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20th century; The three main Greek music composers of 20th century
How music and musicians shape the cultural heritage of a country
by Andriana Diamantidou
The 20th century is called the century of “New Music”.
As it is well known, the first half of the 20th century is written in red in history, including two World Wars and millions of victims. At the same time, science and technology experienced great development and discoveries that succeeded one another. Music, of course, could not be absent from this innovative change that the whole world experienced.
In general, what happened in the field of art at that time was a mix between conservative, old, liberal, and progressive elements. But first, let’s talk a little bit about music in general and its important role as a part of our (intangible) cultural heritage.
Music keeps cultural heritage alive.
Music has deep roots in any culture. Even though it is not something physical, such as sculptures or monuments, its importance is noteworthy, and it can describe a culture in a more creative way. People, not only in ancient times but nowadays as well, create music and make songs through which they intend to attract any “stranger”, who wants to learn more about their way of life. It is not only about welcoming strangers and opening up to them, but also about giving them the opportunity to hear new sounds, learn about new instruments, and probably create the desire to get involved in something that was completely foreign to them until that moment.
Mikis Theοdorakis (Μίκης Θεοδωράκης)
Born in 1925 on the Greek island of Chios, his musical influences from a very young age were mostly Byzantine music. He has written music for cinema, theater, composed classical music, symphonies, ballets, operas, etc. His songs have also been performed by foreign artists, such as the Beatles. His Greek syrtaki for the Zorbas movie was globally associated with Greece.
Examples:
"The honeymoon song” is the song that The Beatles recorded on their radio show “Pop go the Beatles” in 1963
Ena to chelidoni (Ένα το χελιδόνι)
Ο choros tou Zorba (Ο χορός του Ζορμπά)
Manos Hatzidakis (Μάνος Χατζιδάκις)
Born in 1925 in the Greek town of Xanthi, he was engaged in songwriting, poetry, and piano. In 1961, he won an Oscar for the movie "Ta pedia tou Pirea" (Τα παιδιά του Πειραιά) for the best original song. As a result, he is widely known abroad. He lived in New York and traveled to London, Paris, and Brussels. In July 1972, he decided to move back to Greece. He was the first to try to combine Greek traditional music with classical music.
Examples:
Ta pedia you Pirea (Τα παιδιά του Πειραιά)
Chartino to feggaraki (Χάρτινο το φεγγαράκι)
Vasilis Tsitsanis (Βασίλης Τσιτσάνης)
Born in 1915 in the Greek town of Trikala, he is considered one of the most important composers of rebetiko and folk music. Rebetiko is the name of the music that appeared in Greece at the end of the 19th century. It evolved in the port of the cities where the social class lived, taking influence from the migration, poverty, social injustice, prostitution etc.
Growing up in a poor family and having lost his father at a very young age, he started playing music in order to get his pocket money. He never followed any particular seasonal music style, however, he had some tracks that can be considered classical.
Songs:
Mi mou ksana figis pia (Μη μου ξανά φύγεις πια)
To vapori ap’ ti Persia (Το βαπόρι απ’ τη Περσία)
Mpaxe Tsifliki (Μπαξέ Τσιφλίκι)
