AHARNES

While albums like Perivoli tou Trellou, Ballos, Vromiko Psomi and 10 Chronia Kommatia really showcase the limitless creativity and musical chops of prodigial composer Dionysis Savvopoulos, in my opinion his magnum opus lies in his retelling of the ancient Greek comedy, Acharnians (subtitling the album, 'Aristophanes has returned from the dead').

Structuring this album into quite a literal rock opera, there's only 34 minutes worth of material on this, with a significant portion of the runtime taken up by monologue. Even if you don't speak Greek I recommend you listen to these spoken parts as Savvopoulos' storytelling capabilities and passions are truly unparalleled, and the orchestral accompaniment and weird sound effects makes for some very riveting and clearly Brechtian inspired musical moments.

The songs themselves, in their unfortunate limited capacity, are absolutely flawless and truly contain masterful composition and orchestration to combine a wide array of inspiration ranging from traditional Greek music, Byzantine chants, Gothic chorale, Renaissance/English folk, opera, rock, musical theatre and surrealist Brechtian theatre. For just over thirty minutes, that is a notable achievement, especially when the transitions and mixing between all the different genres are so seamless, with no part of the album seeming out of place and running its full duration smoothly. Notable aspects of unique instrumentation which really enhances the music on this album to contains a full orchestra, sheepskin bagpipes and lutes for that extra bit of spicy Hellenism, notable voices in Greek music (N. Papazoglou, S. Boulas) backed by a strong male ensemble, harpsichords and booming tubular bells.

Throughout the whole album, Savvopoulos' expressive and highly intimately worded narration accompanyies the chanting, haunting voices of the Acharnians, who serve as the ancient Greek chorus during the show. Their voices stylistically switch between and mix styles resembling droning Byzantine prayers of the Greek Orthodox church (Parodos/Kyrikes), Epirotic polyphony (Paravasi), Icarian carolling (Stasimo) and Western-style musical theatre (Agonas/Kyrikes). This versatility of this dynamic yet highly foreboding ensemble already sets the humourous yet somehow unsettling nature of the show, heightening its non-naturalistic plot.

The music does not shy away from rapidly yet seamlessly changing between simple acoustic medieval minstrel tunes and dirges to haunting, harmonising chorale backed by thrashing orchestra and electric guitars which ground the listener instantly. The changing tempos and time signatures throughout the whole album, interwoven with the narration and the spoken word, really adds layers of complexity to Savvopoulos' writing capability.

Notable moments from the album include the strong opening track Parodos in all its wonderful variations and changes between most, if not all the aforementioned genres seamlessly, the Anglo-folk tinged beginning of Siggrousi, the climax of the very heavy yet vocally stunning Paravasi, the orchestral and a-cappella versions of Stasimo as well as the chilling yet calming voices of Kyrikes which wraps the story in on its close. Likewise, the greatest moment of this album (as if it could get any better from all its preceding songs) is the ensemble and orchestra singing and playing in unison at the grand finale Exodos, celebrating the 'resurrection' of Aristophanes from the thymeyards. A rewarding and highly jovial musical extravaganza for the listener as the musical soars to a triumphant close after a string of flawless storytelling and musicianship.

So is this a prime example of progressive rock? Well, no. Not really. So then why does it get my five stars? Because this is a piece of progressive theatre and opera by a notable progressive rock artist, much like Pink Floyd's The Wall, Frank Zappa's Joe's Garage and Jethro Tull's Too Old to Rock n Roll, Too Young to Die! which has been composed and performed exceptionally well on the album and in many live shows because of its gleaming musicianship and artistry. The music on this album is Savvopoulo at his most explorative, most experimental and most surreal, with not a single boring moment from its hopeful and charming opening monologue to the final operatic number which will ring down Aristophanes' iconic (and one-of-his-first!) comedies for generations to come.