georgios kasassoglou
(1908-1984)
The notes
Georgios Kassasoglou is a GEMA-protected composer because it has not been 70 years since his death.
All sheet music is available from the JMK publishing house. Website:
Georgios Kasassoglou was born on December 1st, 1908 in Athens. At the age of 16 he finished high school and enrolled in Classical Philology at the University of Athens. He took violin lessons and at the same time at several music academies (Odeen) theory and composition lessons. Following his studies at the University of Athens and the music academies, he enrolled in Political Science at the Pantios University. In 1933 he was hired as a high school teacher in the subject of music. In addition to his teaching activities in the Gymansien, he tried - wherever he was - to promote musical life.
Georgios Kasssoglou's great passion was not only music but also poetry and he was Greek archeology. He was magically drawn to the ancient Greek theater. In close collaboration with the luminaries of his time, Schreiber wrote the music for numerous tragedies and comedies of ancient Greece. He wrote essays, studies on the subject of music, music reviews in newspapers and magazines, as well as critical treatises on current musical events.
He believed in the ethnic in music. Because, as he himself says, "Every serious intellectual cannot avoid placing himself within the framework of his ethnic affiliation and thus in the totality of universal life. The more essential and spontaneous this mental attitude, together with the knowledge of his obligation to his country, becomes, the more the intellectual becomes - unconsciously now - the bearer of the culture of his nation, wherever he may be ... And so I can only perceive the work that has a home as universal ... "
In 1946 he composed the "Olympic Hymn" based on the verses of Kostis Palamas,
One of the most significant moments in his artistic career was his meeting and acquaintance with Igor Stravinsky. With the sentence - "In your music I hear Greece and in your handshake I wash Greece" - Stravinsy began his enthusiastic criticism of the music of the "clouds" that he had heard at the Comédie franchise.
In the summer of 1962 "Antigone" was performed in the translation by F.Hölderlin and his music at the Bad Hersfeld Festival.
His oeuvre includes numerous orchestral works, choral works, ballet and film music, works for piano, violin, cello and chamber music.
More than a hundred songs based on verses by the most famous Greek poets occupied a special place within his musical oeuvre. His song "Die Träne des Regens" was awarded the gold medal at the international Lutece competition in Paris in 1976.
He died completely unexpectedly on June 2, 1984. (Biographical note from Jörg-Mark-Kasassoglou-Verlag)
Songs
Our Lady of Mercy
Μητέρα μεγαλόψυχη
Music: Georgios kasassoglou
Text: Dionysios Solomos
The poem "Barmherzige Lady" (Μητέρα μεγαλόψυχη) is a fragment from the unfinished epos "The outdoor besieged" ( Greek : Οι Ελεύθεροι Πολιορκημένοι, Oi Eleftheroi Poliorkimenoi), written by Dionysios Solomos and inspired by the third siege of Missolonghi (1825-1826 ), a crucial conflict in the Greek War of Independence . The poem "Free Besieged" is considered to be one of the greatest works by Solomos, who is considered the national poet of Greece .
On April 15, 1825, the Ottoman armies invaded central Greece: They besieged the city of Missolonghi a third time . The defenders managed to defend the city for almost a year, however, but a number of factors such as the outnumbered strength of the Ottomans, the ongoing attacks, and the lack of food and other supplies led them to leave on the night of April 10, 1826 to commit a heroic exodus.
The text
The poet turns to the figure of a goddess whom he calls the "merciful mother" (it is Panagia, the mother of God), whose "children" are gifted because they often meet her in the forest. But at that difficult time, of all times, her steps and her voice cannot be heard. He would have urgently needed her advice to the Greek people, where at that time only black stone and dried grass could be found.
GR
Μητέρα, μεγαλόψυχη στον πόνο και στη δόξα,
Κι αν στο κρυφό μυστήριο ζουν πάντα τα παιδιά σου
Με λογισμό και μ 'όνειρο, τι χάρ' έχουν τα μάτια,
Τα μάτια τούτα, να σ 'ιδούν μες στο πανέρμο δάσος,
Που ξάφνου σου τριγύρισε τ 'αθάνατα ποδάρια
(Κοίτα) με φύλλα της Λαμπρής, με φύλλα του Βαϊώνε!
Μητέρα, μεγαλόψυχη στον πόνο και στη δόξα,
Το θεϊκό σου πάτημα δεν άκουσα, δεν είδα,
Ατάραχη σαν ουρανός μ 'όλα τα κάλλη πόχει,
Που μέρη τόσα φαίνονται και μέρη 'ναι κρυμμένα ·
Αλλά, Θεά, δεν ημπορώ ν 'ακούσω τη φωνή σου,
Κι ευθύς εγώ τ 'Ελληνικού κόσμου να τη χαρίσω;
Δόξα 'χ' η μαύρη πέτρα του και το ξερό χορτάρι.
ΕΝ
Merciful Mother in pain and glory,
And if your children always with reason and dream
live in the hidden mystery
What a joy for those eyes
who see you in the vast forest,
Where to find your immortal footprints.
(Look) adorned with palm branches for Easter!
Merciful Mother in pain and glory,
I did not hear your divine steps
and not seen. Peaceful as heaven with all its gifts
Where there are so many visible and also hidden places;
But goddess I can't hear your voice
And what should I give the Greek world?
All that remains for him to fame is black stone and dry grass.
Video
Martha Sotiriou, mezzo-soprano
Dionysis Pantis, piano
Dionysios Solomos
(Zakynthos 1798- Corfu 1857)
The poet Dionysios Solomos, luminary of the Ionian School, is one of the leading intellectual figures of modern Greece. In May 1823, at a time of great upheaval in the Greek Revolution, he wrote the extensive poem "Hymn to Freedom", the first two stanzas of which to the music of Nikolaos Mantzaros are the national anthems of Greece and Cyprus. The national poet of Greece Dionysios Solomos was born on April 8, 1798 in Zakynthos (Ionian Islands, then under Italian rule) as the illegitimate child of Count Nikolaos Solomos and his maid Angeliki Niklis.
Orphaned at a young age, he went to Italy to study in 1808, accompanied by his Italian teacher Rossi. Seven years later he graduated from Cremona High School and enrolled at the University of Pavia, where he obtained a law degree. In addition to studying law, which he was never interested in, he began to write texts in Italian, and in the process came into contact with important philosophers, philologists and prominent representatives of the literary movement of the time.
In 1818 he returned to Zakynthos, where he stayed for ten years. It was there that he began to write his first notable texts in Greek. His first extensive Greek poem and best known is the "Hymn to Freedom". Shortly afterwards he composed the poetry poem "To the Death of Lord Byron", followed by "The Destruction of Psara", "The Poisoned", "Lambros", "The Monk", "The Cretan", "The Free Besieged", " Porfyras ".
At the end of 1828 he settled permanently in Corfu and continued his preoccupation with poetry almost in isolation. He did not undertake a single trip to liberated Greece because, as it is claimed, he "did not want to show his national spirit theatrically in spirit, but rather to act with the sacred step of the soul". On February 3, 1849, he was awarded the Golden Red Redeemer Cross because he "aroused the feelings of the people in the struggle for national independence with his poetry".
He died on February 9, 1857 in Corfu after a series of strokes. His bones were transferred to Zakynthos in 1865 and initially housed in a small mausoleum in the grave of Kalvos.
Source: https://www.sansimera.gr/biographies/112
April with the Eros
Ο απρίλης με τον έρωτα
Music: Georgios kasassoglou
Text: Dionysios Solomos
The lines of the poem "April with Eros" are (a fragment from the unfinished epic "The Free besieged" Greek : Οι Ελεύθεροι Πολιορκημένοι, Oi Eleftheroi Poliorkimenoi), written by Dionysios Solomos and inspired by the third siege of Missolonghi (1825- 1826), a crucial conflict in the Greek War of Independence . The poem "Free Besieged" is considered to be one of the greatest works by Solomos, who is considered the national poet of Greece .
On April 15, 1825, the Ottoman armies invaded central Greece: They besieged the city of Missolonghi a third time . The defenders managed to defend the city for almost a year, however, but a number of factors such as the outnumbered strength of the Ottomans, the ongoing attacks, and the lack of food and other supplies led them to leave on the night of April 10, 1826 to commit a heroic exodus.
The text
It was April when the besieged in Messolonghi decided to leave the besieged city. Spring was full of hope, nature full of eroticism. It was precisely at this time that the besieged fighters decided to die. But nature warned: "Whoever dies today is as if he had died a thousand times".
"O Aπρίλης με τον Έρωτα χορεύουν και γελούνε,
Kι 'όσ' άνθια βγαίνουν και καρποί τόσ 'άρματα σε κλειούνε.
Mάγεμα η φύσις κι 'όνειρο στην ομορφιά και χάρη,
H μαύρη πέτρα ολόχρυση και το ξερό χορτάρι ·
Mε χίλιες βρύσες χύνεται, με χίλιες γλώσσες κραίνει ·
«Όποιος πεθάνει σήμερα χίλιες φορές πεθαίνει».
(english)
April and Eros dance and laugh,
And as many flowers as there are fruits
just as many weapons surround you.
Magic of nature and a dream in beauty and grace,
The very golden black stone and the dry grass;
A thousand roosters crow it, a thousand tongues shout it;
"Anyone who dies today dies a thousand times."
Video
Martha Sotiriou, mezzo-soprano
Dionysis Pantis, piano
Dionysios Solomos
(Zakynthos 1798- Corfu 1857)
The poet Dionysios Solomos, luminary of the Ionian School, is one of the leading intellectual figures of modern Greece. In May 1823, at a time of great upheaval in the Greek Revolution, he wrote the extensive poem "Hymn to Freedom", the first two stanzas of which to the music of Nikolaos Mantzaros are the national anthems of Greece and Cyprus. The national poet of Greece Dionysios Solomos was born on April 8, 1798 in Zakynthos (Ionian Islands, then under Italian rule) as the illegitimate child of Count Nikolaos Solomos and his maid Angeliki Niklis.
Orphaned at a young age, he went to Italy to study in 1808, accompanied by his Italian teacher Rossi. Seven years later he graduated from Cremona High School and enrolled at the University of Pavia, where he obtained a law degree. In addition to studying law, which he was never interested in, he began to write texts in Italian, and in the process came into contact with important philosophers, philologists and prominent representatives of the literary movement of the time.
In 1818 he returned to Zakynthos, where he stayed for ten years. It was there that he began to write his first notable texts in Greek. His first extensive Greek poem and best known is the "Hymn to Freedom". Shortly afterwards he composed the poetry poem "To the Death of Lord Byron", followed by "The Destruction of Psara", "The Poisoned", "Lambros", "The Monk", "The Cretan", "The Free Besieged", " Porfyras ".
At the end of 1828 he settled permanently in Corfu and continued his preoccupation with poetry almost in isolation. He did not undertake a single trip to liberated Greece because, as it is claimed, he "did not want to show his national spirit theatrically in spirit, but rather to act with the sacred step of the soul". On February 3, 1849, he was awarded the Golden Red Redeemer Cross because he "aroused the feelings of the people in the struggle for national independence with his poetry".
He died on February 9, 1857 in Corfu after a series of strokes. His bones were transferred to Zakynthos in 1865 and initially housed in a small mausoleum in the grave of Kalvos.
Source: https://www.sansimera.gr/biographies/112
SILENCE OF THE SEA
Γαλήνη
Music: Georgios kasassoglou
Text: Dionysios Solomos
The little poem "Galini", which means "silence" in Greek, is one of the poet's early works.
The text
Γαλήνη (calm sea)
Διονύσιος Σολομός / Dionysios Solomos
Δεν ακουγεται ουτ 'ενα κυμα
εις την ερμη ακρογιαλια
λες και η θαλασσα κοιμαται
μες της γης την αγκαλια.
(English)
Not a single wave can be heard
on the lonely bank
as if the sea was sleeping
in the arms of the earth ...
The song
Elena Patsalidou, soprano
Dionysis Pantis, piano
Dionysios Solomos
(Zakynthos 1798- Corfu 1857)
The poet Dionysios Solomos, luminary of the Ionian School, is one of the leading intellectual figures of modern Greece. In May 1823, at a time of great upheaval in the Greek Revolution, he wrote the extensive poem "Hymn to Freedom", the first two stanzas of which to the music of Nikolaos Mantzaros are the national anthems of Greece and Cyprus.
(more: see above "Our Lady of Mercy")
Archaic miniature
Αρχαϊκή μινιατούρα
Music: Georgios kasassoglou
Text: Koulis Sambathas
The song was written in 1940. The poet tells of memories of a lost time of the gods and nymphs when he visited the mountains and forests.
The text
A ... Στης Αρκαδιάς τα διάσελα τα ελατοφυτεμένα
που τα 'χε για βασίλειο του ο τραγοπόδης Πάνας,
Ξαναθυμιέμαι τα παλιά τ 'απολησμονημένα
και τα τραγούδια των Νυμφών και τους γλυκούς παιάνας
A ...
Τον ήλιο πέρα π'όγερνε σαν μιαν αγκάλη ονείρου
και των Δρυάδων το χορό τον ξωτικό στα ελάτια
μύριους που σκόρπιζαν αχούς σαν αρμονία του απείρου
που αντιλαλούσε μαγικά στου Φοίβου τα παλάτια.
Α ...
(english)
Ah ...
In Arcadia where the saddles are planted with fir trees
that the hitchhiker Panas had for his kingdom,
I remember things that have long been forgotten
and the songs of the nymphs and the sweet paianas ...
Ah...
He waved the sun like a dream hug
and the dryads with the elves dance in the fir trees
Thousands scatter sighs like the harmony of infinity
that echoed magically in the palaces of Phoebus.
Ah...
The song
Anna Bineta Diouf, mezzo-soprano
Niki Liogka, piano
Koulis Sambathas
(Κούλης Ζαμπαθάς, 1905-1975)
Poet and novelist. After graduating from high school, he followed the civil service. He published the volumes of poetry "Das Reich der Liebe" (1932), "Bronzewolken" (1950), "Dein Lied" (1957), the short stories "In the lake with the water lilies" (1940) and "A man from the underworld" ( 1944), the novels "Ilissos" (1949), "Barba Costas der Elende" (1974), the chronicle "Turn of Triumph" (1946) and three travelogues from Mount Athos. The latter are particularly pleasant to read because they are poetry combine with pleasant narration.
He has also written a book about the left resistance fighters "Nikos Belogiannis and Nikos Plumidis", and has been involved with the exiled Greek writers.
