Digenis and Death - Epic Byzantine Music

Music & vocals by Farya Faraji, poem by Kostis Palamas, artwork by Dimitris Skourtelis, tsambouna by Dimitris Athanasopoulos, lyra by Illias de Sutter Ntavlidis. Please note that this isn’t reconstructed music from the medieval era, only modern music. Whilst many of my previous songs used elements of Cretan music into a broader, pan-Greek kind of sound, I really wanted to write a piece of music entirely Cretan in style, and pay homage to the genre of Akritic songs, one of the oldest forms of Greek traditional music dating back to the Middle-Ages, popular in Crete, where songs would be written about the Akrites, frontiersmen who guarded the outer limits of the Byzantine Empire. Most Akritic songs tend to deal with the figure of Digenis Akritas, the Hercules of Medieval Greek literature, who in the legends, is a half Cappadocian Greek, half Arab Akrites who performs legendary deeds in battle. This poem was written by Kostis Palamas, a prominent Greek poet of the 20th century, and it is his take on the many versions of Digenis’s death. Whilst earlier versions of the legend had him die on his deathbed, later versions recount him fighting Death itself in one to one combat, ultimately losing to it (in many versions, he only loses because Death cheats). It is interesting to note the synthesis of pre-Christian pagan Greek elements recycled into a Christian framework, as Death is called Charon (who in Ancient Greek mythology, was only a boatman allowing the dead to travel to Tartarus, whereas in the Akritic songs, he becomes equated with Death itself). Instead of a Christian heaven or hell, Digenis is being brought to Tartarus, also called Hades. Dimitris Skourtelis’ artwork, used here, shows Charon with Christian, angelic like features. I wrote the song to be in a typical Cretan form, inspired by Cretan syrtos, pentozali and siganos genres, with the Cretan lyra and Cretan tsambouna played expertly by my collaborators. A laouto provides the basic power chord progression supporting the melody. The modern Cretan tradition of the laouto shows an interesting synthesis of native Greek music with Venetian influences on the island: the principle of the chord progressions in Crete is that they will apply a basic power chord matching the main notes of the melody’s structure. So if a root part of the melody is in C, the laouto will switch the chord to a C power chord as long as the melody remains rooted in that note. This is effectively the same principle as the isokratima of Orthodox chant, which does the same thing with drone vocals, but the laouto adds to it two additional notes forming a triadic chord based in the Western tonal system, something brought to Crete by Venetian influence, whereas the isokratima only supports the main melody by providing a single note without harmonics, whereas the harmonic support of chord progressions is triadic in nature. Lyrics in Greek: Καβάλλα πάει ο Χάροντας το Διγενή στον ’Αδη, κι άλλους μαζί... Κλαίει, δέρνεται τ’ ανθρώπινο κοπάδι. Και τους κρατεί στου αλόγου του δεμένους τα καπούλια, της λεβεντιάς τον άνεμο, της ομορφιάς την πούλια. Και σα να μην τον πάτησε στου Χάρου το ποδάρι, ο Ακρίτας μόνο ατάραχα κοιτάει τον καβαλλάρη! Ο Ακρίτας είμαι, Χάροντα, δεν περνώ με τα χρόνια. Μ’ άγγιξες και δε μ’ ένοιωσες στα μαρμαρένια αλώνια; Είμ’ εγώ η ακατάλυτη ψυχή των Σαλαμίνων. Στην Εφτάλοφην έφερα το σπαθί των Ελλήνων. Δε χάνομαι στα Τάρταρα, μονάχα ξαποσταίνω. Στη ζωή ξαναφαίνομαι και λαούς ανασταίνω! English translation (by Demetrios Paraschos: Charon brings Digenis to Hades’ domain, and others with him... The human herd weeps and laments, And he keeps them on his horse, bound by its hoods, The wind of valour, the bird of beauty. And as if he had not been tread by Charon’s foot, Akritas, fearless, gazes at the horseman! I am Akritas, Charon, I do not succumb to the years. You touched me, yet you did not sense me on the marble threshing floors, did you? I am the invincible soul of Salamis’ kin, I brought the sword of the Greeks to Eftalofe*, I do not perish in Tartarus, I only withdraw there to rest. I reappear in life and awake nations! *The Sevenhill, aka Constantinople.