Zaharoula

The tradition & historical record

Greek traditional music (Greek: παραδοσιακή μουσική, paradosiaki mousiki, 'traditional music'; also δημοτικά τραγούδια, dimotika tragoudia, 'folk songs') includes a variety of Greek styles played by ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, the United States and other parts of Europe. Apart from the common music found generally in Greece, each region of Greece contains a distinct type of folk music that originated from the region due to their history, traditions and cultural influences. ¹

Greek folk music originally, predominantly contained one genre, known as Greek Demotiko (or Demotic/Paradosiako). This refers to the traditional Greek popular songs and music of mainland Greece and islands, which date back to the Byzantine times. It was the sole popular musical genre of the Greek people until the spread of Rebetiko and Laiko (other genres of folk music) in the early 20th century, spread by the Greek refugees from Asia Minor. This style of music evolved from the ancient and the medieval Greek era and is still played today. The lyrics of Greek folk music are largely based on Demotic (folk) poetry (usually by anonymous lyricists) and consist of popular themes such as love, marriage, humor, death, nature, water, sea, and religion. Some lyrics make reference to the Ottoman Empire, in particular bandit insurgents (known as klephts), Ottoman soldiers (known as armatoloi), as well as various war figures and notable battles. The songs are played mainly in the following two categories of tempos: 'Syrtos' (various versions) and 'Pidiktos'. Pidikto songs are more energetic and involve leaping, whilst the Syrto songs and accompanying dances are slower and more free-flowing. Some songs also are a combination of Pidikto and Syrto tempos. Universal dances that accompany Greek folk music include Kalamatianos (a universal Greek dance from Kalamata), Tsamiko, Ballos and Sousta. ¹

Some notable folk songs include: ¹

"Itia" "Milo mou kokkino" "Kontoula lemonia" "Mou parigile to aidoni" "Enas aetos" "Kira Vangelio" "Gerakina" "Saranta palikaria" and Nisiotika (the songs from the islands) ¹

"Ikariotikos" "Samiotisa" "Thalassaki" "Armenaki" "Amorgos Sousta" "Ela Na Pame S'ena Meros "Dari Dari "Dirlada" "Lygaria" "Psaropoula", such as "Tilirkiotissa" and "Psintri Vasilitsia mou" (Cyprus). ¹

The Greek islands of Kárpathos, Khálki, Kássos and Crete form an arc where the Cretan Lyra is the dominant instrument. Kostas Mountakis, is an example of a person of Greek origin who played the Lyra and helped popularise it in Greece. The Lyra is often accompanied by the Lute (laouto) which resembles a mandolin. Askomandoura (a type of bagpipe) is also used in Cretan folk music. Crete has a unique history of folk dance tradition, which includes swift dances like Pentozalis, Sousta, Syrtos, Trizali, Katsabadianos, Chaniotikos, Siganos, Pidichtos Lasithou, Maleviziotikos, Tsiniaris, Ierapetrikos and Laziotikos. ¹

The Aegean islands of Greece are known for their Nisiótika (meaning from the islands) songs. The characteristics of these Greek island folk songs vary widely. Although the basis of the sound is characteristically secular-Byzantine. The relative isolation of the islands allowed the separate development of island-specific Greek music. Nisiótika songs are often accompanied by the lyra, guitar, tsampouna, souravli and violin. Notable singers include Yiannis Parios, the Konitopoulos family and Mariza Koch who was an active Greek folk singer in the 1970s and performed the song 'Panayia Mou' in the Eurovision Song Contest 1976. Folk dances include the Ballos, Syrtos, Sousta, Chiotikos, Kalymniotikos, Stavrotos, Lerikos, Kamara, Michanikos, Trata, Panagia and Ikariotikos. In the Aegean Cyclades, the violin is used more often than the Cretan lyra as well as the clarinet, mandolin, bagpipe, dulcimer and guitar. Some Nisiotika musicians include Nikos Oikonomidis, Leonidas Klados and Stathis Koukoularis. Folk dances in the Cyclades include Lerikos, Syrtos (Serifou, Naxou and Kythnou), Amorgos dance and Ballos. A prominent singer of Cycladic music was Domna Samiou, who was trained by Greek musicologist, Simon Karas. The folk music of the Dodecanese (part of the Aegean Islands), also contains prominent elements of Cretan music. Dodecanese folk dances include the Trata, Ballos, Syrtos, Kremasti, Issos, Syrtos Rodou, Michanikos and Kalymnikos, which originates from the island of Kalymnos. ¹

In Central Greece many folk songs make references to the klephts and their role during the Greek war of independence. Folk songs accompany dances in central Greece such as the Antikrystos, Hasapiko, Syrtaki, Kalamatianos, Kamilierikos, Koulouriotikos, Syrtos, Zeibekiko, Tsamiko and Syrto-kalamatianos. The musical tradition of the region is also influenced by Polyphonic songs, through the Arvanites. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Greek traditional music”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Zaharoula is type of dance, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²