Epitaphios – Romiosini, Ritsos – Theodorakis. Set-to-music poetry, mainly sung, that became the property of the people; songs that were loved, sung, and continue to be sung by generations of listeners. Two works with indisputable recognizability and an independent artistic trajectory, spanning decades of presence and still engaging in dialogue with today. These are the musical settings that most representatively capture the course of the poetic-political song of the 1960s in Greece.

This book highlights the reception process of these works through a multifaceted analysis of the new artistic product that emerged from the meeting of music and poetry: the song, which is not only a literary creation but also a sociological, cultural, and economic phenomenon.

Through years of research in the composer’s archive, contemporary newspapers, studies, and audio documents, unpublished material is brought to light and well-known evidence is reexamined from a new perspective. Thus, all aspects of the major cultural turning point that marked the artistic popular song are unfolded.

Evangelia Skarsouli’s study focuses on:

• The process of setting Epitaphios and Romiosini to music.
• The structure and musical characteristics of the songs.
• The role of performers, recitation, and popular concerts.
• The ideological and cultural context of the 1960s.
• The reactions, conflicts, and critiques that accompanied the publication and dissemination of the works.

An edition that highlights the contribution of the artistic popular song to the formation of modern Greek identity, while simultaneously offering new materials and approaches to the reader.