THE MYTH OF GREEK MUSIC
Apr 25th, 2007 by kendi
Yannis Markopoulos born in Heracleion, crete in 1939. is one Greece most renowned composers. His love for Metanastasties(immigrants)led him to compose songs that he played at a Gala concert organised for Refugees. His personal path in music has led to a dynamic course of new compositions that have evolved with time.
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH MUSIC? YOU STARTED PRETTY YOUNG. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
I was twelve when I composed my first melody, but music came to me much earlier. It was a major part of my life while growing up, especially coming from Crete which is between three continents,–Asia Africa, and Europe–that exposed me to different kinds of melodies. Music automatically becomes part of you. My mother was also instrumental in getting me interested in music. She took me to lots of conservatories where I learnt to play the clarinet and violin. When I was seventeen, I left Crete and came to Athens to study law and to learn to read and write music. I later studied under Yorgos Sklavos, a very important Greek who helped in developing my interest in music.
YOU WERE ABLE TO CREATE YOUR OWN PATH IN MUSIC. HOW DID THIS COME ABOUT AND WHAT HAS KEPT YOU GOING OVER THE YEARS?
Ethnic music originated from me which is why I am often times referred to as the father of ethnic music, I am a person who searches and in searching I have found that the magic of Africa really overwhelms me,and this has played a great role in the musicalmovement that I express called “return to the roots.” This means a planning of the future, life elements of the past and the people of the world. Also, a combination of modern data information impacts my path in music. Besides,talent and knowledge are very important keys that enable you to continuously create a path or role.
YOU PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN HELPING TO TOPPLE THE DICTATORSHIP. WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED?
My father was in prison during the German occupation and in Crete we had over a thousand battles for independence so I became a great believer in independence and liberation. My mother, who is from a very liberated part of Crete, Sfakia, taught me from an early age the essence of freedom using songs whose lyrics emphasized the importance of liberation. These songs created a dynamic understanding and expression about how we got our independence or democracy. So this pushed me to compose songs that became hymns during the dictatorship and were instrumental in toppling the dictatorship, but the politicians don’t like this idea. They like to believe they toppled the dictatorship.
GREECE IS A GROWING MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY. WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT THIS? AND DO YOU THINK YOUR MUSIC WILL INFLUENCE THE MIGRANT POPULATION?
In my opinion, there are two kinds of music, popular music and personal music. Very often the big elements of popular music help in our personal music because I believe that people create popular music. But popular music has a reason for being played, maybe during festivals, celebrations, weddings, etc. In all cases, my personal music has left the path of popular music. Very often it serves the path of the theatre and opera. Now it is the epoch of compositions and multi compositions, and it embodies the unification of the arts. This must be done with a philosophy which Greece has had from ancient times before it went into renaissance. My point is that exchange is pivotal in growth and development which creates change. I write music that is expressed through symphonic instruments and with local instruments. This has universal appeal.
WHAT ABOUT AFRICAN MUSIC? WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT IT?
I very much like to hear the rhythms of Africa . I heard the wonderful Burundi ensemble with thirty percussions, instruments playing together to create a wonderful atmosphere of string and rhythm. I am not sure if Africa has found her face. They should not take foreign songs and combine with traditional songs. Nobody should import the sea to the land of the sea.
YOUR MUSIC HAS A UNIVERSAL APPEAL.YOU ARE APPRECIATED ALL OVER THE WORLD. HOW DOES THIS MAKE YOU FEEL?
I feel very glad; I see that very minimal elements exist worldwide. I have had the opportunity to meet some great musical talents like Phillip Glass, John Lennon etc. It says a lot about how useful the art of music is, especially how much education is needed so we can feel close to it, appreciate it and understand it. Unfortunately the market has destroyed the true essence of music, and people without talent have come into music and they create unpleasant music. These classes of people write for the public without touching the public.
WHAT ABOUT IMMIGRATION? YOU PERFORM FOR REFUGEES. TELL US MORE ABOUT YOUR INVOLVEMENT WITH THE REFUGEES AND WHY.
I wrote the metanasties (immigrants) because I wanted to express the feelings and the knowledge of the person who works in a factory or other industries in Europe having left his village or country behind. Unfortunately this work was not translated worldwide. Today migrants appreciate the work and derive a great deal of comfort and inspiration from it. Immigration exist around the world and wherever you find an immigrant, you find a people who deserve to get their rights, live their lives comfortably, have their education and build their lives. It’s no longer easy to expel them because they carved a niche for themselves. They play a very important role in their new country and are often the most vibrant influence within their adopted countries. If you consider the blacks in America , they were initially forced to be migrants, but today they cannot be suppressed. They have freedom of expression and are responsible for themselves. These people should not be isolated because their role in a country makes for a new social dynamics that is far away from politics and war but essentially helps to make a new social era worldwide.
WHO ARE YOUR INFLUENCES?
I admire Duke Ellington, a classical jazz legend. In him is the greatest jazz movement and his music goes beyond the message of jazz. I also like music expressed through symphonic instruments. I don’t like the gathering of important musical messages of rhythms and melodies collected into one piece and someone puts his name on it.
IN MUSIC, DO YOU SEE A BLEND BETWEEN THE OLD AND THE NEW?
This is what I want and have done. All my compositions are completely from my desire to showcase a new way, work or standard which will be long and lasting. People are tired of television which overlooks and ignores important works and simply commercializes whatever comes their way.
WHAT ARE YOUR FUTURE PLANS AND WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR MUSIC GOING?
I am planning a big tour to the States; I think my friends over there will be very happy. I liked the black gospel band that visited recently. If this can express my music, then I can start to calculate where things will go from there. A revolution is taking place and I want to be a part of bringing it about. This revolution will involve a combination of symphonic instruments and band instruments which will give a new color and a new message that will express message and color that no musical ensemble can isolate from another. As long as it has the level, knowledge, standard and talent which is necessary in all types of music and arts? Finally, in years to come there will be a tremendous rapport with man and creation. Anyway that’s were my music is going and I feel I am just starting out. Finally, I look forward to playing in Africa.