CONCERTS

Vassilis Michaelides - 100 years since his death

Poetry set to music by Larkos Larkou

FULL CONCERT IN THE VIDEO BELOW:

The Metropolis of Tamassos and the Municipality of Strovolos were the organisers of the concert held on 13 October 2017, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the death of Vassilis Michaelides. The crowded Strovolos Municipal Theatre presented as a musical event entitled "The first kingdom here was built by the gods" the whole range of musical settings by the Cypriot composer and performer Larkos Larkou of the poetry of the national bard of Cyprus.

The concert, which was held under the auspices of the former President of the Republic of Cyprus Mr. Nicos Anastasiades, was honoured with the presence of the former First Lady of Cyprus Andri Anastasiadou and the Minister of Education and Culture Mr. Costas Kadis and many officials from the state and the church. 

The songs were performed in a unique way by the Greek singers Vassilis Lekkas and Petros Gaitanos, the Cypriot singers Kostas Hadjichristodoulou, Michalis Hadjimichael and Kyriakos Mappouras, the singer Atys and the composer himself. Accompanied by the sounds of the violins of the Commandaria Orchestra under the direction of Francis Guy, the traditional instruments of lyre, ney and cannon and a quartet of leading cantors.

The participation of the late, 86-year-old actress Elli Kyriakidou in the musical performance "The Chiotissa" and Niyazi Kızılyürek in the role of Kkioroglou, who received prolonged applause, caused particular sensation and emotion.

All the texts of the concert were under the literary supervision of Dr Kyriakos Ioannou, a scholar of Vassilis Michaelides.

PROGRAM:
PANHELLENIC LANGUAGE (vernacular, katharevousa, mixed)
00:00 Donkey world / and false God [ 4´49˝] LARKOS LARKOU
05:31 Stability [ 3´ 41˝] KOSTAS HATZICHRISTODOULOU
09:06 To my muse [ 2´20˝] ATYS
11:42 She [ 3´ 21˝] PETROS GAITANOS
15:20 To beggars with lyrics [ 3´ 41˝] VASILIS LEKKAS- Quartet of byzantine singers
19:05 Before the image of her [3.15'] ATYS
21:56 The parting [ 2´20˝] PETROS GAITANOS
24:21 Far from you [ 3´44˝] VASILIS LEKKAS
28:21 To Cyprus [ 3´ 16˝] PETROS GAITANOS- ATYS- Quartet of byzantine singers
31:47 To Lefkosia [ 2´36˝] VASILIS LEKKAS
34:37 ​​Troodos [ 4´ 14˝] LARKOS LARKOU - Quartet of byzantine singers
CYPRIAN Idiom
40:42 Cyprus [ 3´22˝] P. GAITANOS- ATYS-K. MAPPOURAS- M. HATZIMICHAIL
45:00 The fairy [ 5´38˝] KOSTAS HATZICHRISTODOULOU- Quartet of byzantine singers
53:19 The 9th of July 1821 in Nicosia [musical event] [15´ 00˝]

• Narrator: LARKOS LARKOU
• Kioroglu: NIAZI KIZILGIUREK
• Archbishop Kyprianos/ three Metropolitans: Quartet of byzantine singers
• Musellim Agas: MICHALIS HATZAMICHAIL
• Shepherd Dimitris: KYRIAKOS MAPPOURAS
  01:13:22 The Chiotissa in Limassol in 1821 [musical scene] [12´35˝]
• Narrator: Quartet of byzantine singers
• old woman: ELLI KYRIAKIDOU
• Chiotissa: IRINI KYRIAKOU
  01:21:42 [For the funeral of the poet] [ 2´03˝] PETROS GAITANOS- AMANES MAPPOURAS
  01:24:48 The divisions and the societies [ 4´ 10˝] LARKOS LARKOU- ALL
  01:29:14 [God, I wish I died on Saturday night] [ 2´04 ˝] ALL- B. LEKKAS

Musicians:
Larkos Larkou: guitar, laouto
Panagiotis Tsappis: ney, 12-string guitar
Christina Polykarpou: lyre
Marianna Moumtzi: kanun
Yiannis Hatzinikolaou: percussion
Panagiotis Stylianou: drums< Michalis Messios: electric bass

Orchestra Commandaria
Artistic director / conductor: Francis Guy
Conductor: Pavel Rotaru
Violin I: Hasmik Sargsyan, Kostas Demirtzoglou, Viki Hadjiandreou
Violin II: Marianna Doncheva, George Hadjigeorgiou, Irene Leoni
Violas: Nicolas Efthymiou, Valentina Valova
Cello: Doros Zesimos, Mariliza Papadouri
Double bass: Eleana Andreou

Quartet of byzantine singers:
Vassilis Paraskevaidis, Ilias Fortis, Ioannis Ioannou, Giorgos Petrou

Technicians:
Sound recording/sound mixing: Ilias Lakkas
Visualization: Galinis Productions LTD
Produced by: Athanasia Larkou, 2017

The Cypriot poet Vassilios Michaelidis

Poetry set to music by Larkos Larkou

The Municipality of Limassol in collaboration with the Coordinating Council of Cultural Organizations of Limassol (S.S.P.F.L.) organized the show entitled "The Cypriot poet Vasilios Michaelidis" with poetry set to music by Larkos Larkos. The performance was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the death of Vassilis Michaelides.

It featured the singer Atys who performed in 1900s costumes, the traditional singer Kyriakos Mapouras and the composer/performer Larkos Larkou himself, accompanied by a string quartet from members of the Commandaria orchestra, musicians with kanun, luaouto, guitar, ney, double bass and percussion and members of the Byzantine choir "Saint Hilarion".

PHOTOS BY HALARD CLAESSEN

Poems set to music by Vassilis Michaelidis in the pan-Hellenic language (pure and vernacular) were presented and the poems that made him famous in the Cypriot idiom, "Anerada", "Chiotissa..." and "9th of July, 1821..." were presented as musical acts under the philological supervision of Dr. Kyriakos Ioannou.

Through the speech of Vassilis Michaelidis and the interpretations, and in a purely theatrical space like that of ETHAL, the dramatic element of the poems set to music by V. Michaelidis emerged and through his speech, it was presented with energy , the life of the "unique, perhaps, Cypriot poet", as the "Alithia" newspaper writes in its memorial publication for Vassilis Michaelides, who died in an asylum in Limassol in 1917.

The special feature of the performance was the unamplified, acoustic sound, as well as the participation of the audience-listeners in an original way.

Wednesday, November 15, 2017 at 8:00 p.m.
at the Technohoros of ETHAL (Limassol)

PHOTOS BY HALARD CLAESSEN

Performed by:
String Quartet (members of the "Commandaria orchestra")
Violin I: Pavel Rotaru
Violin II: Marianna Doncehva
Viola: Velentina Valova
Cello: Doros Zisimos

Double bass: Michalis Messios
Kanun, percussion: Marianna Moumtzi
Ney, guitar: Panagiotis Tsappis
Laouto, guitar: Larkos Larkou

Singing:
A t y s
Larkos Larkou
Kyriakos Mappouras

Byzantine choir "Saint Hilarion", conducted by Georgia Evripidou.

Composition-orchestration-selection of lyrics: Larkos Larkou

Philological supervision: Dr. Kyriakos Ioannou

PHOTOS BY HALARD CLAESSEN

Vassilis Michaelidis – The other aspect

Poetry set to music by Larkos Larkou

FULL CONCERT IN THE VIDEO BELOW:

Poetry set to music by the legendary poet of Cyprus, Vassilis Michaelides, by Larkos Larkos, with a different approach, beyond the usual standards of the poet as a resistance fighter and as a "national". Alongside these, his unknown aspect is presented, the Cypriot dialect in word levels and the peculiar (demotic) katharevousa he uses in most of his poems, his humour, his erotic dimension, his existential exaltations, his nihilism, his adoration of Cyprus as a geographical and historical region, his indignation at his survival conditions and the barrage of unfortunate circumstances that led him to material ruin, with an emphasis on the intensely theatrical character of his poetic discourse.

PREMIERA. RIALTO THEATRE ,21/2/2009. PHOTOS: CHRISTOS ABRAAMIDIS

PROGRAM:
PART 1: old greek language (katharevousa)

1. Donkey World and Lying God (Larkos Larkou)
2. Stability (Larkos Larkou)
3. To my muse (Christiana Larkou)
4. She (Larkos Larkou)
5. To beggars with lyrics (Koulis Theodorou and Byzantine choir "Romanos o melodos")
6. Before her image (Christiana Larkou)
7. Far from you (song: Larkos Larkou)
8. The separation (Koulis Theodorou)
9. Lyrics (Larkos Larkou)
10. Το Cyprus (Koulis Theodorou and Christiana Larkou)
11. To Lefkosia (Koulis Theodorou)
12. Troodos (Larkos Larkou and Byzantine choir "Romanos the melodious")
13. One night (Michalis Terlikkas and Byzantine choir "Romanos the melodious")

PART II: Cypriot dialect:

1. The fairy (Michalis Terlikkas
2. Cyprus to them saying that it is not Greek (in Cypriot traditional melodies): Kyriakou Pelagia and Michalis Hatzimichael)v
3. The 9th of July 1821 (Larkos Larkou, Michalis Hatzimichael, Michalis Terlikkas and Byzantine choir "Romanos the melodious")
4. The Chiotissa (father Nikolaos Lymbouridis and the Byzantine choir "Romanos o melodos". Recitation: Alkistis Pavlidou and Christiana Larkou)
5. Divisions and societies (Larkos Larkou)
6. Oh God I Wish I Died Saturday Night (Everyone)

CULTURAL CENTER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS (AXIOTHEA), 25/9/2009. PHOTOS: GiANNOS DIMITRIOU

CONTRIBUTORS
Composition-orchestration: Larkos Larkou
Projections: Christoforos Larkou
Engravers: Hampis Tsangaris

Singers:
Koulis Theodorou
Mihalis Terlikkas
Kyriakou Pelagia
Mihalis Hatzimichael
Christoforos Larkou
Larkos Larkou

Actors:
Alkistis Pavlidou
Christiana Larkou

Byzantine choir "Romanos the melodious", conductor: father Nikolaos Lymbouridis
Camerata Orchestra of Limassol, conductor: Roland Melia

Musicians:
Irenaios Koulouras: bass
Rhodes Panagiotou: drums, percussion
Larkos Larkou: laouto, guitar
Ilker Kaptanoğlou: clarinet
Mihalis Sokratous: pidkiali
Moisis Papamouseos: violin

PRESIDENTIAL PALACE, 18.9.2009. PHOTOS: GIANNOS DIMITRIOU

History of performances:
First cycle:
Saturday 21/2/2009, 20.30, Rialto Theatre, Limassol
Wednesday 25/2/2009, 20.30, Larnaca Municipal Theater
("European Cultural Winter")
Saturday 07/3/2009, time 20.30, Xenio Private School, Paralimni

Second round
Presidential Palace 18/9/2009, 21.00
Cultural Center of the University of Cyprus (Axiothea) 25/9/2009, 21.00