Music - The Rough Guide to Greece - page 791

Music
Music is ubiquitous in modern Greek culture; even the most indifferent
visitor will notice it in tavernas and other public spaces. Like so many aspects
of the country, it amalgamates “native” and eastern styles, with occasional
contributions from points west, and flourishes alongside and often in
preference to Western pop. Many traditional songs can trace their routes
back to Byzantine religious chants or to the popular music of the Ottoman
Empire , though more nationalist-minded musicologists claim their original
descent from the now-lost melodies of ancient Greece.
Folk music and instruments
The best opportunities to hear live Greek folk music are the numerous summer
paniyíria (saints' day festivals) or more tourist-oriented cultural programmes , when
musicians based in Athens clubs during winter tour the islands and villages. Various
high-quality revival groups are attempting to recapture the musicianship of the
old-timers, fortunately well archived on CD.
Island music
The arc of southern Aegean islands comprising Crete , Kássos , Kárpathos and Hálki is
one of the most promising areas to hear live music. The dominant instrument here is
the lýra , a lap-fiddle related to the Turkish kemençe . It is played not on the shoulder but
balanced on the thigh, with a loose bow that can touch all three strings simultaneously,
making double chords possible. The contemporary Cretan lýra is larger, tuned lower
(like a Western violin), and played with a much tauter bow. Usually, the lýra is backed
up by a laoúto , closely resembling a mandolin, with a long fretted neck and four sets of
double strings.
In parts of the southeastern Aegean, most notably Kálymnos and northern Kárpathos ,
you also find a simple, droneless bagpipe - the askomandoúra or tsamboúna , though
few people now know how to play it. Much the same goes for the sandoúri (hammer
dulcimer) - which in Kazantzakis's classic novel, or its film, Zorba the Greek , was played
by his Cretan hero.
On most Aegean islands, particularly the Cyclades , the lýra is replaced by a more
familiar-looking violí , essentially a Western violin. Accompaniment was provided until
recently by laoúto or sandoúri , though these days you're most likely to be confronted by
a bass guitar and rock drums.
Island folk songs - nisiótika - feature melodies which, like much folk music the world
over, rely heavily on the pentatonic scale. Lyrics, especially on smaller islands, touch on
the perils of the sea, exile and thwarted love.
Lésvos occupies a special place in terms of island music, having absorbed melodies
and instrumentation from various nationalities of neighbouring Anatolia; it is the only
island with a vital brass band tradition, and nearly every Greek dance rhythm is
represented in local music.
By way of contrast, the Ionian islands (except Lefkádha) alone of all modern Greek
territory never saw Turkish occupation and have a predominantly Western musical
tradition. Their indigenous song-form is Italian both in name - kantádhes - and in
instrumentation (guitar and mandolin) and vocalization (major scales, choral delivery);
it's most often heard now on Lefkádha, Kefaloniá and Zákynthos.