Antifaschistische Schlager und Chansons
Concert, Nov. 27, 2019
Under the title Antifaschistische Schlager and Chansons, Michaela Meise, together with musicians Barbara Wagner and Simeon Cöster, presented a selection of songs from her album Ich bin Griechin (I am Greek), which was released in 2018. Meise’s LP is inspired by the European chanson scene of the postwar period. The title harks back to an album titled Je suis Grecque, which was released by singer Melina Mercouri in the 1970s, after the Greek military junta had stripped her of her citizenship. The compositions by Mikis Theodorakis, Barbara, Maria Tănas, and others compiled by Meise are both popular and political at once. Their lyrics reflect experiences of war, the Holocaust, and the start of labor migration. At the same time, they tell of loved ones and moments of reconciliation. Through translation into German and musical reinterpretation, Meise brings both the content and the meaning of these songs forward into the present day.