Concert-Recital in Tribute to Lorca and Elytis
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Translation by:
Laura Schultz"Viajando por lo hondo de la música" is a tribute of verse and music to two great figures in universal music, and, along its tour of different cities in our country, will have a single stop in Seville, before visiting Lorca's native Granada.
Odysseas Elytis, one of the great restorers of Greek poetry and later the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1979, was Federico's travel companion through the waters of 20th century lyrical writing, in both the temporal dimension of their work and their shared capacity to capture and reflect the identity and soul of their own cultures, Greek and Spanish respectively, within their works.
The fresh air of Lorca's work prompted Elytis to translate some poems written by whom he considered to be the most important lyric in modern Europe. Although he was not the only one to translate Lorca into Greek, his versions of seven Gypsy Ballads made the Granadine author well-known throughout Greece, and they are the versions most remembered by the Greeks, thanks, in a large extent, to the music that Theodorakis composed for them.
One stop on this tour would have to be in Seville, since a Sevillian, José Antonio Moreno Jurado, is one of the first to introduce (and translate) Elytis' works in Spain. Organized by the Área de Griego del Instituto de Idiomas de la Universidad de Sevilla (the Greek department at the University of Seville's Language Institute), this tribute to the most brilliant voices in twentieth century poetry in both languages has been made possible thanks to collaboration with the Greek community in our city and the participation of the Professional Music Conservatory “Cristóbal de Morales”.
The program that gives life to this poetry-musical tour offers songs based on both authors' poetry, alternated with a selection of poems in Greek and Spanish, together with fragments from Elytis' work entitled “Federico García Lorca”. All of this will be embellished with music by the well-known Hadjidakis and Theodorakis, along with Giorgos Kouroupos, composer and current musical director of the Athens Concert Hall, who will accompany each piece by piano. At his side, Spyros Sakkas, baritone and director of the Athens Voice Conservatory, will give voice to the music while poet Ioulita Iliopoulou and translator Alfonso Silván will be in charge of recitation. This is a unique opportunity to enjoy the Mediterranean from edge to edge through the emotion of music and the live presentation of the never-extinguished voices of two great poets.
The date is Thursday, November 13 at 20:30, in the Salón de Actos at the Professional Music Conservatory “Cristóbal de Morales”. Free entry until capacity is reached.
Translated from Concierto-Recital Homenaje a Lorca y Elytis