On 24 May 1996, Mikis Theodorakis was awarded the gold medal of the University of Crete by the Dean Giorgos Grammatikakis. After the senate's decision had been read, Mikis Theodorakis spoke about his adventures in the world of lyric creation. An excerpt from his speech is published here in which he describes the atmosphere surrounding the composition of Electra, as well as its musical and ideological foundations. "...I could say that at this moment I am at the most crucial point in my efforts at composing. I have finished composing the lyric trilogy Medea, Electra, Antigone, (which, with the addition of Kostas Karyotakis, may perhaps become a tetralogy in the future) and now I am at the critical point of familiarising the Greek public with this new group of works. Coincidentally, two months from today Electra will be performed at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, thus marking the beginning of my collaboration with Nikos Koundouros. Up to now, our creative paths did not happen to meet, but it is strange that in these `pregnant' times (to quote my friend Harilaos) we are together. I will never forget a boat trip off Aghios Nikolaos, when for the first time we talked about a political-cultural movement, which was later to take the form of the Lambrakis Youth Movement. Today the time has come for me to acquaint the Greek public with my new work, the "Lyric Trilogy". It is a difficult venture, as this time I have moved away from all the familiar sounds with which from the very beginning I won the trust of the Greek audience. Even in the Axion Esti, which was a big step due to the presence of a symphony orchestra, a mixed choir and advanced techniques of musical composition, there was the popular singer and the popular instruments to satisfy even the most extreme tastes of the Greek audience as regards popular sound. In the "Trilogy", I would like a person new to my music to make a great mental and spiritual effort in order to derive aesthetic pleasure from elements previously unknown to him. I am not referring so much to the myths -which are more or less familiar- as to the purely musical elements. Melody, of course, comes first. For those who are familiar with my work, it will be relatively easy to recognise the common root. In contrast to what is usual in the West, where between two melodies there are numerous technological elements, I, influenced as I am by the long Byzantine "melismata", the "rizitika" and the "songs sung round the table" (tragoudia tis tavlas), have treated each complete opera (the term is conventional) as a continuous melody, as a song-river, from beginning to end. Of course, this new melodic conception, even though it often allows whole songs, cannot have any relation to my well-known melodic style. And maybe it is exactly this, that is, the existence of a melodic world with which the Greek public has identified me, that will be the greatest obstacle in my new endeavour. Because now the public - at least those who love my music - must learn that there is another Theodorakis, a new Theodorakis, and they must discover him and if possible create the same close relationship with him that they had with my previous work. So much for the world of melody. Beyond that, the real difficulties begin. as they take us away from what we know, from familiar sounds, from our own favourite shades of sound. I am referring to Harmony and Orchestration. Indeed, during the period of rigid dogmatism in the Byzantine Church, which did not allow the organ in orthodox churches and subsequently during the four centuries of Turkish rule, in the West the technology of music was being developed, while in the East, music remained monophonic with rudimentary harmonic support. Besides, instrumental music, after a long period of searching, resulted in the creation of that wondrous instrument of sound which is the Symphony Orchestra. Our own harmonic revolution in the field of popular music occurred just half a century ago, with the songs of the Tsitsanis "school". Naturally, the harmonic richness could not be anything but rudimentary. So as not to lose contact with the wider Greek public, we, their successors, moved within approximately the same harmonic specifications with a few steps towards more daring harmonisation. In the same way, orchestrations were based on the main popular instruments. When I decided to use a symphony orchestra, counterpoint and a choir in Axion Esti, for about four years I was hesitant about presenting it, fearing that the public would turn their backs on me. I can't hide the fact that I have the same fear now. Yet, how much longer should we hesitate? All things considered, all these technological achievements may have taken place in the West, but under certain conditions, they can also be accepted by the Greek public. When I say the Greek public, I do not mean all those who have access to Western music. Neither am I concerned with how much they can identify with that music. Here we are starting out on a journey into the field of Greek music, which we connected tightly with Greek poetry at just the right time; as a result, a new form of music emerged, which moved the Greek people of today. It is this public that I am referring to. It is this public that I am aiming at. My work with Nikos Koundouros in staging Electra may mark the beginning of a new attempt to bring the wider Greek public nearer to the world of new lyric works, which, like Axion Esti, March of the Spirit or Canto General, belong to the great popular oratorios. The difference is that here we have new elements: drama, tragic figures, violent conflicts and the presentation of the ancient Chorus in a modern form which would be closer to the mental and spiritual reality of the contemporary Greek listener-spectator. May this first attempt -essentially the first towards a Popular Lyric Tragedy- bring us all closer to the unattainable world of the ancient tragedians and, at the same time, mark the emergence of a new Greek musical-poetical-dramatic world which will contribute to the development of world music." © 1996 by
Mikis Theodorakis
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