If you think Robin Batteau’s World Record for the longest Odyssey of 51 years (between 1970 to 2021) to return to Harvard and finish his degree in 2022 makes him an old soul, then he has something even more epic to share! Robin’s been collaborating on new songs with Classical Greek poets (who were singer-songwriters!) like Sappho on down and bringing their creations to life with some of today’s most loved voices, like Tom Paxton, Livingston and Kate Taylor, Carolyn Hester, Robin Lane, Eric Andersen, and Matt Nakoa, plus 2-time Tony best actor James Naughton and his gifted children Keira Naughton and Greg Naughton.
Their album “Banned In Sparta” focuses almost entirely on poets from Ancient Greece between 700 AND 400 BC. One poet, Gaius Valerius Catullus (84 – 54 BC), as smitten with the ghost of Sappho as Robin or Alcaeus, is from Rome during Julius Caesar’s reign, for whom Eric Andersen performs “Cross (of Gold),” an ode to interlaced and conflicted feelings, “Odi et Amo”— I hate and I love.
The title “Banned in Sparta” finds its name from Archilochus, the Bob Dylan of the 7th century B.C., a warrior-poet so irreverent he was “Banned in Sparta.” James Naughton sings the song “Archilochus Re-Deemed (I Am a Servant of the Lord God of War).” Kate Taylor performs “Telesilla’s On the Wall,” from the female poet Telesilla, who led her fellow women warriors to victory against those same renowned Spartans.
“The Greek Lyric poets performed live, and were the stars of their day,” says Robin. “They were singer/songwriters, they played the lyre (hence “Lyric”) and danced around the stage like Tom Paxton and Taylor Swift.”
Robin, who studied Ancient Greece and Integrative Biology at Harvard, found that most of what was left of the poems were fragments and myth, “So I mosaic-ed songs to reflect their expressions and intentions— who they were, and are to me.” Gorgias defense of Helen of Troy’s honor, “The Encomium of Helen,” becomes “Stolen in Love,” sung by Greg Naughton, and starts the “Banned in Sparta” album with the ghostly keening voices of the Greek Chorus. A second declaration of Helen’s innocence, nicknamed The Palinode, is “How Can You Love Me,” sung by Robin and based on a dream where the beautiful Spartan kidnappee appears to the poet Stesichorus.
A range of female poets contributed to the lyrical history of Greece including Corrina, whose “In Her Loving Arms” is sung by Carolyn Hester, and Praxilla’s “The Most Beautiful Thing in the World,” a hymn to Adonis, sung by Keira Naughton. Sappho’s writing inspires “Terra Cotta Heart,” sung by Robin Lane. Livingston Taylor sings “My Sappho, Sweetly Smiling” from the smitten neighbor and rival Alcaeus. Just as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez innovated folk music in the 1960s, the island of Lesbos’s Sappho and Alcaeus invented classical poetry styles, the Sapphic Stanza and the Alcaeus Stanza!
The fun and frolicking “Shake your Hair (You Thracian Filly),” sung by Tom Paxton, is from Anacreon, renowned for his drinking songs— there was one particular drinking club honoring him, the Anacreontic Society in pre-Victorian London, whose singalong leader John Stafford Smith wrote the tavern song, “To Anacreon in Heaven,” in 1791; its melody was adapted by Francis Scott Key in 1814 for the “Star Spangled Banner.”
Pianist and folk singer Matt Nakoa offers a Bruce Hornsby-like treatment for Simonides of Ceos’s “Theatre of Memory (Man of Gold),” which originated the “Loci,” “Memory Palace” theatre game that empowers magicians to memorize an entire audience of names and faces.
Sharing Grammy, Emmy, Clio, and Gold Record Awards and an Oscar nomination, Robin’s recorded over a dozen albums with the likes of Pierce Arrow, David Buskin (Buskin & Batteau), John Compton (Appaloosa and Compton & Batteau), David Batteau (Batteaux), Josh White Jr. with Robin Batteau (Jazz, Ballads, and Blues, Grammy nominee), and more. His jingles feature in long-running, award-sweeping advertising campaigns from “I’m Lovin’ It” for McDonalds to “Can’t Beat It” for Coca-Cola to “The Heartbeat of America” for Chevrolet. He’s played his 1898 Scarampella violin with everyone from Yo-Yo Ma to Benny Goodman to Bruce Springsteen and has had his melodies sung by Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Judy Collins, Paul Newman, and more. His songs have supported charities and causes, including World Hunger Year, Ocean Alliance, Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, and Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for kids. The Boston Globe defines his music with David Buskin as “Acoustic Heaven.”

If you think Robin Batteau’s World Record for the longest Odyssey of 51 years (between 1970 to 2021) to return to Harvard and finish his degree in 2022 makes him an old soul, then he has something even more epic to share! Robin’s been collaborating on new songs with Classical Greek poets (who were singer-songwriters!) like Sappho on down and bringing their creations to life with some of today’s most loved voices, like Tom Paxton, Livingston and Kate Taylor, Carolyn Hester, Robin Lane, Eric Andersen, and Matt Nakoa, plus 2-time Tony best actor James Naughton and his gifted children Keira Naughton and Greg Naughton.
Their album “Banned In Sparta” focuses almost entirely on poets from Ancient Greece between 700 AND 400 BC. One poet, Gaius Valerius Catullus (84 – 54 BC), as smitten with the ghost of Sappho as Robin or Alcaeus, is from Rome during Julius Caesar’s reign, for whom Eric Andersen performs “Cross (of Gold),” an ode to interlaced and conflicted feelings, “Odi et Amo”— I hate and I love.
The title “Banned in Sparta” finds its name from Archilochus, the Bob Dylan of the 7th century B.C., a warrior-poet so irreverent he was “Banned in Sparta.” James Naughton sings the song “Archilochus Re-Deemed (I Am a Servant of the Lord God of War).” Kate Taylor performs “Telesilla’s On the Wall,” from the female poet Telesilla, who led her fellow women warriors to victory against those same renowned Spartans.
“The Greek Lyric poets performed live, and were the stars of their day,” says Robin. “They were singer/songwriters, they played the lyre (hence “Lyric”) and danced around the stage like Tom Paxton and Taylor Swift.”
Robin, who studied Ancient Greece and Integrative Biology at Harvard, found that most of what was left of the poems were fragments and myth, “So I mosaic-ed songs to reflect their expressions and intentions— who they were, and are to me.” Gorgias defense of Helen of Troy’s honor, “The Encomium of Helen,” becomes “Stolen in Love,” sung by Greg Naughton, and starts the “Banned in Sparta” album with the ghostly keening voices of the Greek Chorus. A second declaration of Helen’s innocence, nicknamed The Palinode, is “How Can You Love Me,” sung by Robin and based on a dream where the beautiful Spartan kidnappee appears to the poet Stesichorus.
A range of female poets contributed to the lyrical history of Greece including Corrina, whose “In Her Loving Arms” is sung by Carolyn Hester, and Praxilla’s “The Most Beautiful Thing in the World,” a hymn to Adonis, sung by Keira Naughton. Sappho’s writing inspires “Terra Cotta Heart,” sung by Robin Lane. Livingston Taylor sings “My Sappho, Sweetly Smiling” from the smitten neighbor and rival Alcaeus. Just as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez innovated folk music in the 1960s, the island of Lesbos’s Sappho and Alcaeus invented classical poetry styles, the Sapphic Stanza and the Alcaeus Stanza!
The fun and frolicking “Shake your Hair (You Thracian Filly),” sung by Tom Paxton, is from Anacreon, renowned for his drinking songs— there was one particular drinking club honoring him, the Anacreontic Society in pre-Victorian London, whose singalong leader John Stafford Smith wrote the tavern song, “To Anacreon in Heaven,” in 1791; its melody was adapted by Francis Scott Key in 1814 for the “Star Spangled Banner.”
Pianist and folk singer Matt Nakoa offers a Bruce Hornsby-like treatment for Simonides of Ceos’s “Theatre of Memory (Man of Gold),” which originated the “Loci,” “Memory Palace” theatre game that empowers magicians to memorize an entire audience of names and faces.
Sharing Grammy, Emmy, Clio, and Gold Record Awards and an Oscar nomination, Robin’s recorded over a dozen albums with the likes of Pierce Arrow, David Buskin (Buskin & Batteau), John Compton (Appaloosa and Compton & Batteau), David Batteau (Batteaux), Josh White Jr. with Robin Batteau (Jazz, Ballads, and Blues, Grammy nominee), and more. His jingles feature in long-running, award-sweeping advertising campaigns from “I’m Lovin’ It” for McDonalds to “Can’t Beat It” for Coca-Cola to “The Heartbeat of America” for Chevrolet. He’s played his 1898 Scarampella violin with everyone from Yo-Yo Ma to Benny Goodman to Bruce Springsteen and has had his melodies sung by Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Judy Collins, Paul Newman, and more. His songs have supported charities and causes, including World Hunger Year, Ocean Alliance, Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, and Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for kids. The Boston Globe defines his music with David Buskin as “Acoustic Heaven.”

If you think Robin Batteau’s World Record for the longest Odyssey of 51 years (between 1970 to 2021) to return to Harvard and finish his degree in 2022 makes him an old soul, then he has something even more epic to share! Robin’s been collaborating on new songs with Classical Greek poets (who were singer-songwriters!) like Sappho on down and bringing their creations to life with some of today’s most loved voices, like Tom Paxton, Livingston and Kate Taylor, Carolyn Hester, Robin Lane, Eric Andersen, and Matt Nakoa, plus 2-time Tony best actor James Naughton and his gifted children Keira Naughton and Greg Naughton.
Their album “Banned In Sparta” focuses almost entirely on poets from Ancient Greece between 700 AND 400 BC. One poet, Gaius Valerius Catullus (84 – 54 BC), as smitten with the ghost of Sappho as Robin or Alcaeus, is from Rome during Julius Caesar’s reign, for whom Eric Andersen performs “Cross (of Gold),” an ode to interlaced and conflicted feelings, “Odi et Amo”— I hate and I love.
The title “Banned in Sparta” finds its name from Archilochus, the Bob Dylan of the 7th century B.C., a warrior-poet so irreverent he was “Banned in Sparta.” James Naughton sings the song “Archilochus Re-Deemed (I Am a Servant of the Lord God of War).” Kate Taylor performs “Telesilla’s On the Wall,” from the female poet Telesilla, who led her fellow women warriors to victory against those same renowned Spartans.
“The Greek Lyric poets performed live, and were the stars of their day,” says Robin. “They were singer/songwriters, they played the lyre (hence “Lyric”) and danced around the stage like Tom Paxton and Taylor Swift.”
Robin, who studied Ancient Greece and Integrative Biology at Harvard, found that most of what was left of the poems were fragments and myth, “So I mosaic-ed songs to reflect their expressions and intentions— who they were, and are to me.” Gorgias defense of Helen of Troy’s honor, “The Encomium of Helen,” becomes “Stolen in Love,” sung by Greg Naughton, and starts the “Banned in Sparta” album with the ghostly keening voices of the Greek Chorus. A second declaration of Helen’s innocence, nicknamed The Palinode, is “How Can You Love Me,” sung by Robin and based on a dream where the beautiful Spartan kidnappee appears to the poet Stesichorus.
A range of female poets contributed to the lyrical history of Greece including Corrina, whose “In Her Loving Arms” is sung by Carolyn Hester, and Praxilla’s “The Most Beautiful Thing in the World,” a hymn to Adonis, sung by Keira Naughton. Sappho’s writing inspires “Terra Cotta Heart,” sung by Robin Lane. Livingston Taylor sings “My Sappho, Sweetly Smiling” from the smitten neighbor and rival Alcaeus. Just as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez innovated folk music in the 1960s, the island of Lesbos’s Sappho and Alcaeus invented classical poetry styles, the Sapphic Stanza and the Alcaeus Stanza!
The fun and frolicking “Shake your Hair (You Thracian Filly),” sung by Tom Paxton, is from Anacreon, renowned for his drinking songs— there was one particular drinking club honoring him, the Anacreontic Society in pre-Victorian London, whose singalong leader John Stafford Smith wrote the tavern song, “To Anacreon in Heaven,” in 1791; its melody was adapted by Francis Scott Key in 1814 for the “Star Spangled Banner.”
Pianist and folk singer Matt Nakoa offers a Bruce Hornsby-like treatment for Simonides of Ceos’s “Theatre of Memory (Man of Gold),” which originated the “Loci,” “Memory Palace” theatre game that empowers magicians to memorize an entire audience of names and faces.
Sharing Grammy, Emmy, Clio, and Gold Record Awards and an Oscar nomination, Robin’s recorded over a dozen albums with the likes of Pierce Arrow, David Buskin (Buskin & Batteau), John Compton (Appaloosa and Compton & Batteau), David Batteau (Batteaux), Josh White Jr. with Robin Batteau (Jazz, Ballads, and Blues, Grammy nominee), and more. His jingles feature in long-running, award-sweeping advertising campaigns from “I’m Lovin’ It” for McDonalds to “Can’t Beat It” for Coca-Cola to “The Heartbeat of America” for Chevrolet. He’s played his 1898 Scarampella violin with everyone from Yo-Yo Ma to Benny Goodman to Bruce Springsteen and has had his melodies sung by Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Judy Collins, Paul Newman, and more. His songs have supported charities and causes, including World Hunger Year, Ocean Alliance, Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, and Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for kids. The Boston Globe defines his music with David Buskin as “Acoustic Heaven.”

https://robinbatteau.com/