Ilori

‘There are several dozen unique monuments of Georgian church architecture on the Georgian territories occupied by Russia (in the August 2008 war). The absurdity of Russian propaganda after recognising the independence of Abkhazia and the territory that must be called South Ossetia becomes obvious when one considers not only the large number of historical Georgian monuments in these territories, but also the elementary ignorance of the geographical conditions in this region. For example, the Caucasian mountain range (almost 4000 metres above sea level) cannot in principle have the function of a Berlin Wall (3.60 metres), which at times separated West and East Berlin.
Without wishing to delve too deeply into the confusion of history, I am convinced that Georgians, Abkhazians and Ossetians will have to continue to live together in the foreseeable future in the same way that they have lived together for many centuries. I believe that together we will have to prove that good is sometimes able to prevail over evil.
And regardless of the fact that the Russian Orthodox Church does not deny the authority of the independent Georgian Church within the generally recognised borders of a sovereign Georgia, the separatists have recently committed a number of acts that contradict this conviction.
A clear example of the Russification of Abkhazia is the endeavour to change the exterior of the Church of St. Ilori (11th century), thereby depriving it of all the elements that are characteristic of Georgian churches. The same church was suddenly given a new dome with a cross, typical of Russian church architecture, and its façade was painted yellow.
In my opinion, such a tendency is no less illegal than the permanent militarisation of occupied territories. ‘Amao omi’ (Senseless War) is the title of a poem by Wascha Pschawela. This was the name I gave to the original version of my work for saxophone quartet and chamber choir, written in 2005, three years before the tragic events of August 2008. I decided to give the new version for saxophone quartet and orchestra, written by the young composer Nika Memanishvili, the name of the Ilori Church, because the feelings of regret and indignation expressed in this work best correspond to my emotions in the face of the shameful acts described above.’ (Gija Kantscheli)