Galás is known for being a fiercely confrontational avant-garde performer and is noted for her wailing, four-octave vocal range. Galás was the daughter of Greek Orthodox parents and her singing was roundly discouraged, although her prowess as a classical pianist was nurtured; ultimately, her strict upbringing resulted in a reckless, drug-fueled youth prior to her entrance into the University of California's music and visual arts program. Galás made her performing debut in 1979 at France's Festival d'Avignon, which led to an invitation to assume the lead role in composer Vinko Globokar's politically charged opera Un Jour Comme un Autre. In subsequent solo performance art pieces like Wild Women with Steak Knives and Tragouthia Apo to Aima Exon Fonos, Galás further honed her unique, shattering vocal style, inspired by the Schrei ("shriek") opera of German expressionism (a form employing a system of four microphones and a series of echoes and delays).
She worked with many avant-garde composers including Phillip Glass, Terry Riley, John Zorn, Iannis Xenakis and Vinko Globokar. She made her performance debut at the Festival d'Avignon in France as the lead in Globokar's opera, Un Jour Comme Une Autre which deals with the death by torture of a Turkish woman. The work was sponsored by Amnesty International. She also contributed her voice to Francis Ford Coppola's film Dracula (1992) and appeared on the film's soundtrack.
Her work first garnered widespread attention with the controversial 1991 live recording of the album "Plague Mass" in the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York. With it, Galás attacked the Catholic Church for its indifference to AIDS using biblical texts. In the words of Terrorizor Magazine, "The church was made to burn with sound, not fire." Plague Mass was a live rendition of excerpts from her same-titled trilogy which began as a response/homage/indictment to the multitudinous effects of AIDS upon the silent class - of which her brother was a member. During the period of these recordings, Galás had "We are all HIV+" tattooed upon her knuckles; an artistic expression of disillusionment and disgust with the ignorance and apathy surrounding the AIDS epidemic. Her brother, who died during the trilogy's final production, reportedly appreciated her efforts.
Susan McClary (1991) writes that Galás, "heralds a new moment in the history of musical representation," after describing her thus: "Galás emerged within the post-modern performance art scene in the seventies...protesting...the treatment of victims of the junta, attitudes towards victims of AIDS...Her pieces are constructed from the ululation of traditional Mediterranean keening...whispers, shrieks, and moans."
In 1994, Galás collaborated with Led Zeppelin bass guitarist John Paul Jones. The resultant record, "The Sporting Life", while containing much of Galás's trademark vocal gymnastics, is probably the closest she has ever come to rock music.
Galás also performs as a blues artist interpreting a wide range of songs into her unique piano and vocal styles. This aspect of her work is perhaps best represented by her 1992 album, "The Singer" where she covered the likes of Willie Dixon, Roy Acuff, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins while accompaning herself on piano. For that album, she also recorded several traditional songs as well as the rarely heard Desmond Carter-penned version of Gloomy Sunday. Many of her selections both within and outside of blues repertoire have sometimes been categorized as 'homicidal love songs'. She also focuses on the death penalty. One program of songs, "Frenzy", has been dedicated to Aileen Wuornos and features the work of Phil Ochs and Hank Williams Sr.
Her latest song cycle is an interpretation of songs by Edith Piaf and Marlene Dietrich.
Official Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/songsofexile
Epistola a Los Transeuntes
Diamanda Galás Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
my night of an elephant in repose.
And, to myself, I say:
this is my immensity in the raw, in jugfuls,
this is my graceful weight, that sought me below to become a bird;
this is my arm
that on its own refused to be a wing,
there my alarmed cullions.
A lugubrious island will illuminate me continental,
while the capitol leans on my intimate collapse
and the lance-filled assembly adjourns my parade.
But when I die
from life and not from time,
when my two suitcases become two,
this will be my stomach in which my lamp fit in pieces,
this that head that atoned for the torments of the circle in my steps,
these those worms that my heart counted one by one,
this will be my solidary body
over which the individual soul is watching; this will be
my navell in which I killed my innate lice,
this my thing thing, my dreadfull thing
Meanwhile, convulsively, harshly,
my bit convalesces,
suffering like I suffer the direct language of the lion:
and, because I have existed between two brick potentates,
I too convalesce, smiling at my lips.
In Diamanda Galás's song Epístola a los Transeúntes, the singer reflects on their existence and identity. The first stanza creates an image of a person who embodies the qualities of a rabbit during the day and an elephant at night. The rabbit is often seen as an animal associated with timidity and vulnerability, while elephants are viewed as majestic and powerful creatures. This duality sets up the theme of opposites within the piece. The singer then goes on to ponder their grandness and limitations, revealing a longing to become something more than what they are.
The focus of the second stanza shifts to the singer’s future death. They offer vivid depictions of their body and its parts, reflecting on their life and the pains they endured. The use of "this" and "these" serves to emphasize the singer's connection to their body and the physical world. This reflects the singer's desire to be remembered in terms of their physical presence rather than just their existence. The final lines of the stanza reveal the singer’s acceptance of their mortality with a smile on their lips and an acknowledgment of the pain they have endured.
The song ultimately communicates the singer’s desire to embrace their entire self, the good and the bad, the strong and the vulnerable. It represents an exploration of the richness of human existence through the individual experience of the singer.
Line by Line Meaning
I resume my day of a rabbit,
I start my day off with a timid and vulnerable spirit, much like a rabbit.
my night of an elephant in repose.
But at night, I find strength and stability like that of a resting elephant.
And, to myself, I say:
As I reflect, I address myself.
this is my immensity in the raw, in jugfuls,
I am a vast and immense being with an abundance of raw emotions.
this is my graceful weight, that sought me below to become a bird;
I possess an elegance and weight that yearns to take flight and soar like a bird.
this is my arm
My strength and power is within my arm.
that on its own refused to be a wing,
But I do not conform to societal expectations and refuse to be anything other than what I am.
there are my scriptures,
My wisdom and teachings are within my scriptures.
there my alarmed cullions.
But there is also fear and anxiety within me - my alarmed cullions.
A lugubrious island will illuminate me continental,
In dark times, I find hope and light to guide me.
while the capitol leans on my intimate collapse
Even in my most vulnerable moments, I am relied upon by those in power.
and the lance-filled assembly adjourns my parade.
But those who criticize and judge me try to silence and discourage me.
But when I die
However, when I pass away.
from life and not from time,
I will not die of old age, but rather from the struggles of life itself.
when my two suitcases become two,
When I am stripped down to my bare essentials.
this will be my stomach in which my lamp fit in pieces,
My stomach will hold the shattered fragments of my inner light.
this that head that atoned for the torments of the circle in my steps,
My head will bear the pain and suffering I've encountered in my journey.
these those worms that my heart counted one by one,
And though it may be grotesque, my heart will hold the memory of every painful experience.
this will be my solidary body
Even in death, my solitary body will remain.
over which the individual soul is watching; this will be
But my soul will continue to persist beyond my physical body.
my navell in which I killed my innate lice,
My belly button acted as a place where I rid myself of negative thoughts and feelings.
this my thing thing, my dreadfull thing
And all of these things together create an eerie, yet powerful, entity.
Meanwhile, convulsively, harshly,
At this moment, I am suffering and in pain.
my bit convalesces,
But I am also healing, slowly but surely.
suffering like I suffer the direct language of the lion:
My pain is as intense as the ferocity of a lion's roar.
and, because I have existed between two brick potentates,
And because I have lived under the oppressive rule of two powerful forces.
I too convalesce, smiling at my lips.
My healing process involves finding moments of joy and happiness amidst the suffering.
Contributed by Claire C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.