The Works for A Capella Four-voice Mixed Choir

Major Sponsor of the Greek National Opera

The GNO Alternative Stage presents a great tribute to the multifaceted work of the great composer Yannis Constantinidis—Kostas Giannidis (1903-1984) on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of his death. Four concert programmes make up the tribute to the work of the great composer Yannis Constantinidis - Kostas Giannidis, who lived between two musical worlds and between two identities. These programmes will be presented on the Greek National Opera Alternative Stage at the SNFCC on 10, 15, 16, 22, and 23 November 2024. The curator and one in charge of presenting the tribute's concerts is the professor of Ethnomusicology Lambros Liavas, who took over the responsibility of preserving the composer's archive, currently housed at the Department of Music Studies of the School of Philosophy of the NKUA, from the composer himself.  

Yannis Constantinidis (Izmir 1903 – Athens 1984) was a unique composer known for his dual yet not split approach to music, as he served equally consistently in both art-sophisticated classical music and popular “light” singing (under the alias Kostas Yannidis), establishing himself as a renowned creator in both genres. And it is definitely not a coincidence that much of his "flexibility," his ability to navigate different music genres and styles, stems from the musical heritage of the multicultural bourgeois environment in Izmir.

The Tribute to Yannis Constantinidis – Kostas Giannidis presents some of the most representative aspects of his significant work, featuring select performers, through four concerts: The Works for Voice and Piano, featuring Tassis Christoyannis and Thanasis Apostolopoulos (10/11), Shοuld You Wish Send Me Some Flowers… featuring songs by Kostas Giannidis transcribed for a  period orchestra and performed by Eleni Voudouraki, Angelos Papadimitriou, and Fenia Papadodima (15,22/11), The Works for A Capella Four-voice Mixed Choir performed by the Mixed Choir of the Department of Music Studies of the School of Philosophy of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and POLIS Ensemble (16/11), and The Works for Piano performed by Theodore Tzovanakisa and Eftychia Veniota with Nelly Semitecolo participating as a special guest (23/11).

• The Works for A Capella Four-voice Mixed Choir 
  16 November 2024 / Starts at: 20.30

  Mixed Choir of the Department of Music Studies of the School of Philosophy of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
  Conductor: Nikos Maliaras

  The original folk songs will be performed by the POLIS Ensemble: Nikos Paraoulakis (ney), Giorgos Kontogiannis (lyre), Stefanos Dorbarakis (qanun), Alexandros Kapsokavadis (lutes), Theodoros Kouelis (double bass), Manousis Klapakis (percussion)
  Transcription: Alexandros Kapsokavadis
  With the participation of the senior students of the Postgraduate Programme of the Department of Music Studies of the School of Philosophy (NKUA): Sevastiani Vletsi, Emmelia Damanaki, Marianthi-Ippolyti Katsari, Chryssi Tzavla, Dimitra Tsangaraki, Varvara Tsiviki

The third concert of the tribute includes the pieces Eight Dodecanesian Songs (1972) and Eight Songs from Asia Minor (1972), which will be performed by the Mixed Choir of the Department of Music Studies of the School of Philosophy of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, under the baton of Nikos Maliaras. The original folk songs that will be featured in the concert, transcribed by Alexandros Kapsokavadis, will be performed by POLIS Ensemble.

Yannis Constantinidis was initiated at a young age to the music of the Asia Minor folk tradition by the servants in his household and female tobacco workers in the suburbs of Izmir, whom he listened to during his family's summer outings. These vivid memories inspired him to compose the Eight Songs from Asia Minor. The Eight Dodecanesian Songs are based on the collection Songs of the Dodecanese by Swiss ethnomusicologist and orchestra conductor Samuel Baud-Bovy. Regarding the key choices that mark his compositional style, the composer himself states he is “against any thematic reworking of folk singing”. Instead, he leaves “the melodies intact, as they have been passed down to us by the people. He only tried to achieve variety in his compositions by investing in harmony and emphasizing the rhythm of the content in his hands”.

* Κατά την έναρξη κάθε συναυλίας θα πραγματοποιείται σύντομη εισήγηση του Λάμπρου Λιάβα για τον συνθέτη και τα έργα του, με προβολή οπτικού υλικού από το Αρχείο Γ. Κωνσταντινίδη – Κ. Γιαννίδη, Τμήμα Μουσικών Σπουδών, Φιλοσοφική Σχολή ΕΚΠΑ.