ELEGY OF THE UPROOTING
Tracklisting:
(1) Prayer 3.59 harp, Constantinople lyra, French horn, accordion, string orchestra, choir
(2) Refugee’s Theme 1.42 piano
(3) The Weeping Meadow 3.26 French horn, accordion, string orchestra
(4) Dance 3.30 oboe, accordion, Constantinople lyra, string orchestra
(5) An ode of tears 4.07
(6) For the Phrygian land vast mourning 2.08 Traditional instruments ensemble, voice, women’s choir
(7) By the Sea 1.25
(8) Depart and Eternity Theme 6.21 piano, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, mandolin, string orchestra
(9) Rosa’s Aria 3.52 flute, clarinet, oboe, trumpet, bassoon, French horn, trombone, string orchestra, voice, choir
(10) Memories 2.43 violoncello, violin, harp, string orchestra
(11) Hecuba’s Lament / Hecuba’s Theme II 1.39
(12) Telamon, you came to conquer our town 1.41
(13) The city that gave birth to you was consumed by fire 2.02
(14) An ode of tears 0.36 Traditional instruments ensemble, voice, women’s choir
(15) Theme of the Uprooting I 0.42
(16) The Weeping Meadow II 2.08 harp, violoncello, French horn, accordion, string orchestra
(17) Voyage 1.57
(18) Voyage to Cythera 2.17 oboe, piano, string orchestra, choir
(19) On the Road 3.10 harp, French horn, Constantinople lyra, accordion, string orchestra
(20) Parade 2.56
(21) Return 2.25 piano, accordion, trumpet, French horn, string orchestra
(22) Andromache’s Theme 0.53
(23) The land I call home 1.46
(24) Home of my forefathers 1.46
(25) I wish I’m given there 1.21 Traditional instruments ensemble, voice, women’s choir
(26) Refugee’s Theme 2.01 oboe, French horn, string orchestra
(27) The Seagull 1.26
(28) Song of the Lake 2.26 piano, accordion, harp, flute, clarinet, oboe, trumpet, bassoon, French horn, string orchestra, voice, choir
(29) Adagio – Father’s Theme 2.56 oboe, string orchestra
(30) In vain the sacrifices 2.13
(31) My beloved, your soul is wandering 2.58 Traditional instruments ensemble, voice, women’s choir
(32) Decision 2.40 flute, mandolin, clarinet, oboe, French horn, string orchestra
(33) Farewell Theme 4.25 piano, bassoon, trumpet, string orchestra
(34) Theme of the Lake 2.32 accordion, harp, Constantinople lyra, string orchestra, choir
(35) Hecuba’s Theme II 1.03
(36) Lament for Astyanax 2.10
(37) Exodos 2.48 traditional instruments’ ensemble, voice, choir
(38) The Weeping Meadow 2.53 French horn, accordion, string orchestra
Extraordinary concert recording of the music of Eleni Karaindrou - filmed in her hometown of Athens in 2005 - previously issued on CD (4765278) two years ago.
Material is effectively a summary of her greatest music for stage and, especially, screen.
Seeing/hearing Karaindrou in concert is a unique experience – as audiences everywhere are discovering.
Watching the way the traditional instruments ensemble, playing their ‘folk’ instruments are embraced by the banks of orchestral strings is particularly fascinating.
Soloists include the great singer Maria Farantouri, the voice of Greek freedom, plus Eleni herself at the piano.
For newcomers, this DVD is a perfect introduction to her haunting music.
Released simultaneously with her new film score, Dust of Time.
Eleni Karaindrou is far more than a ‘soundtrack composer’. Her music, for key films by Theo Angelopoulos and others, stands very ably by itself. And her concerts, with their sweeping, elegiac music are both celebrations and rituals that explore the Greek soul and Greece’s often tragic history. They are major events: Karaindrou is a star of the first magnitude in Greece, her concerts are eagerly anticipated, and press reactions ecstatic.
A 130-strong cast was assembled at the Athens Concert Hall for the three days of sold-out performances from which this concert DVD is drawn. Orchestra, choir, traditional instruments ensemble, soloists, legendary singer Maria Fantouri, the composer herself as pianist, and ECM producer Manfred Eicher as artistic and musical director. This is an epic journey in colours sounds and rhythms, shedding light on the themes of uprooting, exodus, exile and homecoming – themes that recur in Karaindrou’s work.
While material from The Weeping Meadow and Trojan Women is emphasized, the concert recording embraces music from all of Karaindou’s ECM recordings, including Ulysses’ Gaze, Eternity and A Day, The Suspended Step of the Stork and Music for Films. There’s also material new to ECM, including theatre music for Chekhov’s The Seagull, and the film score for Tonia Marketaki’s The Price of Love.
Born in the mountain village of Teichio in central Greece, Eleni Karaindrou studied piano and theory in Athens. In Paris from 1967-75 she studied ethnomusicology and wrote and recorded songs, many successfully covered by Greek singers. A prolific composer, she has written for numerous feature films, theatrical and radio plays, TV films and series, and received countless prizes including the Fellini Award 1992 from Europa Cinema (Italy). Her closest artistic association - over 20 years - has been with the great filmmaker Theo Angelopoulos. Since 1991she has recorded exclusively for ECM which is simultaneously releasing her score to the new Angelopoulos film, Dust of Time (4766766).
