City of Laval hosts launch of ‘Magic Recorder’

On December 9, the Laval city council chamber was the venue for the local launch of I Magiki Flogera (The Magic Recorder), a new Greek language children’s book and recording of a classic children’s story. It made waves in Greece by briefly displacing Justin Bieber on the radio.

Leaders from the Montreal Greek community, including Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal president Billy Balabanos, HCGM Secretary of Education Zoi Batsis, Hellenic Congress of Quebec treasurer George Koufalis and Socrates Educational Foundation vice-president Demetrios Yantsulis were among the more than 50 guests invited for a special presentation hosted by Laval executive-committee vice-president Basile Angelopoulos.

Memorable experience
“The Magic Recorder is sure to be a memorable event for all participants, children and adults alike,” Angelopoulos said. “The wealthy citizens of the village may have needed a supernatural intervention to learn their lesson, but talented children of the production here today needed only a little bit of literary magic and a dash of cross-cultural collaboration to learn all about the pleasure of working with their international peers.”
I Magiki Flogera is a classic story of German origin which tells a tale about ingratitude, greed and compassion. It is based on the folk tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, which goes like this: Hamelin is a rich city. Its inhabitants, however, are indulgent and selfish. When winter comes, Hamelin fills with thousands of mice, eating its residents out of house and home.

Pied piper’s story
When all hope seems lost, a man appears, dressed in colorful clothes and holding only a recorder in his hands. He promises to rid them of the mice, as long as the people agree to donate food and clothes to the poverty-stricken villagers. The Piper removes all traces of mice from the city, but the residents refuse to honor their agreement. So the strange little man teaches them a lesson that they — and we — will remember forever.
The book is accompanied by a CD with narration of the story and songs. In this transatlantic production, 54 children of Hellenic origin, from the Montreal region (mostly from Laval) of the Chroma Musika/Socrates children’s choir and Zouzounia from Athens sing, while accompanied by the Ensemble Sinfonia de Montréal symphony orchestra.

Collaborative effort
The project was a collaborative effort between Modern Times and Chroma Musika. It was written by Christina Mania, illustrated by Giorgios Sgouros, with music and lyrics provided by Yiannis Georgantelis. Maki Papagavriil narrates the tale. Interpreting the main roles are award-winning Montreal opera singers Maria Diamantis and Dimitris Ilias, as well as Marialena Spinoulas from Greece.
Directing the Ensemble Sinfonia de Montréal is renowned Quebec conductor Louis Lavigueur. More than 200 people collaborated on the production, which is believed to be the most elaborate of its kind ever produced in the North American Hellenic community. It was made with assistance from the governments of Canada and Quebec, the City of Montreal and the Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal.