THE GOLDEN AGE OF GREEK CINEMA (2CD)

? The singers Nana Mouskouri and Melina Mercouri and composers Mikis Theodorakis and Manos Hadjidakis were the four key musical protagonists in the awakening of Greek music and cinema that occurred in the late '50s, early 1960s.

? This two disc edition comprises the soundtracks of the decisive films of the era; These include Michael Cacoyannis' Stella and Jules Dassin's monumental Never on Sunday, which it prefigured; films which found Melina Mercouri set against the conventions of society, a symbol and a mascot for outlaw women, giving vivacious performances which would make her a national hero and bring international fame. Never on Sunday earned Mercouri the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1961 (an award she deserved for Stella).

? At Hollywood's Academy Awards ceremony, 'Ta pedia tou Pirea' (under the title Never on Sunday), won the Oscar for best original song. While Mercouri performed it on screen, it was Nana Mouskouri's seductive recording which propelled Manos Hadjidakis' composition into the charts. Both are included here.

? Hadjidakis was responsible for Nana Mouskouri's big early successes. She won first prize at the Festival of Greek Song with 'My Love is Somewhere', a composition he wrote especially for her, and then he had the youngster sing with the chorus of the national opera on his lavish score for Wolfgang Muller-Sehn's documentary / travelogue, Greece, Land of Dreams

? His exact contemporary, Mikis Theodorakis is the greatest living Greek composer; a charismatic figure who gained a wide following through both his art and his courageous opposition to the forces of oppression in his homeland.

? Included here are Mikis' scores for Jules Dassin's modern interpretation of Euripides' Hippolytus story, Phaedra (starring Mercouri and Anthony Perkins) and for Michael Cacoyannis' magisterial Electra, a stunning percussive score which rejects the conventional romantic orchestral approach to successfully unite the classical technique of drama with the modern technique of cinema.

DISC ONE
HELLAS I CHORA TON ONIRON GREECE, THE LAND OF DREAMS (1961) - NANA MOUSKOURI & MANOS HADJIDAJKIS

1. > 3. ATHENS
4. > 6 THE AEGEAN

ELECTRA (1962) - MIKIS THEODORAKIS
7. ELECTRA SUITE 1
8. ELECTRA SUITE 2
9. ELECTRA SUITE 3
10. ELECTRA SUITE 4
11. ELECTRA SUITE 5
12. ELECTRA SUITE 6
13. ELECTRA SUITE 7
14. ELECTRA SUITE 8
15. ELECTRA SUITE 9
16. ELECTRA SUITE 10
17. ELECTRA SUITE 11
18. ELECTRA SUITE 12
19. ELECTRA SUITE 13
20. ELECTRA SUITE 14

21. TA PEDIA TOU PIREA (NEVER ON SUNDAY) - Melina Mercouri (GREEK 7'' VERSION)


DISC TWO
NEVER ON SUNDAY (1960) - MANOS HADJIDAKIS & MELINA MERCOURI
1. MAIN TITLE - NEVER ON SUNDAY (INSTRUMENTAL)
2. PROLOGUE
3. BOUZOUKIA
4. DANCE YORGO
5. TAKI
6. THE CHARMS OF ILYA
7. ILLYA
8. NEVER ON SUNDAY (VOCAL: Melina Mercouri)
9. HASAPICO
10. THE LANTERN
11. BETRAYED
12. SPEAK SOFTLY
13. THE ORGAN GRINDER
14. END TITLE - NEVER ON SUNDAY

15. TA PEDIA TOU PIREA (NEVER ON SUNDAY) - Nana Mouskouri (GREEK 7'' VERSION)

STELLA (1955) - MANOS HADJIDAKIS & MELINA MERCOURI
16. L'AMOUR EST A DOUBLE TRANCHANT (LOVE IS DOUBLE-EDGED)
17. C'EST LE 13 DU MOIS (THIS IS THE 13TH OF THE MONTH)

PHAEDRA (1962) - MIKIS THEODORAKIS
18. LOVE THEME FROM PHAEDRA
19. RENDEZVOUS
20. SHIP TO SHORE
21. LONDON'S FOG
22. ONE MORE TIME
23. AGAPI MOU
24. ONLY YOU
25. THE FLING
26. CANDLELIGHT
27. RODOSTAMO (VOCAL: Melina Mercouri)
28. LOVE THEME FROM PHAEDRA (VOCAL: Melina Mercouri)
29. GOOD BYE JOHN SEBASTIAN (VOCAL READING: Anthony Perkins)