Mikis Theodorakis : la rencontre éternelle de la Poésie et de la Musique

Abstract

Poetry and Music. Music and Poetry. Two expressions of one unique sensitivity, that of the great contemporary Greek composer, politician and philosopher, Mikis Theodorakis (born 1925). The union of Poetry and Music came about when Mikis Theodorakis put to music the poem of an unknown poet, “The little boat” (To καραβάκι), in 1937. Throughout his life, Theodorakis has constantly set to music the works of the greatest Greek and foreign poets, such as Odysseus Elytis, Yannis Ritsos and Pablo Neruda. Through their poetry, Theodorakis has been able to sing a mother’s tender love as well as the sadness of a solitary man, the darkness of a concentration camp or the serenity of a Cycladic landscape. Yet, there are times when the poetic words of other poets do not suffice and so he, himself becomes the poet. When? Why? What are his motifs and his intentions? The aim of this article is on the one hand to highlight the poetic creation of Mikis Theodorakis – an expression of eternal humanism – through an anthology of poems written in Greek during periods of extreme violence. On the other hand, to reveal the new musical forms which were born of the union of Poetry and Music and to stress the role of the performers-interpreters in the transmission of theodorakian music throughout the world.