“SAVIOUR”
A Christmas Musical
“Saviour” is the first English-speaking musical written by a Greek which has circulated on the international market. It was written in 1999 to honour Jesus’s 2000th birthday celebrations, but it did not take its final form until ten years later.
The CD received the sponsorship of the ″Attica Tradition″ Educational Foundation and was released by ″Music Bank Records″. Michael Seraphim is responsible for the arrangements, while Secundo Buhagiar, the executive producer, was the motivating force behind the production. Twenty-four singers – chosen from the students, graduates and friends of Deree College (a division of The American College of Greece) – and fourteen musicians, participated in the recordings.
“Saviour” is the familiar story of the advent of Christ on earth, seen under a different light. It relates not only the birth of a Saviour – the hope, faith, and jubilation that characterize it – but also the death of the children who were slain for His sake, the deception, misuse of power and intense sorrow that are associated with it. Jesus’s message of love is the power that balances and blends it all.
The CD was presented in the Studio Theatre of The American College of Greece on December 7, 2009. Dr. John S. Bailey, president of the “Attica Tradition” Educational Foundation, offered welcoming remarks. Ms. Tatiana Papageorgiou – pianist, musicologist and instructor of music at Deree College –, Very Reverend Father Maximos Pafilis – theologian, historian, preacher at the Holy Metropolis of Thessaliotis and Fanariofersala, and Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece – and Olga Emmanuel spoke about the work. The program included videotaped interviews of the soloists and live excerpts from the CD, which were performed by the singers participating in the production, as well as students of Deree College. Actress Victoria Colsuzian presented the program and linked the songs as a narrator.