The two Rhapsodies

by Filippos Tsalahouris

1st Rhapsody

Both Rhapsodies were written in the year 1921 – there are no manuscripts to inform us of the precise dates. The Rhapsodies were published five years later, in Paris, by the Menestrel Publishing House. The reason why the first, which the composer had dedicated to Jose Iturbi, was originally shown special interest, is because in 1925 it was orchestrated by the French composer and conductor Gabriel Pierne. Pierne’s orchestration of the piece was a personal gift as well as a clear sign of his adoration towards the Greek composer whose work he greatly appreciated.

Notably, in this music Kalomiris dared approach the French harmonic language, experimenting with an aesthetic element which Pierne’s impressionist orchestration directly draws our attention to. 

There are two manuscripts of this orchestral script in Kalomiris’ Archives. One of them, apparently by a copyist’s hand, bears Pierne’s signature as well as a dedication, while the other one has been copied by Kalomiris himself. Now, we already know that the composer worked on his pieces repeatedly and often revised his orchestral scores, but what can the reason be for him to copy the full score? For one thing, he may have done it for pure practical reasons, the need, say, of one more full score in order for the piece to be performed. He even dated the manuscript in French -   Mardi Le 12 Mai 1925. Still, both the handwriting and the quality of paper show the copy to have been made many years later. So the composer had only meant to produce one more copy. Could he have done it to protect the first manuscript – which might have been copied by Pierne himself – from possible damage, often caused in performance practice?

The Rhapsody in its orchestral form was first performed on 12 December 1925 at the Kentrikon (= Central) theatre, Athens,  where Dimitris Mitropoulos conducted the Recitals’ Association Symphonic Orchestra. 

The full score was edited by Kalomiris in 1957.

2nd Rhapsody

The composer has given the 2nd Rhapsody the title Song to the Night. It is quite interesting to point out that in the French edition, right over the French translation Chant a la Nuit, one can also see the Greek title in Latin characters. Similar to that title is the title Evening Song – translated in French as Chant du soir – which Kalomiris has given to one of his easy piano pieces’ series For the Greek Children.

The 2nd Rhapsody followed the orchestral process of the 1st one sixty years later, by means of the conductor Byron Fidetzis’ orchestration. Here are his comments on it:

‘The 2nd piano Rhapsody, composed in 1921, belongs to the composer’s second creative period, as seen by the orchestrator of the piece. The works which were composed after the Symphony of Leventia, such as The Peddler, the Trio for piano, violin and violoncello, the Piano Rhapsodies, the second cycle of the Iambs and Anapaests, and, finally, the Symphony of the Simple and Good People, are considered to belong to the above mentioned period which, to the composer, is probably a lot more interesting and important than his last one. This period is characterised by his artistry being infused with the French music’s latest conquests in both harmony and orchestration. Not unreasonably then, many of his works belonging to the period in question were printed and performed in France(Trio, I Love You, etc.).

As for the author, the fact that the prominent French composer and conductor Gabriel Pierne miraculously orchestrated the 1st Rhapsody is of primary importance. It also became the original source of inspiration for the 2nd Rhapsody to be orchestrated, together with the orchestrator’s personal opinion of the particular piece being the best piano piece ever composed by Kalomiris.    

In this work which took place between the years 1987 and 1988, two things were mainly kept in mind; Kalomiris’ already mentioned relationship with the French music of the first decades of the(20th)century, as well as the way in which the composer himself orchestrated other works of his, works similar to this one in terms of texture and atmosphere.

The author is dedicating this work to his old friend Alexis Zakithinos, in the hope of it not betraying the original.