A Dubious Mission: Skalkottas’s Vision of Truly Greek Music and his 36 Greek Dances

Abstract or Summary:

The employment of folk elements in art music is a most effective means through which a composer may imbue their work with national character. At the same time, the particular mode of manipulating the folk material may serve as an invaluable tool for penetrating a composer’s distinctive perception of national identity. On the basis of these observations, my paper aims to put forward a more nuanced understanding of Nikos Skalkottas’s vision of national music and Greek national identity by focusing on his idiosyncratic appropriation of Greek folk songs in his 36 Greek Dances for Orchestra. Skalkottas’s peculiar conceptualisation of national identity with reference to the Greek folk song will be reconstructed through analysis of his article on this topic. Subsequently, the implementation of Skalkottas’s pronouncements with respect to the composition of truly Greek music will be discussed with reference to the case of his Greek Dance “Syrtos” (B/1), based on the composer’s own transcriptions of the folk song employed, commissioned by Melpo Merlier for the Musical Folklore Archive. Skalkottas’s approach will be contextualised with reference to the broader cultural milieu in contemporaneous Athens.