El Greco is a classical composition by Greek synth-composer Vangelis Papathanissiou (born March 29, 1943). It was released by EMI Music/Spheric BV in 1998. The title alludes to the inspiration of the work, Domenikos Theotokopoulos, the Cretan-born 16th- and 17th-century painter and sculptor known as El Greco.

Movements

• I
• II
• III
• IV
• V
• VI
• VII
• VIII
• IX
• X (Epilogue)

Liner Notes

El Greco

Domenikos Theotokopoulos was born in Crete in 1541. As a painter he became renowned for his religious pictures and portraits, leaving Greece firstly for Italy, before settling in 1577 in Toledo, Spain. The Spanish named him simply El Greco, ‘the Greek.’ He died in 1614.

Dedication

“I pay tribute to Domenikos Theotokopoulos because whether one realizes it or not, we are living in troubled and uncertain times, through which the visions of this man shine out like a beacon. This is because his genius has always held out a torch toward the cosmic ethos, transformed today into a ray of hope.

“If we look closely at the work of Theotokopoulos we will see that his art contains all those elements which, in painting, have been defined by the experts as revolutionary, producing creative movements. In creation however, as in the case of the cosmos and the universe, such things do not essentially exist. Whatever has come into creation within the universe is, simply, what is, governed of course by its own laws.

“Therefore in art, when creating, one has to be as accurate about one’s statement or position as possible. This then presupposes that the artist, having become conscious of the cosmic law to whatever degree, has in turn reached the point of identifying himself with it. I also believe that whoever succeeds in achieving this will remain forever a person ripe and in season. In all other cases the date of expiry cannot be avoided!

“Rightfully, then, great Cretan, you wrote next to your name the words Ο ΔΕΙΞΑΣ, meaning he who has created, he who has revealed.”

Vangelis Papathanissiou