"Stamatis Spanoudakis is widely regarded as the most prolific Greek composer of his age. Versatile in his music for film, television, records and concerts, he uses a rich and original musical palette that conjures up different perceptions in the sphere of musical imagery. He explores both tragic and dramatic experiences with an eye and an ear for the musical representation of the perennial dilemmas and joys faced by mankind both in the past and present. To date, Stamatis has written concert works for rock groups, string orchestra, soloists and chorus. Future plans include compositions for wind, brass, tympani and percussion, adding to his fulsome output. Concerts, including those at the George Enescu Hall (Bucharest) and the Royal Albert Hall (London), have proven his international reputation and the forthcoming visit to China will set the seal on this remarkable artist’s achievement in bringing his unique brand of Greek music to the widest possible audience. I have had the privilege of conducting some of Stamatis’ concerts and I am continually impressed by the way he considers his music as a living entity that is constantly evolving and developing and is never completely set in stone." By William Relton - Conductor. Stamatis Spanoudakis says about the album: "Apart from Alexander the Great and Saint John the Apostle, Constantine Dragatsis Paleologos, the last martyr Emperor of Constantinople (the city built on seven hills, the New Rome of the Orthodox East) is the person hiding behind my music and my lyrics. Black Tuesday May 29, 1453 is a day we, his descendants still do not honour as we should. It is the abstract time around which I move. Here too, as in my previous records, I do not describe facts or situations, but I cloak my feelings and impressions with music, hoping that through this, sometimes arduous process, I will confront myself and eventually come face to face with my hero. Constantine was a Greek (in the sense that I and hopefully many others give to the word). Constantine was a king. A word that may frighten today's progressive minds, yet a word that as such, I like. Constantine was sacrificed for what he believed in and for what he represented. An era ended with him; an era still alive in the eyes of those who do not see only what is directly in front of them. After his death and the fall of his beloved Constantinople (and if it dies, may it live) the Middle Ages assailed us from all directions. I hope that one day we will succeed, not only as a country (an abstract, geographical notion, a notion much misunderstood) but especially as a people to look upon Greece as the Beloved One, granting her that blind and absolute love known to lovers all over the world. And this, not only through history books, scholarly but sometimes biased, but also through grandma's tales which hide more truth in their simple stories that all the books of this world. For Greece, grandmother, mother and sister. For Greece - the real Europe.