Greek Music Express: Music for Aristophanes – Music for Peace | 02 Jan 2024

Two extremely talented composers, Nikos Kypourgos and Minos Matsas, composed music for Peace, a comedy written and produced by the Greek playwright Aristophanes. The plot concerns the flight to heaven on a dung beetle by Trygaeus. He searches for goddess Peace, discovers that the god of war has buried her in a pit and eventually rescues her. The play is notable for its joyous anticipation and celebration of peace. Kypourgos recalls: “Driven by Aristophanes’ love for frequent changes of style and meter, as well as frequent references to his contemporaries, I was tempted to use materials and codes from different musical genres – from opera, musicals and cabaret to Byzantine hymns – but also a more modern language in terms of rhythm and harmonies. And I tried to make some indirect or direct references to other composers”.