To Vima tis Kyriakis | Culture
Print Edition | 08.04.2026 | 11:17
Journalist: Kosmas Vidos

Nikos Spanatis: "A Detox for the Soul"

Countertenor Nikos Spanatis discusses the Easter religious music concert "Sacri Respiri," which he will present alongside the STAB Quartet.

An evening dedicated to Christian lamentation and the mystique of the Baroque—an idiom perfectly suited to the devout atmosphere of Holy Week—as well as contemporary compositions. This double concert, titled "Sacri Respiri" (Sacred Breaths), will take place on Holy Wednesday (18:30 and 20:30) at St. Paul's Anglican Church (27 Filellinon St., Syntagma).

The saxophone ensemble STAB Quartet and countertenor Nikos Spanatis will perform works by Vivaldi ("Stabat Mater"), Pergolesi ("Salve Regina"), Bach (Brandenburg Concerto No. 3), and contemporary composer Marco Rosano ("Stabat Mater"). As the evening's soloist points out, they approach religious music as a "space" where the breath of the wind instruments and the human voice transform into prayer and catharsis.

What does it mean to you, Mr. Spanatis, to perform religious music within the spiritually charged context of Holy Week?

"During Holy Week, regardless of our personal beliefs, we 'hold our breath' in the face of the drama of the God-man, the archetype of passion and loss. This period is a 'rift' in time. My collaboration with a group of exceptional musicians is not merely an artistic interaction, but a mystical experience—a shared 'breath' with the audience, as reflected in the concert's title, 'Sacri Respiri' (Sacred Breaths). Through the lament of the Virgin Mary, we are not simply performing religious music. We become communicants, creating an ideal musical harmony and urging the listeners to identify with the Christian lament."

There is a strong dramaturgical arc in the program, spanning from Pergolesi to the contemporary Rosano. How do you approach the transition from the Baroque era to the present day?

"My approach is not just a leap through time, but the weaving of an invisible thread that runs through the agony of loss, the tragic figure of the Virgin Mary during the Crucifixion. Pergolesi, Vivaldi, and dozens of other composers set this lament to music with deep reverence, utilizing the unsurpassed architecture of the Baroque. The contemporary Italian composer Marco Rosano enters this world, but with the thoughts and anxieties of a modern individual. He reshapes the dramatic religious emotion, bridging the contemporary with the Baroque, like a shared devotional prayer. And despite the gap of centuries, the heart that beats anxiously beneath these notes is exactly the same."

We live in an era of speed and digital consumption. Do you believe there is still room for the "silence" and focus that religious music demands?

"Precisely because of digital overconsumption and incessant noise, we have an urgent need for 'silence.' During these days, religious music acts as a 'detox' for the soul, an antidote to the shallowness of speed."

How did your collaboration with a saxophone ensemble like the STAB Quartet come about, and what new element does it bring to the sound of religious music?

"The idea belongs to my dear friend and excellent colleague, Guido de Flaviis. The timbre of the STAB Quartet's wind instruments, combined with the deep resonance of Dimitris Tigkas's double bass, beautifully embraces the peculiar voice of the countertenor. I was thrilled from our very first rehearsal. I am certain that the sonic result will create a profoundly moving atmosphere. In the public consciousness, the saxophone has been erroneously linked primarily to jazz. Wind instruments, much like singing, 'breathe' to create sound. So, returning to 'Sacred Breaths' as an ensemble, we infuse breath and life into centuries-old sounds. Thus, this great music of the past is molded into something vividly alive today."

As a countertenor, you serve a vocal type often associated with historically informed performance. How "contemporary" can this voice become today?

"The countertenor's voice is the most suitable one to transport listeners back to the Renaissance and Baroque eras. However, from the early years of my vocal studies, I was interested in expanding my repertoire with romantic and contemporary works of varying styles and sounds, ranging from composers like Kurt Weill and Philip Glass to Manos Hatzidakis and Giorgos Koumendakis. The voice of a countertenor has historical roots, but today it sounds more contemporary than ever—albeit often otherworldly, an androgynous and alluring voice that transcends the conventional. After all, many modern composers have written music specifically for it. I refuse to treat my sound as a museum exhibit. My sound is the canvas, but the colors come alive through my personal approach, depth, and historically informed execution. I strike a balance by fully respecting the stylistic nuances of each era, while simultaneously singing with the emotion, technique, and joy of a 21st-century performer."

What role can art—and specifically music—play in a world that feels increasingly unstable and noisy?

"It cannot silence the unbearable noise of our times, nor can it put an end to global suffering or economic crises. It functions, however, as the ultimate antidote to cruelty. In our deafening century, the spiritual depth of music serves as an intangible refuge for empathy, for solace, for redemption, for an inward return to our unblemished core. It is a quiet revolution that unites us in our shared vulnerability."

If the audience were to leave the concert with a single feeling or thought, what would you want that to be?

"Stepping out into the night air of downtown Athens, I would want them to feel that they took that redemptive, deep, cathartic 'sacred breath' we all so desperately need. I want them to carry with them the thought of the serenity we feel when we have silently shared a sorrow and no longer feel alone. No matter how dense the darkness of human suffering or the Divine Drama may seem, redemption becomes the light that is already silently dawning within us."