WORKS FOR NARRATOR,
SOLOISTS AND ORCHESTRA
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FROM CAPTAIN LYRAS’ LIFE AND LONGINGS
Musical “Memoirs”
Lyrics by Manolis Kalomiris*
PART I
1. Prelude – 2. Smyrna! – 3. Constantinople! – 4. Vienna! – 5. Russia! – 6. Athens! 7. Crete!
PART II
8. Interlude – The Old Shepherd and the Nightingale – 9. Molon Lave! – 10. Samos! 11. Postlude “And Now, You Will Excuse us”
Orchestra: 3 3 3 3 – 4 3 3 1 – Timpani, Percussion, Glockenspiel, Carillon, Harp, Celestra, Strings.28
Narrator, Lyric soprano, Dramatic soprano, Mezzo – soprano, Tenor, Baritone.
Duration: 1:10’
Publication:
Full score: Unpublished.
Piano/vocal score: Manolis Kalomiris, Athens 1958.
First Performance: 13 December 2002
Megaron, The Athens Concert Hall (Friends of Music Hall now Christos Lambrakis Hall)
Athens State Orchestra
Conducted by Nikos Tsouchlos
Soloists:
Marina Krilovic, soprano
Marousa Ksini-Kolaiti, mezzo-soprano
Zachos Terzakis, tenor
Tassis Christoyannopoulos, baritone
Yorgos Moschidis, narrator
Until the 2002 performance, only a few excerpts had been performed on various occasions: In 1943, Auditorium of the Hellenic Conservatory, Emilios Veakis, narrator, Fani Papanastasiou, Anna Remoundou, Frixos Theologidis and Chrisanthos Athineos, soloists, Manolis Kalomiris, piano. On 21 April 1958, Parnassos Hall, Athens, at a celebration marking fifty years of artistic activity for the composer, Manos Katrakis, narrator, Kostas Paschalis, soloist, Elli Nikolaidi, piano. On 6 and 7 August 1958, on the grounds of the Pythagoras High School in Samos, also fifty years of artistic activity for the composer, Aris Garoufalis, narrator, Popi Merkour, Soula Gantzi, Kostas Paschalis and Yannis Manolakis, soloists, Elli Nikolaidi, musical supervisor and accompanist.
The first excerpt with orchestra (Prelude – Smyrna!) was performed on 14 July 1997 during the 1st “Manolis Kalomiris” Festival in Samos Island, Athens State Orchestra, Byron Fidetzis, conductor, Julia Souglakou soprano/narrator.
[Note by Fivos Anoyanakis & Philippos Tsalahouris. Adaptation Myrto Economides]
* With the exception of the lyrics for Molon Lave (Part II, No. 9) which were written by Athanas (pen name of Georgios Athanasiadis-Novas).
[Note by Fivos Anoyanakis]
Lyrics of Samos, from Captain Lyras. First page of Kalomiris’ n.d. autograph.
Molon lave (μολών λαβέ), lit. “come and take them”, legendary answer of the Spartan King Leonidas to the Persians at Thermopylai, in response to the demand to lay down his arms.
[Note by Maria Voelker-Kamarinea]
