Music

Even though the Romans conquered Greece thousands of years ago, Greek ideas continue to influence us today. That is particularly true in music where the ancient Greeks had an impact on the creation and development of opera, classical music and jazz. In a way, it was because of the Romans that Greek culture was preserved. The Romans borrowed the Greeks musical ideals and incorporated them into manuscripts that continued to be copied across centuries. Many of our musical terms come from the Greeks such as symphony, chord, chorus, melody harmony rhythm, ode, stereo, mono and synthesizer, to name a few.  In Florence in the late 1500’s a group of Italian composers enamored of antiquity, called the Camerata, wrote music inspired by the Greek chorus which led to the birth of opera. Decades of chord playing brought jazz musicians to a dead end artistically. Inspired by music theory developed by George Russell based on the ancient Greek music system of 7 scales, Miles Davis wrote and released his breakthrough album Kind of Blue giving birth to modal jazz. Modern jazz musicians are still making creative use of the Greek modes in their music. Modern classical musicians are also inspired by Greek culture and mythology, mining its famous tales for contemporary works. In a world premier at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Michael Daugherty set poet Ann Carson’s work Troy Jam to music. Troy Jam is a twist on The Iliad, Homer’s epic poem about the Trojan war. In Carson’s version the Greeks fight Troy with their instruments and music instead of weapons. Rembetiko, a genre of Greek urban folk music, emerged in the early 20th century. It often dealt with themes of hardship and marginalized communities. The rhythmic and melodic elements of Rembetiko have influenced various Balkan musical traditions. Many operas also draw inspiration from Greek mythology and themes. The tales of gods, heroes and tragic love stories from ancient Greece became popular subjects for operatic compositions Here are some examples of how Greece influenced opera: Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria, 1640 (based on the Odyssey, Gluck’s Iphigénie en Tauride, 1779 (based on Euripides’ Iphigenia among the Taurians), Cherubini’s Medée, 1797 (based on Euripides’ Medea), Strauss’ Elektra, 1909 (based on Sophocles’ Elektra), Enesco’s Oedipe, 1936 (based on Sophocles’ King Oedipus), Tippett’s King Priam, 1962 (based primarily on the Iliad), Henze’s The Bassarids, 1966 (based on Euripides’ Bacchae) and Turnage’s Greek, 1988 (based on Steven Berkoff’s adaptation of King Oedipus) and Christoph Willibald Gluck’s opera “Orfeo ed Euridice”, 1762 is based on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice.

More news