Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0
francois

Το ελληνικό πρόσωπο του Γιώργου Νταλάρα

78 posts in this topic

I love this record in a very special way. For the first ten years of my acquaintance with Dalaras, I owned (beside a number of decaying cassettes), exactly 2 CD's. And this was the best-loved.

I recently acquired the LP.

Not for the nostalgic creakiness, nor for the even more nostalgic pleasure of handling vinyl (I'm just old enough to have grown up with it). But for the COVER.

Because those skinflints at Minos, when they turn the LP's with their lovely big colourful sleeves into cd's, they don't bother to do it properly. They just shrink the front and back picture to 12x12 cm and that's it.

Well. I don't have access to a scanner that will take 40x40 cardboard, so I can't show you what it looks like inside. But I can tell you what it says.

I would like to repeat to you what Manos Hatzidakis (in whose theatre, the Sirion, the album was recorded) says about Dalaras. Dalaras takes every opportunity to express his extremely high opinion of Chadzidakis. So let's hear the other party...

Here is what he writes inside the record sleeve.

Ό Γιώργος Νταλάρας διαθέτει τέσσερα ισχυρά πρόσωπα από τη γέννησή του. Μ' αυτά λειτούργησε τόσα χρόνια τώρα, φορώντας κι ένα βυζαντινό μανδύα χρυσοποίκιλτο και ακριβά ραμένο.

Το ένα του πρόσωπο περιέχει την παράδοσή του.

Το άλλο, το πάθος του για το τραγούδι. Κάθε λογής τραγούδι.

Το τρίτο, την ερωτική του σχέση με το κοινό.

Και το τέταρτο, την τελειολογία και τάση του για τ' άστρα.

Τον κάλεσα στον Σείριο, κι ένα βράδυ εκεί που τραγουδούσε, νομίζω ήταν το τρίτο ή το τέταρτο, έμεινε ολόγυμνος, όπως τον γέννησε η μάνα του και τα τέσσερα πρόσωπα γίναν έ ν α. Είχε γίνει άστρο.

Τρέξαμε όλοι κοντά του να του παρασταθούμε στην αστροποίησή του.

Μα αυτός μας κοίταξε με λεπτή ειρωνία κι άρχισε να σγυρίζει.

Τον άκουσαν οι θυρωροί, τον άκουσαν οι επιπλοποιοί καθώς κι οι σπουδαστές των ειδικών σχολών. Τον άκουσε κι ο μηχανισμός ασφαλείας του κράτους κι αρχίσανε αυτόματα να ηχούν σειρήνες.

Μέσα στο πανδαιμόνιο, γυμνός κι ολόλμαπρος ο Γεώργιος Νταλάρας άρχισε ν' ανεβαίνει στον Λυκαβητό. Μπήκε στην κεραία του 9,48 κι απηύθηνε χαιρετισμό στους Αθηναίους: «Γειά σας Παίδες», είπε και κατέβηκε ξανά στον Σείριο.

Από τότε τραγούδησε εικοσιδύο βραδυές, χωρίς διάλειμμα και διακοπή.

Αυτή την αστρίκη περίοδο του Νταλάρα περιέχει ο δίσκος αυτός.

Με τη Θερμή συμπαράσταση, των πολιτών, των επιπλοποιών και των ατάκτων σπουδατών.

Μάνος Χατζιδάκiς

Αστρικός υπεύθυνος στην περιοχή του Σείριου.

Giorgos Dalaras has owned four very powerful faces, from the time he was born. Wearing these, he has existed all those years, and worn on top a Byzantine cloak made of gold and very expensively tailored.

The first of his faces holds his tradition.

The next, his passion for the songs. Any kind of songs.

The third, his lover's relationship with the audience.

And the fourth, his perfection, and his reaching out towards the stars.

So I invited him at the Sirion, and one night as he was singing, I think it was the third or the fourth night, he stood up naked, as when his mother gave birth to him, and all four faces became o n e. He turned into a star.

We rushed next to him, all of us, for support during his transformation. But he, he looked at us with the finest irony, and started whistling.

The doormen heard him, the furniture makers heard him, the special education students heard him. But at the same time, the national security mechanism heard him and the sirens went off.

In the midst of the pandemonium, Giorgos Dalaras, naked and shining, started climbing Lykavitos. He got to the antenna of 9,48fm and saluted all the Athenians: Geia sas paidia he said, and came back down to the Sirion.

From then on, he sang for 22 nights, with no break, with no interruption. This time of stars, itself, is contained in this album. With the very warm support of the citizens, the furniture makers and of the undisciplined students.

Manos Hadzidakis

Manager of heavenly bodies for the Sirion.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

..no words are good to express the feeling...

........................

I hope noone minds that I say that this would have been called an acute madness, psychosys, if anyone else did this. But it was Giorgos Dalaras.

This comment is, OF COURSE, well meant....

...Lipi i fotografia tu gimnu astera...ala tin eho sto mialo, filakizmeni gia panda...me agapi.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

:confused: NIKH, Celeste!! :razz:

Are your postings a joke or do you really believe that this story has to do with reality???? Hatzidakis tried to tell something like a fairy-tale!!!

To my mind Hatzidakis' text is a confusing nonsense written by a strange person who always tended to overestimate his own personality and his own abilities.

(And I say it, even though with this opinion I will have the vast majority of Greek music lovers against me and even though Dalaras himself [as Geske mentioned] and many other artists have a high opinion of him.)

And although usually I strictly refuse to give everything a deeper psychological meaning, in this case I tend to believe that Hatzidakis' crazy fantasies about a naked Dalaras had to do with his (well known) sexual preferences ...

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
And although usually I strictly refuse to give everything a deeper psychological meaning, in this case I tend to believe that Hatzidakis' crazy fantasies about a naked Dalaras had to do with his (well known) sexual preferences ...

Yes, and with his very high sense of poetry, of course... :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Paidia, stop looking for sensation, where there may be any.

The whole story and you read only the one sentence from it?

Like our tourists in the Wawel castle, looking on the most beautiful couple of people, Adam and Eva talking in the Paradise in front of God, among the other Creation scenes. 40 quadratmeter of an old Flemish kilim,a property of our kings "once upon a time".

You know, what I usually get to hear?

"Original sin", or "Getting out of Paradise".

And they have in front of their eyes a picture of the most beautiful couple I have ever seen.

And here the same.

Hopeless, paidia.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
:) NIKH, Celeste!! B)

Are your postings a joke or do you really believe that this story has to do with reality???? Hatzidakis tried to tell something like a fairy-tale!!!

Ok, Michael. The fact is that yesterday I was feeling dumb and I took the story literally or, let's say I didn't know if it was real or what. When I asked if he was really naked and the year, it was because presuming that the album is from the 70's, it was still a time when a gesture like that could be profoundly felt at a political level, particularly. Like a protest attitude or something.

Olga: I wasn't interested in the nude part as voyeurism, it's the consequence of the gesture that intrigued me. ;)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sordid fantasies on the one hand, an appaling lack of imagination on the other. Should I have known? And not posted the text?

He was right, who said 'this place is just like the real world'.

Well, since you managed to get me angry, here's what I have to say about it.

Dalaras is always naked under his clothes, just like everybody else. So what!

I like was Chatzidakis wrote about him, and I don't think it's weird at all - in fact I think it's clear, amusing, and well-said.

And I don't give a fukking red penny if he was gay or not - if he was, good for him and I hope he enjoyed it - and if not, the same!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Sordid fantasies on the one hand, an appaling lack of imagination on the other. Should I have known? And not posted the text?

(To my mind, the sordid fantasies are already within Hatzidakis' text.)

But why shouldn't you post it? To my mind it is very useful that you presented it. And whatever is written here (about the text itself) is definitely no criticism or insult of its poster and translator.

Well, since you managed to get me angry, [...]

Who, Geske, and why??

But (as Olga suggested) let's take a look at another part of Hatzidakis' wonderful story, its beginning:

Hatzidakis says in the first sentence that "Giorgos Dalaras has owned four very powerful faces, from the time he was born." ("Ό Γιώργος Νταλάρας διαθέτει τέσσερα ισχυρά πρόσωπα από τη γέννησή του.")

And then he mentions the four "faces" he means:

"The first of his faces holds his tradition.

The next, his passion for the songs. Any kind of songs.

The third, his lover's relationship with the audience.

And the fourth, his perfection, and his reaching out towards the stars."

And all that "from the time he was born" ("από τη γέννησή του")???

- The first face? - O.k. (as known Dalaras' father was musician).

- The second? - Hmmm: Obviously Dalaras was singing (instead of crying or weeping like other babies) from the moment he was born (and Hatzidakis obviously is well informed about this wonder).

- But now it becomes really interesting: "his lover's relationship with the audience" ("την ερωτική του σχέση με το κοινό"). Which "audience" of baby Dalaras - his mother, his father, other people standing around him?? And what was the manifestation of "lovers's relationship" of the 2 hours (or 2 days or 2 weeks) old baby Dalaras with this people??

- And finally the fourth face: "his perfection, and his reaching out towards the stars" ("την τελειολογία και τάση του για τ' άστρα"). And all that from the time he was born?? I think such amazing abilities they did not even ascribe to Jesus Christ when he was lying in his crib in Bethlehem.

That's not poetry, that's not some symbolic description. That's simply illogical nonsense and "kitsch". And in case that anyone else than Hatzidakis dared to write such stupid things I am quite sure that all people would laugh.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Sordid fantasies on the one hand, an appaling lack of imagination on the other. Should I have known? And not posted the text?

Ok, Geske mea culpa. I wasn't exactly in shape yesterday. Don't get angry and yes, you did right by posting the text. It's a beautiful one and I don't see anything sordid in what Hatzidakis wrote.

we all have bad days.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

But (as Olga suggested) let's take a look at another part of Hatzidakis' wonderful story, its beginning:

Hatzidakis says in the first sentence that "Giorgos Dalaras has owned four very powerful faces, from the time he was born." ("Ό Γιώργος Νταλάρας διαθέτει τέσσερα ισχυρά πρόσωπα από τη γέννησή του.")

And then he mentions the four "faces" he means:

"The first of his faces holds his tradition.

The next, his passion for the songs. Any kind of songs.

The third, his lover's relationship with the audience.

And the fourth, his perfection, and his reaching out towards the stars."

And all that "from the time he was born" ("από τη γέννησή του")???

- The first face? - O.k. (as known Dalaras' father was musician).

- The second? - Hmmm: Obviously Dalaras was singing (instead of crying or weeping like other babies) from the moment he was born (and Hatzidakis obviously is well informed about this wonder).

- But now it becomes really interesting: "his lover's relationship with the audience" ("την ερωτική του σχέση με το κοινό"). Which "audience" of baby Dalaras - his mother, his father, other people standing around him?? And what was the manifestation of "lovers's relationship" of the 2 hours (or 2 days or 2 weeks) old baby Dalaras with this people??

- And finally the fourth face: "his perfection, and his reaching out towards the stars" ("την τελειολογία και τάση του για τ' άστρα"). And all that from the time he was born?? I think such amazing abilities they did not even ascribe to Jesus Christ when he was lying in his crib in Bethlehem.

That's not poetry, that's not some symbolic description. That's simply illogical nonsense and "kitsch". And in case that anyone else than Hatzidakis dared to write such stupid things I am quite sure that all people would laugh.

Excuse me, but I think that really a lot of people do write stuff like this all the time. They are usually called poets. What do you want? No symbolism at all? Should we replace a sentence like "Her face was like a pond of stillness." with something like " Her face was very still, like something that is very still.", just because her face is not wet, decorated with primroses and probably inhabited by frogs? It might not mean anything to you, and it might not mean anything to me, but like all art poetry can only be judged by the reciever. It might mean something to others.

I just don't really understand this intense reaction to some lines by Hatzidakis when there are probably just as strange things written by more or less all lyricists of, e.g., Dalaras' songs.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Excuse me, but I think that really a lot of people do write stuff like this all the time. They are usually called poets. [...]

I just don't really understand this intense reaction to some lines by Hatzidakis when there are probably just as strange things written by more or less all lyricists of, e.g., Dalaras' songs.

The difference is that (such) poetry usually does not refer to a concrete living person (and is not printed on a LP-cover to introduce a record of this person).

Just imagine that a "poet" would write "his perfection, and his reaching out towards the stars" ("from the time he was born"!) etc.etc about a politician (or a sportsman)! What would you think about him?

And concerning other lyricists (of Dalaras' songs): No, no, no - surely the vast majority of them do not write at all in such a style.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

As far as I am concerned, I am convinced that Hadjidakis was a real poet, not only in the way he wrote poems, but also in the way he composed music and in the way he spoke of everything, including the persons he loved and admired. I think the text Geeske posted here yesterday is a good example of how Hadjidakis used to speak in everyday life.

Btw, Geeske, I think it's important to know that Hadjidakis was gay. It helps us understand much of his work. It is often very interesting to know that he was gay.

Back to the topic: "To ellhniko proswpo tou Giwrgou Ntalara" is the very first CD I have ever bought, and it is my favourite Dalaras album. I lost it some time ago, under painful circumstances, and I will never thank Annette enough for having given a copy of it in Paris in February. :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'd rather say "no need of great musical arragements to enhance such beautiful songs, they are enhanced by such a beautiful voice"!!!!!!!!

After all, GD's voice is at the service of music, not the contrary.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Concerning the record itself, I would say that it is fantastic for studying and enjoying Dalaras' voice. That is to my mind its main importance. (If you want to hear the songs in an authentic version of course you will have to listen to other records.)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Of Hadzidakis I know only the name, so forgive me.

I really thought Giorgos was naked, and I wish he were...

Christos is a presumption, no god. Some people think he is god some don't and 65 percent of erotithendon in Europe,a poll says, think he is not..

Therefore why would Giorgos be any worse than Hristos? In my mind he is better. MY god.

Giorgos gives me the sence od life together with my boy. NOIMA ZOIS.

It suffices for a lifetime.......

Meanwhile,since Giorgos is not available, not that it is the only one reason, I am sort of loving somebody else... :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
Guest
You are commenting as a guest. If you have an account, please sign in.
Reply to this topic...

×   You have pasted content with formatting.   Remove formatting

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

Loading...
Sign in to follow this  
Followers 0