SOFIA LABROPOULOU
Spiral
Before the first sound you were already lost.
SPIRAL “Libertà vo cantando, ch’è sì cara, come sa chi per lei vita rifiuta.” “I sing of liberty, so dearly prized, as only those can know who have given their lives for her.”
Not out of fear out of need. The ground is not solid. The line is not straight. The path does not move forward Each turn a memory. Each memory a rejection. There are no flames only whispers and shadows. Some hold on. Some break apart. Some are waiting for you. All of them know. Wisdom does not lead it circles. You never reach the light you only come closer.
Based on Dante’s Comedìa, Purgatorio I.71–72, reimagined in the first person as in Dionysios Solomos’ opening to the Hymn to Liberty, «Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν ᾿Ελευθερίαν» (1823).
And when you think it’s over, something returns from deeper within, Quieter, more yours. There is no answer. Only the passage. And freedom, not as a gift. But as a cost.
1. Χάσμα CHASM The first breath of absence. (Getting familiar with the space before the question forms.) A chasm opens, neither fall nor ascent. The light that blinds is darker than night, and in it, shadows move with the weight of memory. The path circles back time as river, time as fire each turn devouring, each turn returning. Voices rise from the threshold, half-remembered, half-dreamt, not answers but reflections of the questions you carry. And once, in dream, you stepped inside it. The body dissolved, the weight released. You became one with that dark radiance. Not terror, but beauty. Not end, but embrace. Silence is not empty; it is initiation. You step through, not forward, but inward where absence becomes presence, and the unseen begins to speak.
2. O Virtus Sapientiae O STRENGTH OF WISDOM Composition and Poetry by Hildegard von Bingen (1098–1179) O virtus Sapientiae, quae circuiens circuisti comprehendendo omnia in una via, quae habet vitam,
O strength of Wisdom, you who move in circles and hold all things within one living way,
tres alas habens, quarum una in altum volat, et altera de terra sudat, et tertia undique volat.
you who bear three wings: one ascending, one rooted in the earth, one unfolding in every direction.
Laus tibi sit, sicut te decet, O Sapientia.
Praise to you, as is fitting, O Wisdom.
3. Μέρες Αργίας VIII DAYS OF IDLENESS VIII
A musical translation of the eighth sonnet from the homonymous cycle by Dionysis Kapsalis.
Μέρες Αργίας VIII Κάποτε γίνεται ο φόβος του θανάτου ύπνος βαθύς και τον σκεπάζει Τειρεσίας· σαν νυχτοφύλακας σε ώρα υπηρεσίας που αποκοιμήθηκε στην άγρυπνη σκιά του.
Days of Idleness VIII At times, the fear of death becomes a deep sleep, and a Tiresias covers it like a night guard on duty fallen asleep in his own unblinking shadow.
Γι’ αυτό προσφεύγουμε στη λύπη των ονείρων μ’ ένα υπόλοιπο ντροπής κι αθανασίας, κι ο μελανόπτερος επάνω μας σωσίας άλλοτε σκύβει λυρικός κι άλλωτε είρων.
That is why we seek refuge in the sorrow of dreams, with a residue of shame and immortality, while the black-winged double above us sometimes bends in lyric grace, sometimes in mockery.
Κι όταν βραδιάζει σαν αθώωση του ασώτου, κι ο ουρανός μετεωρίζεται και παίρνει όλο το μέσα της ζωής για να νυχτώσει,
And when evening falls, like the prodigal’s absolution, and the sky hovers, drawing in all the inwardness of life into night,
είναι επόμενο να στρέφουμε με τόση πνοή στη μαντική του δύναμη, ωσότου ο σπαραγμός του την καινούρια μέρα σπέρνει.
it is only natural we turn, breath held, to his prophetic power, until his anguish sows the coming day.
Dionysis Kapsalis, Μέρες Αργίας (Days of Idleness), Agra Publications, 1995.
4. Játékok - Un brin de bruyère à Witold In Memoriam Witold Lutosławski
Composition by György Kurtág (Games VII/6)
5. Détournements I & II I. An Intimate Discussion with Guy Debord
II. No Beauty Without Freedom. A counter-appropriation and deconstruction of the Greek folk song Dance of Zalongo
“However desperate the situation and circumstances, do not despair. When there is everything to fear, be unafraid. When surrounded by dangers, fear none of them. When without resources, depend on resourcefulness. When surprised, take the enemy itself by surprise.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War *
« Quelque critiques que puissent être la situation et les circonstances où vous vous trouvez, ne désespérez de rien ; c’est dans les occasions où tout est à craindre ; qu’il ne faut rien craindre c’est lorsqu’on est environné de tous les dangers, qu’il n’en faut redouter aucun ; c’est lorsqu’on est sans aucune ressource, qu’il faut compter sur toutes ; c’est lorsqu’on est surpris, qu’il faut surprendre l’ennemi lui-même.» Sun Tse, L’Art de la guerre *
*Guy Debord, Commentaires sur la société du spectacle (Comments on the Society of the Spectacle), Gallimard, 1988. English translation by Malcolm Imrie.
6. Untuned Ears Hear Nothing But Discord
A Utopic Encounter Between Emma Goldman and Iannis Xenakis Art, and above all music, must lead us toward total exaltation. High strung, like a violin string, life weeps and moans. Where the self dissolves in a rare and perfect truth Relentless, cruel, terribly inhuman. If, for a single moment, a work attains this, it has reached its goal. In a desperate instant, the string breaks. Untuned ears hear nothing but discord. But those who feel the agonized cry understand its harmony; And in that instant, A truth immediate, rare, enormous, and perfect.
Emma Goldman, The Psychology of Political Violence - Anarchism and Other Essays (1917). Iannis Xenakis, Musiques formelles (1963). Revised English edition, Formalized Music (1992), translation by Sharon Kanach.
7. Geçiş (Passage) and Exodus Featuring Yannis Saxonis, modular synthesizer in Exodus Transition, not arrival. The spiral turns again not to bring you back, but to remind you: “You were always already inside it.” 4’33” Move on
Sofia Labropoulou is a kanun player, composer, and improviser whose work moves between modal traditions and contemporary sonic exploration. Rooted in the musical languages of the Eastern Mediterranean and shaped by a constant search for new forms, she approaches the kanun as both memory and possibility, an instrument ancient in resonance, yet open to reinvention. Her practice unfolds at the intersection of composition and improvisation, poetry and silence. Whether performing solo or in dialogue with other artists, she seeks spaces where sound becomes gesture and structure dissolves into presence. Her first solo album, Sisyphus (Odradek Records, 2020), marked the beginning of this, a meditation on repetition, endurance, and inner ascent. Based in Vienna, she is the founder and artistic director of the Unbounded Sounds music series, a platform dedicated to artistic encounters across traditions and disciplines. With Spiral, she deepens her long-term exploration of expanding the kanun beyond its established techniques and vocabulary, opening it to new sonic territories and reimagining its place within contemporary music.
Recorded, mixed and mastered at Sierra Studios, Athens May, July & September 2024 Recording and mixing: Giorgos Kariotis Mastering: Christos Zorbas Kanun, Composition, Arrangements and Music production: Sofia Labropoulou Modular Synthesizer (track 7, Exodus): Yiannis Saxonis Artwork: Cover painting and sketches by Ilias Papailiakis Cover painting: The Shadow / Η Σκιά (oil on canvas, 80 × 80 cm, 2024) Seven sketches created exclusively for Spiral, each titled after a corresponding composition (pencil on paper, 14 × 12.5 cm, 2024) www.iliaspapailiakis.com Graphic design: Marco Antonetti Texts by Sofia Labropoulou www.sofialabropoulou.com www.odradek-records.com With gratitude To Homer, for the descent. To Dante, for the path. To J. L. Borges, for the myth behind the myth. To Mr. György Kurtág, for all the obvious, the sacred, and the hidden. To Ilias Papailiakis, who paints my dreams. To all the poets, philosophers, and artists whose words and shadows inhabit this musical narration. Especially to Mr. Dionysis Kapsalis, for his generosity. To Luca Bigazzi, Robyn Schulkowsky and Joey Baron, for their presence all along the way. To Yannis Saxonis, for his generous participation in Exodus. To Bernadette Mayer. To Maya. To Sotiris, for everything we share.
℗ & © 2026 Odradek Records, LLC, Lawrence (KS) USA. ODRCD711 All rights reserved. Unauthorized copying, hiring, lending, public performance, and broadcasting of this sound recording are strictly prohibited.