Manos Hadjidakis

Mános Hadjidákis (Μάνος Χατζιδάκις) (1925 - 1994) Greek type-setter. He was born in Xanthi, in the North-East of Greece. In 1961 it accepted the Oscar ( ) of the best song, for its song of the film Jamais Sunday of Jules Dassin. It is, with equal of Mikis Theodorakis, extremely popular in Greece, and one owes him the introduction of the music of Bouzouki into the traditional culture. __TOC

Biography

Its first works were musics for settings in scene of Karolos Koun to the theater of arts of Athens. This collaboration lasted 15 years. Its first composition for the piano, " For a small shell blanc" ( Gia Mia Mikri Lefki Ahivada ) was published in 1947. In 1948, it gave a remained conference celebrates and which shook the Greek official musical world, on the Rebetiko. This style of popular song flowered in Greek cities, especially with the Pirée, around the refugees from Asia Mineure in 1922. Before this conference, he was regarded as a music of the hollows and was scorned, his musicians moreover being perceived as consumers of cannabis. Hadjidakis stressed the simplicity of the expression, deep anchoring in the tradition and the sincerity of the emotion in Rebetiko, and rented type-setters like Markos Vamvakaris and Vassilis Tsitsanis. Uniting the theory and the practice, it adapted the traditional ones of Rebetiko in its work for Piano " Six tables folkloriques" ( Exi Laikes Zografies ), which was assembled thereafter like popular ballet.

As from this period, it continued a double career, component of the popular songs and film musics, as well as of more serious works, like " The cycle of C.N.S." (O Kyklos tou C.N.S.) in 1954, a whole of parts for voice and piano, pointing out the Lied in their form, if not their style. In 1955, it composed the music of the film " Stella" of Michael Cacoyannis, to which the actress Melina Mercouri, a friend close, interpreted the song " The love which became a weapon with double tranchant" (Agapi louse 'gines dikopo mahairi). Hadjidakis stated to write its serious works for itself and the others like livelihood: however its melody talent is manifest in the two kinds.

Hadjidakis met Nana Mouskouri in 1959 and declared it being its “interpreter ideal”. He knew international success in 1960, his music for film of Jules Dassin Jamais Sunday ( Pote chock Kyriaki ) obtaining a Oscar and the song the Children of Pirée ( Your Paidia tou Peiraia ) becoming a world success.

In 1962, it produced the musical comedy " Street of the rêves" ( Odos Oneiron ) and its partition for " finished; Oiseaux" of Aristophane (Ornithes), another production of the Theater of Arts, which caused a scandal because of the setting in revolutionary scene of Karolos Koun. This partition was also used later by Maurice Béjart for his Ballet of the XXe century.

In 1965, its disc " Το Χαμόγελο της Τζιοκόντας " (the Smile of the Mona Lisa) appeared at Minos-EMI. It was republished in 2004, in collection EMI Classics.

In 1966, it left for New York for the first Ilya Darling , a musical comedy played Broadway, based on " Never one Sunday" with Melina Merkouri. It will return to Greece only in 1972, especially because of its opposition to the military dictatorship. Among his principal compositions of this period, one can quote Rhythmologie (Rythmologia) for piano solo, his famous orchestral compilation the Smile of the Mona Lisa (produced by no one other that Quincy Jones), and the top of its musical art, the cycle of songs Magnus Eroticus (Erotikos Megalomaniacs), for which it used old Greek poems (Sappho, Euripide), medieval (of the stanzas of popular songs and the lovesong Erophile of George Hortatzis) and modern (Dionýsios Solomós, Constantin Cavafy, Odysséas Elýtis, Nikos Gkatsos, Myrtiotissa, George Sarantaris) ansi that an extract of the book " the Wisdom of Salomon" old will. Its disc " Reflections" with the New York Rock'n'roll & Roll Ensemble contained several of its most splendid songs, in orchestral form or with words composed by the group, and preceded the Fusion tendency by several decades.

Returned to Greece, Hadjidakis recorded " Magnus Eroticus " with Fleury Dantonakis, viola come from the world of the opera which was its best interpreter, and Dimitri Psarianos. After the fall of the dictatorship, it had an active role in the public life and occupied of the stations to the orchestra of the state of Athens (KOA), to the national opera (ELS), and to the national radio (Elliniki Radiophonia Tileorassi: ERT). In 1976, it made record " Your paraloga " COp 32 (τα παραλογα) (nonsenses) on a text of Nikos Gkatsos, interpreted by Maria Farandouri, Mikis Theodorakis, Dionysis Savopoulos, Melina Mercouri and Ilias Liougos. Angelica Ionatos, invited to the beginning of the year 2000 on France Musics, made some listen to an extract whose Jean-Michel Damian admired the subtle orchestration.

In 1958, Hadjidakis launched its own company of phonographic edition " Seirios" (Sirius). In 1989, it founded and directed the Orchestra of the colors (Orhistra your Chromaton), a small symphony orchestra.

With died of Nino Rota, it should have written musics for films of his friend Federico Fellini, but because of its own health issues this collaboration was never carried out. He died on June 15th, 1994 of diabetes and cardiac problems.

In 1999, at the time of the fifth birthday of its death, artistic Daniel director Lommel of " Aenaon dance theater" choreography under the title of " Fragments of Amour" (" Apospasmata Erota") a homage joining together 14 of the most famous songs of the type-setter.

Compositions

(incomplete list)

" Adoulotoi Sklavoi " - " Slaves insoumis" (1946)
" Kokkinos Vrahos " - " Rock rouge" (1949)
" Dyo Kosmi " - " Two mondes" (1949)
" Nekri Politeia " - " Morte" city; (1951)
" O Grousouzis " - " The ronchonneur" (1952)
" Agni Tou Limaniou " - " Lily of the port" (1952)
" Eksi Laïkes zografies/gia mia mikri lefki achivada" - " Six small popular drawings/for small a niche" (1954)
" To katarameno fidi" - " The snake maudit" (1958)
" Erimia" - " Désert" (1959)
" O kyklos tou C.N.S" - " The circle of the C.N.S. (1959)
" Eksi Laïkes zografies" - " Six drawings populaires" (1959)
" Rantevou stin Kerkyra" - " Appointment with Corfou" (1960)
" Pal Chock Kyriaki" (Ποτέ Την Κυριακή) - " Never the dimanche" (1960)
" Ornithes" - " Oiseaux" (196?)
" The robber of Londres" (1961)
" Ellas, I will chora your oniron" - " Greece, country of the rêves" (1961)
" Apopse aftosiediazoume" - " This evening us improvisons" (1961)
" Chamena onira" - " Dreams perdus" (1961)
" Odos Oniron" - " Street of the rêves" (1962)
" Paschalies mesa apo Ti nekri gi" - " Lilac in the Earth morte" (1962)
" Kaisar kai Kleopatra" - " César and Cléopatre" (1962)
" America America" (1963)
" Synevi sthn Athina" - " Ca occurs to Athènes" (1964)
" Topkapi" (1964)
" Το Χαμόγελο Της Τζιοκόντας " - " The smile of Joconde" (1965)
" Matomenos gamos/Parathyri choris onoma" - " Ensanglanté marriage/window without nom" (1965)
" Mythologia" - " Mythologie" (1966)
" Ilya Darling" (1967)
" Blue" (1968)
" Reflections" (1969) - played by the New York Rock'n'roll & Roll Together
" Sweet Movie" (1974)
" O skliros aprilis tou '45" - " Hard April of 45" (1974)
" Athanasia" (1976)
" Your paraloga " - " Absurdités" (1976)
" Gia thn Elenh" - " For Hélène" (1978)
" I epochi tis Melissanthis" - " The time of Melissanthi" (1980)
" Pornografia" - " Pornographie" (1982)
" I trott tis odou Athinas" - " Ballades of the street of Athéna" (1983)
" Memed My Hawk" (1983)
" Skotini mitera" - " Mother obscure" (1986)
" O Manos Hadzidakis sth Romaïki Agora" - " Manos Hadjidakis with the Agora romaine" (1986)
" I laïki agora" - " The agora populaire" (1987)
" To resital" - " The récital" (1989)
" Your tragoudia ths amartias" - " Songs of the péché" (1996)
" Mousiki gia to theatro texchnis" - " Music for the theater of art" (2003)
" Reflections" (2005) - played by the Raining Pleasure and the New York Rock'n'roll & Roll Together

External bond

Official site of Manos Hadjidakis, in Greek and English, with many audio extracts.

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