Aristotle, the ancient Greek
philosopher, has said that Truth lies always somewhere in the middle.
Regardless of the extent to which we may agree or disagree on which the “land”
of truth is, one thing is for sure. We cannot live without it. Either looking for
it, trying to hide from it, avoiding to face it or admit it, finding the
courage to tell it and accept it, humans have always had a passionate
relationship with Truth.
Maybe this is one of the reasons why
the latest musical performance of Panos Gourgiotus and Giouli Asimakopoulou has
taken its name. It may be that the creators and performers of this concert wish
to find a way to tell Truth themselves that they do know the integral role it
holds in humans’ lives.
But they also want, like they said
in their concert yesterday on the 30th of November 2019 in
Luxembourg, hosted by the non-profit cultural organization Mitos asbl, to find
a name that can represent the identity of the songs they have included in their
performance.
Every single song of theirs is a
piece of a global common Truth we share as inhabitants of this planet called
Earth. You see, Truth cannot wear out because of time or loss of memory. Truth
leaves an eternal mark on humanity’s history but it is the humans who decide
not to remember it or pretend that they have forgotten all about it.
Nevertheless, the ones who decided
to attend yesterday’s performance and the ones who have been a stable, ongoing
part of their audience are part of these humans who wish to remember parts of
our common shared Truth that we may have danger of forgetting.
Panos Gourgiotis and Giouli
Asimakopoulou have built a musical performance which presents songs reflecting
a part of our commonly shared global Truth. Most of these Truths were unknown
to me and it was through their songs and the background info provided to the
audience on the screen that I was offered the opportunity to be familiarized
with them.
I did not know that the classic
ballad “Hey Jude” from the summer ’68 was Paul McCartney’s way of showing his strong
bond to John Lennon and his 5year old child who experienced the painful divorce
of his father John. I had forgotten that ‘Where the Wild roses grow” was
written by Nick Cave thanks to his inspiration by the traditional song “Down in
the Willow garden” narrating a real incident of a woman’s killing.
“Sunday, Bloody Sunday” by U2 refers
mainly to the internal Irish conflict of 1972 whereas “The children down the
plain” by Manos Hatzidakis, one of the most beloved worldwide Greek composers,
is the result of Hatzidakis’ need to express in 1945, year of Greece’s
independence at the end of the Second World War, his thoughts on the oppression
and limitation of freedom which his nation has been through as a result of
foreign conquerors or internal authoritarians.
The performance ‘Truth’ consists of
numerous songs, each portraying a Truth of humanity’s history. It is an
emotional performance which leads its listeners to realize something we usually
say but rarely become really conscious of it. Truth is always carried within
our genes no matter our national, historical, or cultural background. Truth is
shared and is common. No matter how we decide to interpret it, Truth exists and
music is in my opinion one of the best lenses to look at it.
As a member of the audience of
yesterday’s performance of Panos Gourgiotis and Giouli Asimakomoulou, I would
like to express my gratitude for offering me the opportunity to familiarize
with our common humanity. We are humans, inhabitants of a world which
experiences similar true stories, generated by common human ‘problematic areas’
such as wars, betrayals, lies, divorces, painful confessions, love
disappointments, fears, agonies, exploitations, aggressiveness.
We all breathe in and out the
conscious or unconscious memories of what we have shared through our human
nature. The voices of Panos Gourgiotis and Giouli Asimakopoulou transformed
into an air balloon which lifted us a bit up in the air of the common language
of music which demolishes barriers of time, space and cultural differences and
took us on a trip around the world within the 2,5 hours of their performance.
I hope that this initiation of Mitos
asbl who organized and hosted the whole event and was hugged by all of us who
attended the event will be a part of the events that are to be organized in the
future. A big thank you to both parts involved, Mitos asbl and the singers. A
big thank you to the magic of music which can help us keep our ears open to the
Truth. The Truth which makes us feel more human, therefore more fulfilled and
in peace with our nature.
Maria Papamargariti 01.12.19
