Mellichomeide, Op. 44 (1980)

Description:

With Mellichomeide, the composer’s endeavour is not only to set certain verses of Sappho (622-587 B.C.) to music but also to convey the psychological atmosphere of this poetry using contemporary musical means. The text comprises “fragments” from various poems by Sappho, selected by the composer from the extant works of the poetess. By using instruments such as the English horn, harp, or alto flute, the composer aimed to evoke the timbre of ancient Greek musical instruments like the aulos or the lyre.

The title Mellichomeide means “Sweet-Smiling” and is borrowed from a dedication to Sappho by her contemporary poet Alcaeus, which is recited at the end of the work. Mellichomeide was written in Athens in the spring of 1980 following a commission from the Third Programme of Hellenic Radio-Television, which presented it in November 1983, almost simultaneously with its reprise in Brussels (“Europalia” 1983). Since then, it has also been performed in Boston, USA (ALEA III, February 1984), and again in Athens (ALEA III, summer 1985).

-This is a near-verbatim translation of Sicilianos’s Greek text.