Four Ancient Greek Songs (mixed chamber ensemble, voices)

Four Ancient Greek Songs was originally a part of Zeibekiko, conceived as a programme celebrating the heritage of Greek music from antiquity and the present day.

Zeibekiko includes music composed by Manos Achalinotopoulos, Christos Hatzis, Vagelis Karypis and myself. This four-song extract was arranged for the Auckland Chamber Orchestra following an invitation by Peter Scholes.

The four songs are:

Tecmessa's Lament (Anon., adapted from the realisation by the Atrium Musicæ de Madrid)

Song of Seikilos (Seikilos, adapted from the realisation by the Ensemble de Organographia)

First Pythian Ode (Pindar (text) / A. Kircher (music), adapted from the realisation by Petros Tabouris)

Hymn to the Muse (Mesomedes of Crete, adapted from the realisation by Petros Tabouris)

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Instrumentation

Counter-tenor

Female voice Flute (voice)

Cor Anglais (voice)

Clarinet, Bass Clarinet (voice)

2 Trumpets (I=voice)

2 Percussion

2 Double Bass

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When invited by the Netherlands Blazers Ensemble to create a concert-length program of Greek music, I decided to try and show the arc of music of that region from 2500 years ago to present day.

This required brand new learning about the music of Greek antiquity.

One of the best texts I found was by Thrasyboulos Georgiades, titled "Greek Music, Verse and Dance". This unassuming title hides a treasure of knowledge about the fusing of sound, word, and (dance) step in ancient Greek performance art.

M.L. West's book on Ancient Greek Music was also a great resource.

I found myself mesmerised by these beautiful works (mostly surviving only in fragments).

I eventually discovered the extraordinary audio recreations being produced by the Atrium Musicæ de Madrid, the Ensemble de Organographia, and Petros Tabouris.

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Here are two of the pieces performed by the Netherlands Blazers Ensemble

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And here's a live performance of the whole set