Ikonostas

Pavel Florenskij was a Russian theologist, scientist, philosopher and writer. A genius. Born on 1882, he was arrested shot in 1938. It was a political murder. His books have recently been published in Western countries. Reading them, I was especially fascinated by a poetical essay entitled ????????? - which I read in the Italian version published by Adelphi Edizioni and entitled Le porte regali (The Royal Doors). This books deals with the art of icon painting and introduces to a metaphysic of the images and of the light completely unknown to Western art. With the help of such a book, a sensitive reader can enter the doors of the Iconostasis, a border between the visible and the invisible world. Whilst reading Florenskij, it happened to me to listen to a recording of a Russian guitar piece performed on the Russian guitar by Matanya Ophee and by Stanley Yates. I asked their advice and help on a project of mine, writing a piece – if not for the 7 string Russian guitar – at least for the normal six string guitar, tuned in a way that approached the Russian guitar tuning. With their encouragement, in the Fall of 2004, I composed this work, conceived as a homage to Pavel Florenskij.