Epitaphios (Ritsos)

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The Epitaphios ( Greek Επιτάφιος ) is one of the most important poetry cycles of the Greek poet Giannis Ritsos . It was set to music in 1958 by the Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis .

Emergence

On May 9, 1936, a tobacco workers' strike took place in Thessaloniki , which the police brutally suppressed. Shaken, moved and inspired by a picture in the newspaper "Rizospastis", on which a mother kneels crying over her dead son, Ritsos began with the poem of Epitaphios . The poem is composed of 20 numbered parts, each consisting of 16 verses in fifteen-syllable meter (decapentosyllab). Within two days, Ritsos completed the Epitaphios . The political importance of this work became apparent just 4 months after its publication - when almost 10,000 copies had already been sold and it was banned after Ioannis Metaxas came to power in 1936 and publicly burned in front of the pillars of the Temple of Zeus in Athens .

Dubbing

In 1956 the book "Epitaphios" saw its second edition. While in exile in Paris, Mikis Theodorakis asked his friend Yiannis Ritsos for a selection of modern Greek poetry from his homeland. Ritsos sent him u. a. also the "Epitaphios". Theodorakis set the poems to music within a few hours. He sent the songs to his composer friend Manos Chatzidakis to Athens. He chose Nana Mouskouri as the interpreter and made his own arrangements. In 1960 the record was produced, but Theodorakis was dissatisfied with the result, took the folk singer Grigoris Bithikotsis and the Buzuki player Manolis Chiotis and presented his own version of the Epitaphios songs. In contrast to the more westernized arrangement with Nana Mouskouri, Theodorakis limited his version to a minimalist arrangement, based on the traditions of Rebetiko, but also demotic music, the Ionian cantada and elements of church-Byzantine music. These two record releases of the same work sparked a controversy in Greece that reflected different aesthetic attitudes, but to a certain extent also social contrasts. The musical form of Rebetiko (“Rebetis” means “vagrant”, “work-shy”, “sloppy”) was brought to Greece mainly by refugees after the expulsion of 1922 and often describes the precarious fate of the refugees in dark lyrics and melancholy melodies, but also life in prison or the use of cannabis. Rebetiko's melancholy, gloomy, sometimes angry lament was the ideal musical genre for setting Ritso's works to music, as it does not share the solemn pathos of Chatzidakis' version, but does justice to the broken people in Ritso's work. Despite initial doubts from Ritsos, the songs in the "plebeian" version of Theodorakis became a huge success, reached the taverns, the "high poetry" of Ritsos was sung by ordinary people, even "eaten", as the poet later noted. The Theodorakis version prevailed and established the so-called "contemporary folk song" (Endechno Laiko Tragoudi), which still plays an important role in Greek music practice today.

effect

The explosive political power of "Epitaphios" can be measured by the fact that the work by Ritsos with the music by Theodorakis was again banned by the government in the summer of 1960. Opposition forces from the left spectrum quickly took up the message of the songs of "Epitaphios" and called for more freedom and an end to Karamanli's rule. Until the mid-1960s, the civil rights of the communists, especially their former fighters in the “Democratic Army” in the civil war, were severely restricted by the government's strict anti-communist stance.

The "Epitaphios" is one of the most important works by Theodorakis, as it represents his break with the modernist and elitist music business of the time and heralds his return from Paris to Athens. With "Epitaphios" a work of contemporary poetry was set to music for the first time in folk music. Until then, literature and “Laiko Tragoudi” had no connection. Theodorakis turns to Greek folk music , but at the same time this return marks his striving to create a "new Greek" music. The choice of the soloists and the arrangement of the songs by Theodorakis, as well as the aesthetic conception that was expressed in it, triggered a kind of cultural revolution in Greece and came into conflict with the ruling upper class. B. the bouzouki u. a. understood as a Turkish instrument, but the opposite side valued it as an old Byzantine musical instrument. The Rebetika also moved further in the direction of social acceptance, with "Epitaphios" the basis of the common clichés about Greek music was laid. B. are known from the film music for "Alexis Zorbas", but only represent a small part of the musical diversity of Greek culture.

Quotes

“Back then, I saw a photo in a newspaper with a mother complaining of mourning for her son. Tassos Toussis was the dead man who was murdered at a strike rally. The photo was published in the Rizospastis on the day he died, on May 9, 1936. In the same issue I also read the reports on the first large organized workers 'uprising, which had developed from a tobacco workers' strike into a general strike. The photo bothered me so much that I immediately began to write the 'epitaph'. With all the experiences that I had gained and preserved since childhood: the technique of the fifteen-syllable verse, the theater of Crete with 'Erofili' and 'Erotokritos', the poetry of Solomos, above all his poem' Die free besieged '. All these things had been buried in me, and I couldn't understand how they were suddenly there, as if they had just been waiting for this moment all these years. The next day the first two poems were printed in the 'Rizospastis'. I wrote the entire 'Epitaph' within two days, almost without eating or sleeping, often crying like a wailing woman from Mani. "

- Jannis Ritsos : from an interview with Asteris Kutulas , 1983

“The wonderful poetry by Jannis Ritsos, which is known to all of us, became a series of songs that prove that the composer Theodorakis can do more than just a song. I had recognized this 'more' and wanted to make it clear through the interpretation with Nana Muskuri. It is the first time that one of our composers has relied entirely on secular tradition. He manages to cope with the huge theme of the epitafio with very simple melodies. Behind the melodies is Ritsos' great poetry, which you can only really understand if you live here in this country. Theodorakis' roots go deep, and his experience with serious music has enabled him to express a lot with simple means. "

- Manos Chatzidakis : from a speech given to the Cretan Students' Club, 1960

“I think when I wrote Epitafios, I probably did nothing else than write down a few melodies that you all have heard in your imagination without your being aware of them. It is real folk music, and the function of the composer can be compared more with that of a nameless monk who puts the voice of the Holy Spirit on paper. I am a modern composer, but that didn't prevent me from penetrating our folk tradition and dealing with it as an observer who only selects, classifies and soberly processes the material. "

- Mikis Theodorakis : from a speech given to the Cretan Students' Club, 1960

Translations

  • Jannis Ritsos: Milos looped (Reclam-Verlag Leipzig, 1979): metrical-poetic re-poetry by Heinz Czechowski .
  • Jannis Ritsos: Poems (Greek-German) . Publishing houses Stroemfeld (Basel) and Roter Stern (Frankfurt am Main), Ss. 6–47, 1980, ISBN 3-87877-142-8 : Greek original and translation by Niki and Hans Eideneier .

Remarks

  1. ↑ From the movie Say: Heaven. Even if there is none. Encounter with Jannis Ritsos - director: Joachim Tschirner, scenario: Joachim Tschirner & Asteris Kutulas, camera: Rainer Schulz, Berlin 1984 (produced for the DEFA documentary film studio)
  2. ↑ Mikis Theodorakis: My position in the music scene. Edited and translated by Asteris Kutulas and Peter Zacher. Reclam, Leipzig 1986, ISBN 3-379-00034-5 , p. 67
  3. ↑ Mikis Theodorakis: My position in the music scene. 1986, p. 68

Web links

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