The Ionian Suite is the first work composed during Manos Hadjidakis youth, inspired by a purely Western style. There is only limited information about this work. The score was found slightly before the composer's death and it is most probably connected with the Ionian poets, Andreas Kalvos and Dionysios Solomos. Nevertheless, from the standpoint of its music, morphological and harmonic, and its technical elaboration, as well as its title and the names of its separate parts (Suite, Sarabande, Scherzo, Aria, and the final Chorus corresponding to the composition of a Toccata), this work does not only refer to the Ionian. It also lauds the Ionian world in the period of Ottoman Rule, as Greece's only bridge for communicating with the artistic creativity of the rest of Europe; and even as the link for cultural re-con- nection with European thought and as a vital spiritual element for Greece's balance between two worlds.

The Suite is organized in five parts with a contradictory character and its morphological style corre­sponds to the neo-classical model. The way the work is composed places it in the so-called "dynamic" school, which (as we all know) is represented by composers of East-European composers (Stravinsky, Bartok, etcerd). This "school" is characterized by intensely strong dance rhythms, peculiar accentuations and syncopations, as in the first part, for example -a dynamic introduction in a virile melodic form- and above all, in the last part -the Chorus- in the uneven ("asymmetrical") rhythm of 5/8, in the mood and virtuoso brilliance of the Toccata. The second part -the Sarabande- preserves the traditionally slow rhythm sensual in character. The third part -the Scherzo- in an obviously humoristic mood, composed with a bi-tonal harmonic model, introduces a brief but tender interlude. The fourth part is a Song with an internally in vocational kind of expressions, characterized by lyrical conciseness and a simple piano accompaniment.

In 1960, the Ionian Suite was performed in the form of a Ballet as well, by Rallou Manou's Greek Chorodrama.

Pages: 20
Language: Greek, English
Publisher: Papagrigoriou - Nakas