Music Tradition
THE ISLAND HAS A LONG AND RICH MUSICAL TRADITION WITH DEEP ROOTS IN ANTIQUITY, STRONGLY INFLUENCED BY THE BYZANTINE MUSIC AND ENRICHED BY THE MUSICAL CULTURE OF THE WIDER EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN.
During feasts and celebrations, locals and visitors get involved with the special musical culture of Crete. Cretan music is considered the most vibrant in Greece, because it not only it continues to evolve and incorporate creative contemporary musical features, but it also manages to express modern reality.
Improvisation is one of the characteristics of Cretan artists. Musicians are not limited to repeating basic melodies, but enrich their playing with improvisations that accompany dancers, who in turn spontaneously contrive new moves.
Mantinades, small poems, reflect the emotions of Cretans and express sorrow, love and any feeling that arises from the sensitive Cretan soul. One of the most impressive “scenes” during a typical Cretan feat, is when two or more improvisers exchange mantinades for hours.
The Cretans’ close relationship to music and dance can be traced back to the early history and myths of the island. Well-known myths clearly describe a geographical area in which music and dance were of great importance in everyday life, religious life, entertainment, birth, marriage, death and even war.
In one of the most famous myths, for example, the Kourites, the guardians of the infant Zeus, danced while they beat their shields, in order to cover up the infant’s crying. Homer mentioned the shield of Achilles, which was adorned with scenes of revelry in Knossos. The basic instrument of Cretan music, the Cretan lyre, first made its appearance in the 17th century, while playing the lyre became popular in the 18th century.
Musical instruments
The Cretan Lyre
The basic instrument of Cretan music, the Cretan lyre, first made its appearance in the 17th century, while playing the lyre became popular in the 18th century. The lyre, which is in the shape of a pear, used to be accompanied by the “boulgari” and later by the “laouto”, the lute, which is still used today. Both the sound and shape of the Cretan lyre and the traditional songs were improved after World War II; undoubtedly the lyre players of Rethymno played an important role in this development.
During that period Kostas Mountakis and Thanassis Skordalos, both from Rethymno, contributed to the international recognition of the traditional Cretan music in the following decades. Other skilled artists like Manolis Lagos, Andreas Rodinos and Stelios Foustalieris helped to establish the traditional Cretan music.
Other musical instruments
The most famous Cretan musical instruments apart from the Cretan lyre are the lute and the violin. Cretan music is enriched with the mandolin and the bulgari, while the wind instruments also play an important role. The best known of these are the habioli (the Cretan flute) and the ascomantura, which is the ancient bagpipe.
Traditional instrument making
In combination with traditional Cretan music, traditional instrument making was developed by the musicians themselves. Materials from the Cretan nature were used for the construction of musical instruments. In the past, Cretan traditional musical instruments were made by the instrument makers themselves. The lyre was made of mulberry, asphalt or walnut wood, while for the bow they used despolias wood with horsetail hair and small bells called hawk bells.
The form that the lyre has today dominated after 1940 and there are several instrument makers throughout the island with excellent experience. The habiola was made from reed, the ascomandura from full-grain goatskin. One of the most famous luthiers in Crete is Antonis Stefanakis, who has his workshop in Zaros. A new generation of luthiers with knowledge of the instruments as well as the Cretan musical tradition are creatively developing their traditional art. Two important instrument makers in the prefecture of Lassithi are the “Lato” instrument maker Sifis Apostolakis in Kritsa and the instrument maker Giorgis Papachatzakis in Neapolis.
United Artists of Traditional Cretan Music
The association was established in 1981 and has its base in Heraklion of Crete. Its board of directors consists of 7 persons and has 560 members. Its aim is the praservation the spread and the proper promotion of Cretan tradition and the respect for manners and customs of our island. Each year gets up concerts and other cultural events all over the world with musical programme where artists play and sing traditional songs of Crete. Also it collaborates with all the other public bodies.
Further information: Cretamusic.com
