Greek Music

Το παρόν άρθρο βασίζεται στο «Βιβλίον Πρακτικών Σωματείου Μουσικών Λέσβου», ένα χειρόγραφο τετράδιο πενήντα φύλλων . Στις σελίδες των πρακτικών περιλαμβάνονται πολύτιμα στοιχεία για περισσότερους από 150 ενεργούς μουσικούς της Λέσβου της περιόδου 1945-1951, με πληροφορίες για τα όργανα που έπαιζαν, τη μουσική τους κατάρτιση και εμπειρία, καθώς και για τον τόπο στον οποίο δραστηριοποιούνταν. Επίσης, αναφέρονται στοιχεία για διάφορα επαγγελματικά ζητήματα των μουσικών, ενέργειες του σωματείου για τη διευθέτησή τους, στοιχεία για τους τρόπους λειτουργίας των ορχηστρών, ζητήματα αλληλεγγύης, κατοχύρωσης εργασιακών δικαιωμάτων, μέτρων ανακούφισης των άνεργων συναδέλφων, ζητήματα διαμεσολάβησης μεταξύ μουσικών και μουσικών κέντρων και ζητήματα ιατρικής περίθαλψης.

The comic opera "The Parliamentary Candidate" is the earliest opera using libretto in Greek, as well as extensive material of rural music, both from Ionian Islands and the mainland. It was premiered in Corfu in 1867 and does not glorify the ancient or the recent historical past, but on the contrary offers a realistic view of its current social and political situation. Due to its political critic against the corrupted politicians and their supporters after 1888 the structure of the opera has changed considerably. This fact contributed to the total misunderstanding of its aims and ideas until today. The Corfu Philharmonic Society, honouring the 150 years since its premiere and the 200 years since the birth of its composer , published for the first time the original 1867 vocal score in a bilingual (Greek and English) volume. More information and subscriptions in:
http://www.fek.gr/the-news/anakoinos/65-nea/850-epeteioi-2017?lang=el

Published by Ionian University-Music Department-Hellenic Music Research Lab and Corfu Philharmonic Society (ISBN 978-960-7260-63-5).
2017 marked for opera in Greece four anniversaries: the centenary since the passing of Spiros Samaras (1861-1917), the bicentenary since the birth of two important Greek opera composers, Spiridon Xyndas (1817-1896) and Domenikos Padovàs (1817-1892), as well as the 150 years since the premiere of the opera O ypopsifios [The Parliamentary Candidate] (1867, music by Xyndas and libretto by Ioannis Rinopoulos), which was both the first full-scale opera in Greek and the pivotal point for the emergence of opera in Greek language. Actually, this opera was revived by the Corfu Philharmonic Society in November 2017 in its original version honouring thus both the birth of its composer and the anniversary of its premiere.
The Hellenic Music Research Lab of the Music Department of the Ionian University and Corfu Philharmonic Society on the occasion of the aforementioned anniversaries organized the international conference entitled Opera and the Greek World during Nineteenth Century, which took place in Corfu, Greece, on 17, 18 and 19 November 2017.
Corfu, the seat of the Ionian University, was the birthplace of the three aforementioned composers. The San Giacomo theatre of Corfu, the earliest theatrical stage of the region, hosted opera performances already since 1733, contributing decisively to the dissemination of opera within the Greek world during 19th century. Moreover, Xyndas, Padovàs and Samaras presented in the same theatre their operas. Xyndas in 1840 was also one of the initial founders and professors of the Corfu Philharmonic Society and he dedicated to it certain of his operas. Padovàs also taught harmony and music theory in the Philharmonic, in 1857 he dedicated to it his opera Dirce and since 1884 he was appointed the Society’s artistic director. Samaras, a student of Xyndas during his early music training, had multiple connections with the Philharmonic Society and had been its honorary artistic director since 1889.
Given the above, the conference was not confined solely to the lives and the works of the aforementioned composers, but focused on matters regarding the place, the reception, the importance and the formative factors of the operatic activity within the Greek world during the “long nineteenth century”. This volume includes sixteen selected contributions covering areas such diverse as opera in the Ionian Islands, Athens and the Greek diaspora, analytical approaches and matters of reception both in Greece and abroad, and offers to the readers a wealth of information regarding opera activity in such places as Ermoupolis (Syros) and Smyrna, as well as aspects of the operatic “micro-history” of the Greek world.
Most of the texts of this volume are in English, but for those that are in Greek, extended abstracts can be found in the “Summaries” section.

This volume presents the essays of the conference  "Neohellenic Music. Issues of History and Historiography" (organized by the Corfu Philharmonic Society and the Hellenic Music Research Lab of the Ionian University's Music Department). The conference pays a tribute to the pioneer Greek musicologist and musician of the Corfu P.S. Spiros Motsenigos (1911-1970) on the occasion of the 50 years since his passing away. Initially planned to take place in March 2020 the conference was cancelled due to the Covid19 pandemic. Nonetheless, its papers were gathered in this collective volume, which offers important and original contributions towards the understanding of art music in Modern Greece, ranging from the 16th to the 21st cent. Abstracts in English and an Index of names can be found in the uploaded pdf file.

The Athens Conservatoire's 'History of Music in Modern Greece' is a 3 volume edition, which attempts to make an overall presentation of the continuous tradition of Music Creation and Activity in Modern Greece, dating from 1453 until today. The edition  contains the work of 12 scholars, includes 6 cds and is supported by KIKPE and Protovoulia 1821-2021. Volume 1 (1453-1864) is now available