CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY IN MUSIC, DANCE, AND FILM^741
who "draw virtue and strength from a Dionysiac joy in movement." Graham per-
fected her chorus of dancers as an ensemble and dramatic force so that they be-
came the "inspired damsels of the Bacchae; Euripides would have understood."^56
The list of dynamic and imaginative works for dance theater by Martha Gra-
ham solely on Greek themes is most impressive:^57
- Night Journey (1947). Music by William Schuman. Graham states in her
notes: "... it is not Oedipus who is the protagonist. The action turns upon
that instant of Jocasta's death when she relives her destiny, sees with dou-
ble insight the triumphal entry of Oedipus, their meeting, courtship, mar-
riage, their years of intimacy which were darkly crossed by the blind seer,
Tiresias, until at last the truth burst from him." To enhance appreciation of
Martha Graham's genius one should read her own lengthy analysis of her
"highly erotic dance" between Jocasta and Oedipus.^58 Night Journey pro-
vides the very best introduction to Graham's art. It is concise, taut, and con-
centrated (about a half hour in length), and its stylized and simple sets by
Isamu Noguchi enhance the intensity of the action: a bed, where Jocasta
conceived and gave birth to Oedipus, their marriage-bed, and the setting
for her suicide; and a rope, which in the episodes of the dance becomes the
binding umbilical cord, the entangling thread of fate, and the noose of death. - Suite from Alceste (1926). Music by Gluck. Danced by Graham, Trio, and
five other dancers, including males. - Alcestis (1960). Music by Vivian Fine. The cast: Alcestis, Thanatos, Admetus,
Hercules, and thirteen dancers. - Errand into the Maze (1947). Music by Gian Carlo Menotti. In her program
notes Graham describes the work: "There is an errand into the maze of
the heart's darkness in order to do battle with the Creature of Fear [the
Minotaur]. There is the accomplishment of the errand, the instant of tri-
umph, and the emergence from the dark." - Cave of the Heart (1947). Music by Samuel Barber. Original title, Serpent
Heart (1946). Barber notes that both he and Graham did not wish to make
a literal use of the legend; the mythical Medea and Jason "served rather
to project psychological states of jealousy and vengeance which are time-
less." Barber rearranged and rescored some of this material for an or-
chestral ballet suite (Medea) and then fashioned one continuous orchestral
study of Medea herself (Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance). - Ekstasis (1933). Music by Lehman Engel. A solo on the legend of Medea.
- Clytemnestra (1958). Music by Halim El-Dabh, whose score is operatic with
a soprano and bass as narrators in concert dress. A full-evening tour de
force in which the following characters appear: Clytemnestra, Aegisthus,
Iphigenia, Electra, Cassandra, Helen of Troy, Agamemnon, Orestes, Hades,
Paris, the watchman, ghost of Agamemnon, and Messenger of Death.