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here was a group of great poets and musicians who would hang out – Theodorakis, Manos Hatzidakis, Yan- nis Ritsos, Odysseas Elytis, Giorgos Seferis – who all cre- ated incredible works. “But Mikis, apart from his tal- ent, was the person who played a hugely significant role in etching his music on the DNA of the Greeks. Not because he was an entertainer, but he gave people something. What was different about Theodorakis from other composers is that he took the poetry of both unknown poets and well-established ones and married their words with his music. And these songs were brought to the lips of the people.”


One of his strengths, Farantouri says, is that Theodorakis knew that the Greek people would not abandon the bouzouki, or folk and traditional songs that were so ingrained in their lifestyle and the musical preferences. So he composed laika or popular and even zeimbekika melodies to convey an important message with the poems he wanted to make known. He incorporated the laika and popular music in his compositions. Few may know that Mikis Theodorakis was also a composer of chamber music, he wrote classi- cal pieces, rhapsodies and symphonies. However, he was very aware that in order to get the poems and their messages out to people, he could not rely on classical music. He had to use the folk music, laika and the bouzouki to get people to listen, to understand.


Eventually Mikis Theodorakis’ music was banned and soon after he was arrested, put in jail and then deported. He lived in exile and in concentration camps because he instilled hope in the minds of people and the dictatorship did not approve. Farantouri was in dan- ger too, because she was the voice, the singer of the banned music, so she moved abroad to France and London where she kept organis- ing concerts. The money collected was used to support the families of political prisoners in Greece, Farantouri tells me.


Inevitably, talking to Farantouri about her career and music is like a history lesson, full of pain and injustices. There are parts of Greek history which are quite unpleasant, like the Civil War, the Sec- ond World War with its German occupation, and the Junta in 1967, which brought with it a censorship and deportation of people to work camps. Sad events, which of course Theodorakis resisted and so was arrested. While in concentration camp he continued to write music and songs and somehow smuggled the songs out to the rest of the world. It was Theodorakis who had also advised Farantouri to leave Greece to avoid being arrested by the Junta regime.


This was the second time she was forced to be away from her parents. As a young child she suffered polio and was living away from her parents in quarantine at a sanatorium for children. This time she was forced to leave Greece and her parents because of her ideology and because she sang the songs that gave hope to people. “I had to go, a person like me who had not sung for fun and entertainment, but it was more a song of art, had to leave. Theodorakis was banned so I went abroad. There I was not afraid of anything. I was missing home, being away for seven years with- out seeing my parents, but it passed and I can say now it was an experience.”


The poems in general, but specifically those of Seferis, always expressed deep emotions: the agony of man, our dreams, our protest, fears, solidarity, humanistic messages, and this the dictato- rial regime did not want. Then there were songs specifically writ- ten against the Junta because Theodorakis had a fighting person- ality, with the result that all his music was forbidden.


“Some of the songs are timeless,” Farantouri says, “with philosophical and existential messages, it’s not about preaching or political propaganda. Not all these songs were political; the regime were banning Nobel Prize laureates because Theodorakis had written the music. But instantly, these songs became the face of the resistance across nations. In an artful way they were pictures of the struggle, of life, of pain, at the same time giving inspiration and hope despite the miserable truth.”


One of the songs Farantouri sings was by poet and playwright Angelos Sikelianos, called Pneumatiko Emvatirio (March Of The Spirit). The lyrics say “Come on, help the sun rise so it shines over Greece… push with your knees and chest to get the sun out of the mud.” There is no question that the song is as poignant today as it was as a poem when it was published in 1945.


Theodorakis also wrote musical works to the poems of Ire-


land’s Brendan Behan such as The Hostage, which Farantouri sings as To Yelasto Paidi. The song also featured in the Costa Gavra film Z, and is recognised as an anthem sung for revolution and free- dom, traditionally connected to Farantouri.


“You cannot compare him as a composer to anyone else; Theodorakis is the last great composer still alive,” Farantouri says. There is a definite pride in her voice as she says that, and at the same time a humble recognition that she is where she is in the world of music because of him. “I’ve been very lucky to have met a personality like him, what else can you want as an artist?”


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