaboration with David Harding OBE, former Head of Environmental Art & Sculpture at Glasgow School of Art. The concert featured a recital of Polish composer Henryk Górecki’s Symphony No. 3. Opus 36 (1976), also known as Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. Symphony No. 3 is a work for 86 musicians and Soprano and was performed by the Athens State Orchestra (KOA) and the Syrian Expat Philharmonic Orchestra (SEPO), on the opening weekend of documenta 14 in Athens at the Megaron Concert Hall, 8 April 2017 - which also marked the 40th anniversary of Gorecki’s composition.
SEPO was founded in Bremen in 2015 by Raed Jazbeh (Aleppo) and is the first Symphony Orchestra for Syrian professional musicians living in the EU. The Soprano was Grammy Award winning Syrian singer, Rasha Rizk, a refugee from Damascus resident in Paris. The Conductor was Daniel Raiskin. The Athens State Orchestra is the oldest orchestral ensemble in Greece. With a 2000 seat auditorium the Megaron Concert Hall is the largest classical music concert hall in Athens. A programme was published including statements by the artists, orchestras and conductor. Part of the concert proceeds supported the Athens State Orchestra ‘Pink Box’ initiative for refugee children and the programme of Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières.
SEPO and Rasha Rizk also performed a concert of traditional Arab music at the Eleonas Refugee Camp in the South East of Athens, 6 April. This concert was devised by myself and Raed Jazbeh (SEPO) and organised by documenta 14 curator, Marina Fokidis, documenta 14 curatorial assistant, Melina Spathari, and the Greek Ministry of Immigration, Athens.