Introduction
Greek performer Irene Papas is renowned both as a singer and as an actress.
She made fame with acting in movies as "The guns of Navarone" (1961), Michael
Cacoyannis' "Zorba the Greek" (1964) and Costa-Gavras "Z" (1969). One of her
last parts as an actor
she played a role in the movie "Captain's Corelli Mandolin" (2001). Also,
together with her husband director Michael Cacoyannis she created many films based on the
original plays of Euripides, namely "Electra" (1960), "Trojan Women" (1971) and
"Iphigenia" (1976). Apart from movies Irene has directed many Greek plays
staged in theatres, more recently "Las Troyanas" (2001) in Sagunto (Spain),
"Ecuba" (2003) in Rome (Italy) and "Antigone" (2005) in Syracuse (Sicily, Italy). She
is currently
president of three acting schools, the "City of the Scenic Arts" of Sagunto, the
"Tor Vergata" of Rome and the "To Skolion" of Athens.
Tracklist and credits
as printed on the cd
Discography
LP
1979 Polydor 2473109 Greece/France/Spain/Holland
1979 Polydor 2417343 West-Germany
1981 Polydor 6039 Argentina (titled 'Odas')
1992 Polydor 833864 South-Korea
CD
1979
Polydor 833864 Greece/West-Germany/USA/Canada
2007 Polydor 06025 1720633 5 Greece (remastered)
Single
1979
Les 40 braves / Les Kolokotronei Polydor 2815209 France
Recording studio
The music for this album was recorded at Nemo Studios in London,
England.
Miscellania
 | The music of Odes is inspired by and mostly based on tradional Greek folk
songs. |
 | Vangelis and Irene have worked together on many occasions... |
 | most noticeably for the first time, Irene sings on the last Aphrodite's
Child album "666". The provocative song 'Infinity' (oo) sung by Irene
delayed the initial release of the album. |
 | The second album they made together was recorded in 1986 and released as
"Rapsodies". |
 | As an actress Irene has performed in many plays and movies. For some of
the plays Vangelis provided the score,
in 1983 "Elektra" performed at the
Epidaurus theatre in Greece,
in 1992 "Medea" performed in Barcelona,
Spain,
in 2001 "Las Troyanas" performed in Sagunto, Spain,
in 2003 "Ecuba" (together with "Le Troiane") performed in Rome, Italy,
in 2005 "Antigone" performed in Syracuse, Italy. |
 | Some of the music of Odes was used as a score to the film
'Russicum' (also known as 'The third solution') in 1989. |
 | One of the tracks of Odes was also heard in a different arrangement during
the Olympic flame ceremony held in Athens in 1988. |
Lyrics
For all the lyrics of this album, go to :
Vangelis
and Irene Papas lyrics: Odes
Review
On ‘Odes’
Vangelis teams up again with an old friend who'd worked with him before on the
Aphrodite's Child album '666'. All
songs Greek actress Irene Papas sings on this album are Greek traditionals to
which Vangelis adds two instrumental tracks. ‘Odes’ is one of the very few projects Vangelis has been
involved in that also has any sort of literary component. Greek author turned
politician Arianna Stassinopoulos, who wrote books on Maria Callas and Pablo
Picasso, contributes some poems and texts along with Irene Papas, which are
printed in the booklet. The latter wrote a few rather dramatic introductory
lines, in which she relates how the songs were always with her from childhood,
how they reflect the emotions and common destiny of the people in the
communities in which they survive across time and place. This folk music is
rather austere but quite evocative and uses mostly those typically Mediterranean
modal harmonies. Vangelis on the whole makes sparing use of his instruments with
Irene Papas sometimes even singing on her own or accompanied by a single
melody-line. She hasn't got a great voice, a bit like that of Marianne
Faithfull, but it’s quite effective and suits this music. And of course she
speaks Greek so is able to really “act out” the songs.
The heroic opening track is about an army of youthful freedom fighters on their
way to war. It has a few equally dramatic outbursts by Vangelis plus a few
exchanges between a little choir representing the youths and Irene Papas
representing an old man they meet along the way, set to marching music. The slow
lyrical piece that follows is about the fading colors of a tired old orange
tree, presumably symbolizing the tragic plight of Greece during occupation. ‘La
Danse du Feu’ is the first of the Vangelis
composed instrumental pieces. After a fast intro it settles down to a more
lyrical mode where Vangelis again uses that deeply expressive vaguely Arab
bass-sound also employed on his album 'Earth',
to great effect. ‘Kolokotronei’
refers to a famous family in Greece’s history and is again a slow lyrical
song, this time sung a cappella by Irene Papas, with Vangelis making it sound
like she sings it in a church, using lots of echo. ‘Le
Fleuve’ has a more persistent rhythm to go with the poem about the river
of life and some beautiful flowing instrumental passages. ‘Racines’
(meaning ‘roots’) is the second instrumental composed by Vangelis and
longest track on the album. It consists of a sequence of slightly bluesy
keyboard-solos using alternatively a flute-like sound and the same bass-sound as
in the first instrumental, set against a slow sequencer-pattern. The two ladies
wrote a few accompanying lines about Vangelis remembering all sorts of
impressions which go into his music, a bit like his own text in the booklet for
Mythodea. The title of the penultimate track ‘Lamento’
speaks for itself, a tragic atmosphere is set up by low string sounds and long
suffering notes, again with flute and bass keyboard-solos by Vangelis. In
contrast, the last track is more upbeat although the song apparently relates a
tale of Menousis defending his honor against other men by killing his wife.
Vangelis plays along with the tune and adds some simple percussion, and the
little choir also makes a brief return.
Vangelis has stated he made this album to
“resurrect” these songs which were in danger of becoming dusty old museum
pieces and that consequently it became quite a popular work in Greece, this at a
time when he was still working far away in England. Maybe those more
traditionally inclined would have felt this to be tampering with the original
material, and one could say that the high-pitched sort of cosmic noises
introduced in some tracks are a touch superfluous. Nevertheless, this must count
as a tasteful and sincere work by three Greeks keeping the flame of their
ancient culture burning.
Review by Ivar de Vries
Movements |