MUSIC IN CINEMA AS A NATIONAL AND

CULTURAL IDENTITY

Dr Renata Dalianoudi

PhD. Ethnomusicology

 (slide 2)

Since music in cinema started to serve aesthetical needs of a film and not just be one among other elements of the film projection (as it used to happen in the mute cinema and in the first steps of the speaking cinema), in other words since 1930, music has become an essential and inseparable component of a movie. It is the era when lots of composers become known through their successful scores/ soundtracks. Some characteristic examples of the golden era of Hollywood in the decades of ’30s, ‘40s, ’50s and ’60s are: Erich Korngold, Max Steiner, Bernard Hermann, Alfred Newman, Victor Young, Alex North, Εrnest Gold, Franz Waxman, Miklos Rosza, Jerry Goldsmith, while in the European Cinema the names of Moris Zarre, Michel Legrand, George Delerue, Philippe Sarde, Nino Rota and sometime later those of Ennio Morricone & Nicola Piovani become known, too.

(slide 3)

As time goes by soundtracks reach such aesthetical perfection that they not only accompany the pictures of a film with sound, or underline the feelings of the heroes/ actors, or describe the plot, but they become independent musical scores as well. In other words, a soundtrack can be played separately from the film for which it was composed and it may have a complete form and independency.

(slide 4)

Despite the fact that the form, the development and the style of a soundtrack depend on the script and often by the producer’s/ director’s point of view, the atmosphere, the different nuances of sound, the choice of instruments, the musical structure, and generally the structural and aesthetical components of a soundtrack depend on each composer’s imagination, origins, experience and educational background. A composer –having the justification of the film- composes the soundtrack, which is considered as a very personal work. According to this statement, cinema composers using the freedom offered by the art of music itself, develop their ideas, knowledge and preferences, through which their experience are expressed, rendering thus those scores as samples of their personal artistic identity.

(slide 5)

As the film director gives his/ her personal taste by choosing the actors, the place and the way of presenting the script and the structure of the film, while simultaneously his/ her work represent the Cinematographical School in which he/ her belongs (e.g. we talk about European, American, Iranian, Chinese Cinema), in the same way the cinema composer –apart from being the representative of his/ her personal style-   becomes the transmitter and carrier of the musical tradition in which he/ she is initiated and generally of the cultural heritage in which he/ she is an active member.

(slide 6)

The soundtrack is a composition of which the composer’s name is known; it is a product of elaborated work and not of a collective work and spontaneous elaboration, as it used to happen in the field of the Greek traditional music in the rural environment. (Anyhow, this could not be the case for the vertical and complicated procedure of film-making because the 20^th century is the century of the specialization and individualism in every field of science and art.)

The soundtrack –despite the fact that it is an absolutely personal work- functions as a national cultural identity of the composer’s homeland, especially when the films is put on abroad. There are lots of examples where we can see that the composer’s personal taste and aesthetic refers to and represents the national musical “idiom” of his/ her country.

(slide 7)

At this point it is noteworthy to examine how and why a soundtrack can function as national cultural identity:

a) By using instruments from the traditional or/ and popular music, such as zither, lute, violin, lyre, clarinet, toumbeleki, bouzouki, which function as symbols of the musical traditions to which they belong. Needless to say that these instruments are used by non-traditional composers who –despite the fact that they are erudite and have a west-european musical education- they eager to give a sense of traditionalism (always depending on the scene of the film) to their scores or enrich their orchestration with new and strange combinations.

b) By using dancing rhythms from the traditional or/ and popular music, such as kalamatianos, tsamikos, syrtos, karsilamas, hassapiko, zeibekiko.

c) By borrowing well-known tunes from the traditional or/ and popular music, and their arrangement according to the composer’s style and technique. 

a) Use of traditional/ popular instruments

A characteristic example of a soundtrack orchestrated with traditional and/ or popular instruments is composed by the great Greek cinema composer, Kostas Kapnisis (1920-). At his score for the film Ghiannos ke Pagona (1959) K.K. uses the clarino [clarinet], which is considered to be the most characteristic instrument of the greek folk music. In order that this traditional instrument is marked out among the other instruments, it is not only put in the body of the western orchestra[1], but it is given a main musical role, as well. In the following example to which we are going to listen, on the one hand the clarino plays solo a pastoral theme which reminds of the greek countryside and its musical tradition, the way it was played with the flutes by shepherds, while on the other hand the melody is continued by the symphonic orchestra which plays a lyric theme. The listeners/ audience –even if they are not aware of the composer’s nationality, they automatically recognize the greek musical idiom in the melody and the style of the score.

(μουσ. πρδγ 1: Γιάννης και Παγώνα: 00-1.46)

b) Use of rhythms from traditional and popular music and traditional and popular orchestration

Something equivalent happens in the soundtrack for the film Matomeno Iliovassilema [bleeding sunset] (1959), which was performed at the International Festival of Cannes, also composed by K.K. In this soundtrack the Greek identity is both testified by the use of clarino and the responding melody of the symphonic orchestra which reminds of a special genre of the greek folk song, called “kleftiko” [meaning the kind of song about the revolutionlers/ fighters on the greek mountains during the Turkish Domination]. The interesting and unexpected thing is that this folkloric melody turns into a dramatical -full of tense- melody, always having though some hints of traditionalism. Let’ s listen to it…. (μουσ. πρδγ 2, Ματωμένο ηλιοβασίλεμα τρακ 2: 0.00-1.24)

The combination between rhythms and instruments from the folk and popular music render the soundtrack more convincing as far as its symbolization as national cultural identity is concerned.  For example, if we listen to K.K.’s soundtrack for the film Papaflessas (1971), we will note that he uses the rhythm of tsamikos (one of the most typical pan-Hellenic dancing rhythms of folk music), which he orchestrates with the traditional instruments: violins, zither, lute and dahare. Beside the scenario which refers to a great instigator of the Greek Revolution against the Turkish Domination in 1821, supposing that sb has not seen the movie, the music itself gives away a vigorous sense of the Greek tradition/ Hellenism.

(μουσ. πρδγ 3, Papaflessas, track 3, 00-0.58)

In the same soundtrack it is noteworthy the fact that the composer K.K. also composed the Turkish amanes (sung by a man and performed with the accompaniment of the traditional instrument toumbeleki), obviously for the needs of the film, managing thus to represent the Turkish musical tradition and making his music have a double cultural identity: the Greek and the Turkish one. The inference here is that a composer –supposed that he has got accustomed to the musical tradition of a foreign country- he can surpass even his own origins, and compose a score which refers to the foreign country and not to his homeland. Let’ s listen to this amanes composed by a greek composer.

(μουσ. πρδγ 4 & 5, Papaflessas: τούρκικος αμανές, 00-0.20, τρακ 5: οργανικός αμανές 00-1.30)

Another typical example of the use of rhythms and instruments from the greek popular music can be found in Manos Hatzidaki’s soundtrack (for which the composer won the Oscar Prize at the International Festival in Cannes) for Jules Dassin’s film Never On Sunday (1960). More concrete the famous song of the soundtrack “ta pedia tou Pirea” [“the guys from Peareus”], sung by the chief actress Melina Merkouri and written in the popular rhythm of hassapikos, represent the greek popular music, of which the graceful dancing rhythms are admired by foreign people. I will quote you here the words of one the most famous Greek painters of the 20^th century, Mr. Yiannis Moralis, who was the scenographer of the film: “When the song “ta pedia tou Pirea” was played, it was a great great success! Evereybody, people from all over the world sang this song and in the evening the song was performed by the fanfares of Cannes. We were all excited with the greek music….” Mr, Moralis said.

(slide 8)

c) Use of melodies from the folkloric and/ or popular music

            Another interesting example of music in cinema as national cultural identity is M.H.’s soundtrack for Michalis Kakoyiannis’ film To telefteo psema [The last Lie] (1957), where the composer -despite the fact that he is not a traditional composer- gives the greek colour in his music -on the one hand- by composing a folkloric-like melody in the rhythm of kalamatianos measure 7/8 (which seems to be derived from the local musical tradition of the greek islands) and -on the other hand- by borrowing the well-known tune from the folkloric musical tradition of the island of Crete, “pentozali” (in the rhythm of 2/4), rendering thus the musical score familiar to listeners. (μουσ. πρδγ 6: Telefteo psema, “dimotiko”, 00- 1.20)

5γραμμο: «δημοτικό», Το τελευταίο ψέμμα, 1957.

             Another characteristic example of using folkloric melodies is Mikis Theodorakis’ famous soundtrack for Michalis Kakoyiannis’ film Zorba the Greek (an American production in 1964, with Anthony Queen in the leading role),[2] in which the famous “syrtaki”(written on the rhythm of hassapiko and hassaposerviko) is an arrangement of the cretan traditional syrtos dance called “armenochorianos”. This music can be played separately from the movie and it can represent the way Greeks entertain and express their feelings while dancing. (μουσ. πρδγ 7: «συρτάκι του Ζορμπά» 00-0.50)

            What’s more, both in the song “ta pedia tou Pirea” by M.H. and in “Zorba’s syrtaki” by M.T. we have the oxymoron: although these composers are well known internationally, their songs surpass their reputation and they do function as national cultural identities of Greece. In other words, supposed that the composer’s objective is to make his music sound “greek”, this is already achieved in such a degree that the greek musical colour is easily recognized (whether the soundtracks are being listened separately or simultaneously while watching the movies), without referring to the composer’s nationality or cultural origins.

(slide 9)

All these examples and lots of other examples from various soundtracks by various composers prove another competence and function of the music: apart from a non-linguistic code which describes and underlines the aesthetical motives, music can function as the national cultural identity of a country.

Dr Renata Dalianoudi

PhD. Ethnomusicology, Athens University

Professor-Adviser, Hellenic Open University

Scientific Counselor IOV-UNESCO & GREEK DANCE ARCHIVES