thegreekvibe

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The rugged cliffs along the desolate coastline of the Back Sea and the cavernous gorges of Pontus have nurtured a music so powerful and proud that only one who has travelled to these weathered lands or is a Pontic Greek can grasp the deeply-rooted history behind the compelling rhythm and the…

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Orthodox Easter is upon us... a day of Love, Peace, Forgiveness, Health and Rebirth. Chronia Polla

#easter #orthodoxeaster #greece #travel #photography

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Holy Friday: The Day the Greek Orthodox Mourn

Today, Holy Friday, is a day of loss and sorrow. A death knell echoes throughout Greece, from its remote villages to its buzzing cities. Flags are at half mast, and in the days of old, black cloths were hung from windows and balconies. On this day no activities are allowed. And in many remote villages, the only food on the table is vinegar, bread and olives.

Holy Friday is the culmination of Christ’s Passion. For churches and chapels across the land it is the most eventful time of the year. In the morning, young children pick spring flowers - white symbolising  purity, red for life and purple for death - to decorate the bier which is covered in an elaborately carved wooden canopy (the “kouvouklion”) on which an embroidered fabric (the “epitaphios”) is placed.

This embellished cloth represents the body of Christ and is placed on the bier after it is ceremoniously taken down from the cross. Sprinkled with rosewater and adorned with flower petals, the bier stands before the faithful, who have gathered for the “Egomia” (also known as the “epitaphios thrinos" or lamentations, consisting of three hymns  - “I Zoi en Tafo”, “Axion, Esti” and “E Genee Pase”) before the epitaphios is taken out of the church to be paraded through town.

♪ One of the most beautiful is the first, titled “I Zoi en Tafo” (meaning life in the grave). Of all the deliveries, the most compelling is https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=72&v=2yW39rHxW2c with legendary Cretan troubadour, the late Nikos Xylouris, and singer Manolis Mitsias for Greece’s public broadcaster ERT in 1977.

Once the epitaphios procession begins, it is followed by the congregation holding dark candles and in many cases by the parish choir chanting the “Trisagion”, the town’s marching band performing a funeral march or even military units as the bells toll mournfully.

♪ This version is unique, in that it is delivered by a female, something very rare in the Orthodox religious experience, and not by a Greek. The great Lebanese singer Fairuz, the most respected artist of the Arab world, performs “I Zoi en Tafo” in this 1962 recording. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiE-biR9USU#t=117 The result is galvanizing.

In larger towns, where there are many parishes, each epitaphios is carried throughout the neighbourhood only to merge with the others in the town’s central square.

♪ Here to the narration of actress Katerina Lechou and young performer Sofia Manou: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WqEUlqmAXE

On many islands the processions come together on the port with the epitaphios often being carried into the sea.

♪ Here a traditional delivery by one of the country’s most acclaimed Byzantine music teachers, musicologist Simon Karas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0G10997SAc

♪ And finally Greek band Trifono’s 2012 promising rendering https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1-1Q6guWdY

Once the procession is over, the epitaphios is returned to the church. As Holy Saturday dawns, there is a soothing silence. Everyone is preparing for the Resurrection service at midnight. The week of passions has passed, families unite, the devout hold white candles and when the lights go out, He Has Arisen, joy fills our hearts and even stronger an inner sense of hope… for we too, despite our trials, will spring to life.

♪ Photo above depicts a gold-thread adorned ‘epitaphios’ representing the Lament, dedicated to the Church of Agios Georgios in Ankara. The post-Byzantine work, on display at the Benaki Museum in Athens, was embroidered by artisan Despoineta in Constantinople in 1682.

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Kassiani: A fallen woman or a poet?

Secular and sacred unite during Great and Holy Week leading up to the Resurrection of Christ (“Anastasi”) and Easter Sunday. In this week, Orthodox across the globe flock to their parishes to partake in the centuries-old religious rituals that make Easter the most celebrated and venerated holiday of the year.

Hymns and ecclesiastical (church) chants feature prominently in these sacraments as the“psaltes” (mostly male cantors) accompany the priest who during the liturgy.

Dating back to Byzantium, but considered a continuation of Ancient Greek monophonic music, a large part of Byzantine musical art is modal, dedicated to religion and composed on the eight-mode system (octoechos). The “troparion” is usually a short one-stanza hymn often chanted between psalm verses. The sacred hymns chanted during Holy Week conjure images of Christ’s Passions invoking among the faithful feelings of piety and spirituality.

One the most mesmerizing moments in the rituals of Holy Week is the “Tropario tis Kassianis” (The Hymn of Kassiani) chanted once a year on the evening of Holy Tuesday.

Young and old take their spot in the church to hear the verse of Sister Kassiani (later a saint), who speaks of a woman’s sins, her devoted love and her plea for forgiveness. Though reminiscent of Mary Magdalene, Kassiani is a very different woman.

The musical composition embracing Kassiani’s poetry is so imposing that it leaves worshipers spellbound. Performed here by professor of Byzantine music and arch cantor Nikodimos Kavarnos and his choir: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o12p6gh446k&feature=related

The hymn, written in the 9th century, speaks of the woman who anoints Christ’s feet and seeks His forgiveness for her sins.

Sensing Thy divinity, O Lord,

a woman of many sins,

takes it upon herself

to become a myrrh-bearer

and in deep mourning

brings before Thee fragrant oil

in anticipation of Thy burial; crying:

“Woe to me! What night falls on me,

what dark and moonless madness

of wild-desire, this lust for sin.

Take my spring of tears

Thou Who drawest water from the clouds,

bend to me, to the sighing of my heart,

Thou who bendedst down the heavens

in Thy secret Incarnation,

I will wash Thine immaculate feet with kisses

and wipe them dry with the locks of my hair;

those very feet whose sound Eve heard

at the dusk in Paradise and hid herself in terror.

Who shall count the multitude of my sins

or the depth of Thy judgment,

O Savior of my soul?

Do not ignore thy handmaiden,

O Thou whose mercy is endless”.

Legend has it that Sister Kassiani was at the monastery writing the hymn when Byzantine Emperor Theophilos arrived. To avoid him she hid leaving however her incomplete poem behind. Theophilos realized it was Kassiani’s inspiration and added the following verse: “Those feet at whose sound Eve hid herself for fear when she heard Thee walking in Paradise in the afternoon.” When he left, Kassiani completed her poem.

There are those of course who believe that Kassiani was the “fallen woman” of her poem, but research indicates that this was far from true. She was said to have been one of two brides to compete for the heart (and throne) of Theophilos in AD830. In the competition and despite her beauty and noble descent, Kassiani lost to Theodora, who won the golden apple and became empereress after marrying Theophilos.

The story has it that Kassiani lost because in his efforts to “test” his bride-to-be Theophilos said “Women are responsible for all evil” referring to Eve. Her sharp comeback caught the emperor off guard. Suggesting the Virgin Mary, she replied: “And of woman all Greatness”. Shocked and insulted by her astuteness he turned to her and said: “You would have been better off had you remained silent,” and handed the apple over to Theodora.

Kassiani abandoned this world and devoted her life to God, forming the Monastery of Kassia, where she later attained sainthood. Besides this hymn, Kassiani is considered to be a very important poet of Byzantium having penned many other works, secular as well as religious, including “Avgoustou Monarhisantos Epi tis Gis” chanted during Christmas. But she is most of all praised for her dedication to offering her verse to God, expressing through it the path to wholeness and the significance of faith, prayer and forgiveness.

Despite being the theme for a religious poem, The “Hymn of Kassiani” has intrigued many poets and historians throughout time, among them Kostis Palamas, Fotis Kontoglou and Yiannis Psycharis to name but a few.

As heard in the mystical setting of the Greek Orthodox church on Holy Tuesday, amid the lit candles and the worshipers of all ages, the “Tropario tis Kassianis” inspires awe not only because it has been chanted for centuries, but because to this day it continues to strike a chord, conveying the one true meaning of Easter: through forgiveness alone can we attain true love – our one and only chance at inner peace.

“Hronia Polla” and “Kali Anastasi”. May we all carry within our hearts year round the message of Easter.

*Photo credit: ‘St Kassiani the Hymnographer’ by the late nun Markella at The Chapel of The Archangels on the island of Patmos http://ekdoseisxrysopigi.blogspot.com/

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Greek Carols for the New Year -- The Kalanta Tradition

Whether it’s the rosy-cheeked hair-cropped kiddies of yesteryear clutching traditional Greek instruments or the modern-era iPhone-armed youngsters of today donning the latest Gap wear, Greek children continue to this day - albeit several time-induced changes - to sing the carols, some dating to Byzantine times, on New Year’s Eve.  

As with all traditions in this tiny land brimming with splendid diversity, so do the carols or kalanta differ from region to region, island to island, village to village. As one of my professors once said: “Where there are two Greeks, there will be three opinions.” So you can imagine how this applies to other aspects of Greek life, not to mention carols….

The central motif is for the most part the same: wishes for love, peace, health, joy and wealth, but depending on the region additional “needs” come forth, such as a safe return home (for the sea-faring), a plentiful bounty (for the farmers), abundance in wine and cheese (for the mountain folk), milk and honey (for the shepherds), and all these goodies are expected in the New Year with a little help from our friend… Agios Vassilis - a Greek (more solemn and much thinner) version of Santa Claus.

So, once the bells toll on New Year’s Eve - nowadays, a bit later in the day, due to modernity’s late night pleasures - youngsters, don their smiles, shiny triangles in hand and set off to bring the good news to neighbours and friends.

In the days of old, and again depending on the territory, the carolers would also play the fiddle, the daouli (a traditional deep drum) common in the Macedonia and Thrace region, the ceramic drum, the stringed lagouto or the bagpipe. They would go door to door and after knocking would bid the lady of the house: “Na Ta Poume?” (Should we sing you the carols?”). The mistress would then say “Na Ta Peite” (Please Do…) and so the carolers would chant away their best wishes for the New Year. Once their song was over, she would offer them sweets and coins. And this tradition continues to this day.

The sheer happiness on the youngsters’ faces even today when they zoom in on the coins in their hands can only be compared to that cross-generational ice cream-eating face. Back then, they would run off to the single kafeneion (coffeehouse-cum-all-purpose shop) in the village to spend it on chocolate or candy. Today, it goes into the piggy bank for a trendy new iPhone case.

Traditional carols from the Peloponnese and its mountains about milk and honey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEa4s0jz1AY

From the isle of Ikaria herself, popular singer Eleftheria Arvanitaki performs her island’s version about wine, silver shelves and lifelong beauty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GrUNm_YGO8  

Traditional instrumentalists from Crete sing kalanta wishing plows of silver and a long healthy life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvaTFwRNVNA

And should perchance some stingy mistress of the house not find it in her heart to treat the carolers, they would just add a verse or two about ticks and lice and everything “nice”… in return. Or even bid that her beauty quickly abandon her or “off to the wolves with you” …

The lyrics to these masterpieces are enlightening, offering the centuries-old wisdom of love, compassion and kindness.

May the New Year get off to a good start

And Christ summons us

to shun wickedness

and dress ourselves in virtue

To live a fine life

to the word of the Gospel

with love and peace

and justice

May we live many years in glee

with a clean and pure soul

with joy and health

and divine grace

or

Give us the rooster, and give us the hen,

give us five or six eggs and off we go to another door

Here where we’ve sung, let not stone crack

and may the landlord live for many years to come.

A joyful modern take from innovative Greek jazzmen Mode Plagal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVjK-8aLKsU

And so my dear friends, The Greek Vibe wishes you all a very happy New Year, with love, kindness, compassion and the brightest light from within… this New Year’s carol from the Greeks of Çeşme in Asia Minor, brings back fond memories of times past, when the Greek people may not have basked in consumer affluence but in spiritual abundance.

In the verse of the anonymous master:

Awaken my lord, lord of the lot, awaken from too much sleep

too much sleep fades and spoils

in this house that we’ve called on, the shelves are made of wood

but next year when we come again, let them be made of gold.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ_p7hbDnGc

Kali Hronia to all… and to all a good night…

♪ Photo credit: From the archives of the Benaki Museum, Athens.

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‘Kalanta’: A Greek Christmas carol

“Hionia sto kabanario, pou Christougenna simainoun…” (Snow on the bell tower mark the coming of Christmas)…  Though our mother was anything but religious, on Christmas Eve morning in a usually very snowy Chicago suburb she would sing to us this carol. She still insists that children should have something to believe in and look forward to… and indeed, this carol marked the official countdown to Christmas, which for us meant finally opening our presents.

The poem, penned by Stelios Sperantzas (1888-1962), is performed here by folk singer Mariza Koch and her children’s choir. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IpBOFW0Gg8

Like most Greek folk music (demotika), Christmas carols date back to the Byzantine times and are still mostly sung in the purist katharevousa form of the Greek language. The word “kalanta“ derives from the latin “calenda”, which is defined as the start of the month.

Kalanta from the Peloponnese: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7BDGkxePYY

Early on Christmas morning, children across the land would gather (and fortunately still do, especialy in rural Greece), gloves, caps and triangles in hand and would visit each and every household and shop in the village or town. “Na Ta Poume?” (Shall We Sing?), they would yell waiting for that special “nod”. Once the carol was over, the youngsters would then wish the home- or shopowner health, happiness and prosperity, and in some cases, a good crop. In return, the carolers were offered edible goodies such as traditional holiday sweets including honey-dipped melomakarona or sugar-topped kourabiedes, pies, specially knitted breads and pomegranate.

Kalanta from Crete: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BoJ_4FO5cM

Again, much like Greek folk song, the lyrics and music of the kalanta vary depending on the region, and this is evident not only in the musical instruments accompanying the carolers but also the rhythm and the wishes. In some regions, the musical accompaniment includes guitars, the daouli drum, harmonica, clarinet or accordeon.

Kalanta from Thrace: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDp62vmIi0I

Today, city carolers go from one apartment to the other and in return they are “tipped” with change.

The carols always culminate in a Wish: “Ke tou Chronou, Chronia Polla” (May we be well again to celebrate next year and for many years to come).

The Greek Vibe wishes all a very Merry Christmas full of music to soothe the soul.

♪The painting above, titled “Ta Kalanta”, is the work of one of Greece’s greatest painters, Tinos-born Nikiforos Lytras (1832-1904).

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Nikos Skalkottas: Classical Music by a Greek

For many, his true talent was never recognized, for others he was one of the most gifted composers of the 20th century, for the Greeks he is just one more Greek who managed to take Greek culture beyond its borders.

Despite leaving behind an impressive body of some 170 works (in handwritten manuscripts), very few have come to enjoy the spotlight - something which saddened him greatly.

An exceptional violinist, Nikos Skalkottas is mainly praised for his innovation and imagination allowing him to compose works so diverse and multifaceted that very few soloists, recordings and interpretations have managed to tackle the layers and dimensions of each work as audiences remain at a loss.

♪ Concertino in C major for piano and orchestra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX11hABRUVI

Chamber music, symphonic, instrumental and vocal works, ballets, 12-tone, atonal, and tonal works, concertos and sonatas, make up the bulk of his creations which for the most part went unheard and even more so uncomprehended.

Among these, his most famous - 36 Greek Dances composed for orchestra - was inspired by the Greek demotika folk music tradition. Skalkottas turned to the centuries-old works for inspiration, crafting original compositions that allude to the sounds of the Greek island and mainland traditions yet remaining thoroughly unconventional.

♪ A taste of one of the Greek Dances series, the Epirot II in G minor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxIDzVS3-s8

♪ Here a lyrical work titled “The Trawl” (I Trata), an excerpt from the folk ballet "The Sea" (1949). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU62Vzjho5I

Born in the seaside town of Halkida on the Greek island of Evia in 1904, Skalkottas completed his studies with honors at Athens Odeion (Conservatory) in 1920. He then moved to Berlin to continue under the tutorship of Willy Hess as well as avant garde artists like Kurt Weill, Philipp Jarnach and Arnold Schoenberg. Three years later, he decides to dedicate himself to composition.  

Skalkottas returned to Greece 12 years later with no intention to stay but is forced to after his passport was confiscated for avoiding mandatory military service. Unable to leave, a large body of his works in Berlin is left behind. To add insult to injury, any effort to promote his music is futile. His innovative style is far ahead of the times.

As a result, he suffers a nervous breakdown, is left penniless and yet continues to compose music with over 100 works penned in a decade (1935-1945). In order to survive and until his death, Skalkottas plays second violin in local orchestras and works at the Folk Music Archive.

Besides the unconventionality of his music, Skalkottas’ works failed to gain the interest of his compatriots due in great part to the historical circumstances of his time. He lived and composed between two World Wars. Greece was ravaged and very poor. There was very little space for classical music to grow.

♪ Here the “Hostianos” from the same series of Greek Dances, with another great Greek, maestro Dimitri Mitropoulos conducting the New York Philharmonic in 1956. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6UQJOE3r7U

Skalkottas dies on September 19, 1949 at the age of 45.

Like many of Greece’s gifted children, the great composer was recognised for his musical genius after his passing, not only in Greece but worldwide, with music experts saying that he made one of the greatest impacts on things to come. So much so that in the words of Austrian-born musicologist and critic Hans Keller, he is one of the 20th century’s leading composers: one of the so-called ‘four Ss’: Schoenberg, Stravinsky, Skalkottas and Shostakovich.

It is sadly true, that Greece has repeatedly rejected some of its most illustrious artists. And yet, this tiny land of 11 million people, enslaved for the most part of the Enlightenment when Europe was free to cultivate art, has offered the world some of the most brilliant names in the classical music genre, including the immense Maria Callas, Ianni Xenakis, Nikos Skalkottas, Manos Hadjidakis, Mikis Theodorakis, and of course, maestro Dimitri Mitropoulos, to name but a few. All of them from a homeland that could never offer them any guidance in their growth and yet served as the greatest muse of all.

#Greece music Greek music Greek composers classical music in Greece Byzantine music demotika Nikos Skalkottas Maria Callas Ianni Xenakis Mano

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Kalymnos’ Dance of Tolerance

The more complicated modern life becomes, the more verbose ‘experts’ are at attempting to ‘explain’ its trials and tribulations. And yet, a look back, stripped of suffocating technology and stifling analyses, can offer an insight that has been deafened by the noise of so-called progress and political correctness.

One such example is the “Horos tou Mihanikou” (also know as the “Kalymniotikos” or the Diver’s Dance - the word “mihani” refers to the bulky “skafandro suit” they wore) - a cathartic choreography that symbolises sharing, trust, acceptance and resilience.

The dance is mostly experienced on the Greek island of Kalymnos, known worldwide for its centuries-old sponge-diving tradition, but also on other Dodecanese isles where sponge harvesting was a trade.

Sponge Diving on Kalymnos

On this tiny Dodecanese isle in the midst of the Aegean, disability was treated with tolerance, included as a part of life and given space. The dance is dedicated to the thousands of Kalymnian sponge divers across generations who initially took to the deep blue seas to make a living with the help of their own lungs only later to trust technology more than nature’s ways. In the 1800s, thanks to the introduction of the skafandro suit, they were able to dive deeper, longer thanks to compressed air pumped from the surface. But with uncontrolled technology, came risks as hundreds of unknowing sponge divers suffered from paralysis or died from decompression sickness, or what came to be known as the “sponge diver’s disease” - caused by diving deeper, staying below water for extended periods of time and failing to re-surface slowly.

The toll was massive. The use of the skafandro led to more than 10,000 divers’ deaths between 1886 and 1910, and over 20,000 permanently disabled. As a result, almost every island home had at least one male member struck down by the disease. Thankfully, sponge diving stopped in the mid-1980s due to a bacterial disease which wiped out Aegean sea sponges.

There is a phrase on Kalymnos which best describes the importance of sponge diving to the community: “[it’s] the sponge or nothing”. The professional diver was proud and highly respected for risking his life to keep his family well. The more sponges he brought to the surface the more esteemed he was.

The Sponge Diver’s Dance

During the traditional island celebrations and “panegyria” (open-air festivals) the Dance of the Mihanikos takes centre stage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVB-Q7Oojfw

The dance is the brainchild of physical educator Theofilos Klonaris, who in the 1950s choreographed one of the island’s most famous songs about divers - penned by instrumentalist Stamatis Hatzidakis - inspired by the childhood memories of crippled divers on the island.

As the violinist and laouto players perform and the music picks up pace, the maimed village diver looks on. Nostalgic about his once exhilarating life at sea, his heart yearns to dance and forget about the disability that has deprived him of all honour and desire for life. Spurred by the music, he struggles to get up, the other dancers lend him a hand but he fails to stand on his paralysed legs. Some are aghast, others patient and compassionate. Again, his fellow divers and life-long companions pull him up and the dance goes on. With the help of a cane this time, he lets his heart do the dancing. Ecstatic with the memories of health and wealth, he throws away the cane and with it his haunting handicap.

The lyrics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaxrmiXq0_k of this traditional island song are the words of the proud diver before he plunges into the sea aware of the danger yet expected to show bravery and daring.

“It’s diving or the shore…

Lower me down driver, hold the rope tight

Let me fill the net,

but take care not to ruin me, my legs don’t break”

“And if I die, don’t cry,

Bury me in the sand…”

Performed here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKcZMg3gwwc by two popular island singers, sisters Anna Karabesini and Efi Sarri.

The dance on Kalymnos is performed only to music while on the island of Leros, lyrics are also included.

The Message Today

At a time when people are still scrambling to accept diversity, this dance shows us the way; the way of a past generation that may have lacked specialized know-how but had an inner wisdom that devised manners to deal with life’s tests. The Diver’s Dance is a choreography of inner strength but also of professed vulnerability. The lame diver cannot get up alone, he needs the help of his companions and at the same time, they too know very well deep down that they could be in his shoes one day.

♪ Photo credits: Kalymnosola.com

#Greekmusic #Kalymnos #Kalymnosmusic #music #Greece #Greek music traditions #Greek island music #Kalymniotikos #Diver's Dance #Anna Karabesini #O Horos tou Mihanikou #Leros #Theofilos Klonaris #panegyria #Dodecanese Island Music #Skafandro #Stamatis Hatzidakis #Greek traditional music #greek tradition #Greek island dance #Kalymnos dance #greek music #Greek culutre #Greek culture #nisiotika

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Holy Friday: The Day the Greek Orthodox Mourn

Today, Holy Friday, is a day of loss and sorrow. A death knell echoes throughout Greece, from its remote villages to its buzzing cities. Flags are at half mast, and in the days of old, black cloths were hung from windows and balconies. On this day no activities are allowed. And in many remote villages, the only food on the table is vinegar, bread and olives.

Holy Friday is the culmination of Christ’s Passion. For churches and chapels across the land it is the most eventful time of the year. In the morning, young children pick spring flowers - white symbolising  purity, red for life and purple for death - to decorate the bier which is covered in an elaborately carved wooden canopy (the “kouvouklion”) on which an embroidered fabric (the “epitaphios”) is placed.

This embellished cloth represents the body of Christ and is placed on the bier after it is ceremoniously taken down from the cross. Sprinkled with rosewater and adorned with flower petals, the bier stands before the faithful, who have gathered for the “Egomia” (also known as the “epitaphios thrinos" or lamentations, consisting of three hymns  - “I Zoi en Tafo”, “Axion, Esti” and “E Genee Pase”) before the epitaphios is taken out of the church to be paraded through town.

♪ One of the most beautiful is the first, titled “I Zoi en Tafo” (meaning life in the grave). Of all the deliveries, the most compelling is https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=72&v=2yW39rHxW2c with legendary Cretan troubadour, the late Nikos Xylouris, and singer Manolis Mitsias for Greece’s public broadcaster ERT in 1977.

Once the epitaphios procession begins, it is followed by the congregation holding dark candles and in many cases by the parish choir chanting the “Trisagion”, the town’s marching band performing a funeral march or even military units as the bells toll mournfully.

♪ This version is unique, in that it is delivered by a female, something very rare in the Orthodox religious experience, and not by a Greek. The great Lebanese singer Fairuz, the most respected artist of the Arab world, performs “I Zoi en Tafo” in this 1962 recording. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiE-biR9USU#t=117 The result is galvanizing.

In larger towns, where there are many parishes, each epitaphios is carried throughout the neighbourhood only to merge with the others in the town’s central square.

♪ Here to the narration of actress Katerina Lechou and young performer Sofia Manou: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WqEUlqmAXE

On many islands the processions come together on the port with the epitaphios often being carried into the sea.

♪ Here a traditional delivery by one of the country’s most acclaimed Byzantine music teachers, musicologist Simon Karas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0G10997SAc

♪ And finally Greek band Trifono’s 2012 promising rendering https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1-1Q6guWdY

Once the procession is over, the epitaphios is returned to the church. As Holy Saturday dawns, there is a soothing silence. Everyone is preparing for the Resurrection service at midnight. The week of passions has passed, families unite, the devout hold white candles and when the lights go out, He Has Arisen, joy fills our hearts and even stronger an inner sense of hope… for we too, despite our trials, will spring to life.

♪ Photo above depicts a gold-thread adorned ‘epitaphios’ representing the Lament, dedicated to the Church of Agios Georgios in Ankara. The post-Byzantine work, on display at the Benaki Museum in Athens, was embroidered by artisan Despoineta in Constantinople in 1682.

[thegreekvibe]

Greek Carols for the New Year -- The Kalanta Tradition

Whether it’s the rosy-cheeked hair-cropped kiddies of yesteryear clutching traditional Greek instruments or the modern-era iPhone-armed youngsters of today donning the latest Gap wear, Greek children continue to this day - albeit several time-induced changes - to sing the carols, some dating to Byzantine times, on New Year’s Eve.  

As with all traditions in this tiny land brimming with splendid diversity, so do the carols or kalanta differ from region to region, island to island, village to village. As one of my professors once said: “Where there are two Greeks, there will be three opinions.” So you can imagine how this applies to other aspects of Greek life, not to mention carols….

The central motif is for the most part the same: wishes for love, peace, health, joy and wealth, but depending on the region additional “needs” come forth, such as a safe return home (for the sea-faring), a plentiful bounty (for the farmers), abundance in wine and cheese (for the mountain folk), milk and honey (for the shepherds), and all these goodies are expected in the New Year with a little help from our friend… Agios Vassilis - a Greek (more solemn and much thinner) version of Santa Claus.

So, once the bells toll on New Year’s Eve - nowadays, a bit later in the day, due to modernity’s late night pleasures - youngsters, don their smiles, shiny triangles in hand and set off to bring the good news to neighbours and friends.

In the days of old, and again depending on the territory, the carolers would also play the fiddle, the daouli (a traditional deep drum) common in the Macedonia and Thrace region, the ceramic drum, the stringed lagouto or the bagpipe. They would go door to door and after knocking would bid the lady of the house: “Na Ta Poume?” (Should we sing you the carols?”). The mistress would then say “Na Ta Peite” (Please Do…) and so the carolers would chant away their best wishes for the New Year. Once their song was over, she would offer them sweets and coins. And this tradition continues to this day.

The sheer happiness on the youngsters’ faces even today when they zoom in on the coins in their hands can only be compared to that cross-generational ice cream-eating face. Back then, they would run off to the single kafeneion (coffeehouse-cum-all-purpose shop) in the village to spend it on chocolate or candy. Today, it goes into the piggy bank for a trendy new iPhone case.

Traditional carols from the Peloponnese and its mountains about milk and honey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEa4s0jz1AY

From the isle of Ikaria herself, popular singer Eleftheria Arvanitaki performs her island’s version about wine, silver shelves and lifelong beauty: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GrUNm_YGO8  

Traditional instrumentalists from Crete sing kalanta wishing plows of silver and a long healthy life: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvaTFwRNVNA

And should perchance some stingy mistress of the house not find it in her heart to treat the carolers, they would just add a verse or two about ticks and lice and everything “nice”… in return. Or even bid that her beauty quickly abandon her or “off to the wolves with you” …

The lyrics to these masterpieces are enlightening, offering the centuries-old wisdom of love, compassion and kindness.

May the New Year get off to a good start

And Christ summons us

to shun wickedness

and dress ourselves in virtue

To live a fine life

to the word of the Gospel

with love and peace

and justice

May we live many years in glee

with a clean and pure soul

with joy and health

and divine grace

or

Give us the rooster, and give us the hen,

give us five or six eggs and off we go to another door

Here where we’ve sung, let not stone crack

and may the landlord live for many years to come.

A joyful modern take from innovative Greek jazzmen Mode Plagal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVjK-8aLKsU

And so my dear friends, The Greek Vibe wishes you all a very happy New Year, with love, kindness, compassion and the brightest light from within… this New Year’s carol from the Greeks of Çeşme in Asia Minor, brings back fond memories of times past, when the Greek people may not have basked in consumer affluence but in spiritual abundance.

In the verse of the anonymous master:

Awaken my lord, lord of the lot, awaken from too much sleep

too much sleep fades and spoils

in this house that we’ve called on, the shelves are made of wood

but next year when we come again, let them be made of gold.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZ_p7hbDnGc

Kali Hronia to all… and to all a good night…

♪ Photo credit: From the archives of the Benaki Museum, Athens.

[thegreekvibe]

‘Kalanta’: A Greek Christmas carol

“Hionia sto kabanario, pou Christougenna simainoun…” (Snow on the bell tower mark the coming of Christmas)…  Though our mother was anything but religious, on Christmas Eve morning in a usually very snowy Chicago suburb she would sing to us this carol. She still insists that children should have something to believe in and look forward to… and indeed, this carol marked the official countdown to Christmas, which for us meant finally opening our presents.

The poem, penned by Stelios Sperantzas (1888-1962), is performed here by folk singer Mariza Koch and her children’s choir. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IpBOFW0Gg8

Like most Greek folk music (demotika), Christmas carols date back to the Byzantine times and are still mostly sung in the purist katharevousa form of the Greek language. The word “kalanta“ derives from the latin "calenda”, which is defined as the start of the month.

Kalanta from the Peloponnese: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7BDGkxePYY

Early on Christmas morning, children across the land would gather (and fortunately still do, especialy in rural Greece), gloves, caps and triangles in hand and would visit each and every household and shop in the village or town. “Na Ta Poume?” (Shall We Sing?), they would yell waiting for that special “nod”. Once the carol was over, the youngsters would then wish the home- or shopowner health, happiness and prosperity, and in some cases, a good crop. In return, the carolers were offered edible goodies such as traditional holiday sweets including honey-dipped melomakarona or sugar-topped kourabiedes, pies, specially knitted breads and pomegranate.

Kalanta from Crete: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BoJ_4FO5cM

Again, much like Greek folk song, the lyrics and music of the kalanta vary depending on the region, and this is evident not only in the musical instruments accompanying the carolers but also the rhythm and the wishes. In some regions, the musical accompaniment includes guitars, the daouli drum, harmonica, clarinet or accordeon.

Kalanta from Thrace: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDp62vmIi0I

Today, city carolers go from one apartment to the other and in return they are “tipped” with change.

The carols always culminate in a Wish: “Ke tou Chronou, Chronia Polla” (May we be well again to celebrate next year and for many years to come).

The Greek Vibe wishes all a very Merry Christmas full of music to soothe the soul.

♪The painting above, titled “Ta Kalanta”, is the work of one of Greece’s greatest painters, Tinos-born Nikiforos Lytras (1832-1904).

[thegreekvibe]

The Rebetiko: Greece’s ‘blues’ Recognised by UNESCO

Greece’s rebetiko, a music genre once associated with the outcasts and laymen of Greek society only to become a major part of upper class entertainment and later an important part of Greek music culture was included last week on UNESCO’s 2017 list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as an expression of cultural and historical significance that must be safeguarded for the collective interests of humanity.

The rebetiko, similar to the American blues and Portuguese fados, is a broad genre incorporating a number of sub-styles and influences. Greece’s turbulent history as well as its geographical location, at the crossroads of East and West, played a decisive role in its emergence.

Born in the Greek-speaking coastal towns of Turkey, the rebetiko was in effect an embellished form of the music of the Asia Minor Greeks, known as the Smyrneiko or Politiko depending on whether it was played in Smyrna or Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul). Here the legendary Roza Eskenazy performs traditional “Dimitroula Mou” (My Darling Dimitroula): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Fyad1gDqg&feature=related

In 1922, the Asia Minor Catastrophe saw the sudden influx of thousands of expatriated Greeks to the port Piraeus, Thessaloniki and into the Greek capital. As a result, Greek music experienced the parallel development of both the Asia Minor song and the rebetiko.

From Asia Minor’s “Cafe Aman” musical idiom featuring an animated mélange of Eastern percussion-based rhythms and vocal acrobatics it moved to incorporate the traditional sounds the Greeks had taken with them from their native lands. The days of wealth and prosperity were over. The Greeks of Asia Minor were faced with a new harsh reality ahead of them. Greece in the 1920s and 1930s was ravaged by war. There were no jobs and people were dying of hunger. Stella Haskil performs “Kaigomai Kaigomai” (I’m Burning Up): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD3889VoUZo&feature=related

Thus the heavy-footed zeibeikiko (named after Anatolia’s outlawed Zeybeks) and the erotic tsifteteli (belly dance) mingled with the traditional kalamatiano and hasapiko, giving birth to a new music: the song of Asia Minor. Here an audio taste of a sensual tsifteteli with Eskenazy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsgLNsutrHQ&feature=related

In the meantime, underground, behind closed doors, in the hash dens, prisons and ports of Piraeus, Patras and Salonika, one could overhear the weeping bouzouki, the twang of the baglamadaki and the steel-string guitar that had come to take the place of the laouto, oud and fiddle, which held together the traditional demotika. The song of the downtrodden was born: the rebetiko or the “Greek Blues.” It was the time of Markos. Known as the “father” of the rebetiko, Markos Vamvakaris was born on the island of Syros. Markos (photo below) re-invented the genre by stripping it of all the Eastern-style adornments and bringing the bouzouki to center stage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJeB6zAsKx0

During this time and despite its ban, the rebetiko flourished into a fully-fledged genre and something even greater: it had become a way of life with its own dress and moral codes. The rebetes lived on the fringes of society, did things their way and sang about them. The term rebetiko is said to have come from the word “rebelos” which means rebel. Besides its significance as a music genre that embodies much of Greece’s vast music history, the genre also gained an important ideological role representing the downtrodden, the outcasts and outsiders, the non-conformists. There were unspoken rules and lyrics with hidden messages. When a song was requested (“paraggelia”) of the band, there could be only one dancer on the stage. On many an occasion, brawls would lead to stabbings or even death if the rule was violated. The notorious case of Nikos Koemtzis is one such example. He stabbed three men to death and served 23 years in prison after his brother got up to dance a song by Vamvakiaris at the historic Neraida nightclub in Athens in 1973. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdIWo-s32Ak

The genre expanded even more with contemporary Vassilis Tsitsanis (photo below) who besides being one of the most prolific songwriters also “promoted” the genre introducing in the meantime some the greatest artists in Greek music at the small clubs across Athens where he would perform. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JD6aRnEkAkM

It was only a matter of time before, bouzouki virtuoso Manolis Hiotis added a Western jazzy sound and upbeat rhythm introducing the genre to popular high-class nightclubs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9OYy8SHPoY Hiotis also added a string to the traditional three-string bouzouki enabling faster changes and musical acrobatics for which he became known.

The rebetiko later came to express the anxieties of the working classes, paving the way in the late 1960s for the laiko (or popular) genre, featuring a larger band and focusing more on the vocals with lyrics mostly about love lost and social inequality. The immense Stelios Kazantzidis interprets “O Ergatis” (The Worker). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ_TwCnYhK0

According to UNESCO, the “rebetiko is a musical and cultural expression directly linked to song and dance… open to all and bearers could include any Greek or Greek-speaking person who enjoys this form of music and dance.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHewYT_hfXg

“Rebetiko songs contain invaluable references to the customs, practices and traditions of a particular way of life, but above all the practice is a living musical tradition with a strong symbolic, ideological and artistic character.”

The UNESCO decision was announced last week during the 12th session of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) on Jeju island in the Republic of Korea.

♪ Photo credits to bdrebetiko.blogspot.gr/ and filoi-rempetikou.blogspot.gr

#rebetiko #vassilis tsitsanis #laika #UNESCO 2017 list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity #UNESCO #greek music #greece song #greece music #Greek blues #smyrneiko #politiko #cafe aman #Roza Eskenazy #zeibeikiko #tsifteteli #baglamadaki #bouzouki #bouzouki music #asia minor music #Stella Haskil #rebetes #Nikos Koemtzis #Manolis Hiotis #markos vamvakaris #rebetiko music #rebetika #rembetika #Greek music genres #hasapiko

[thegreekvibe]

Goodbye to Arleta, Greece's Voice of Velvet

Her voice was like an aural caress, soft, warm and comforting. She was one of the quiet types, never seeking to enter the spotlight, but always magically there, in political, social and matters of love.

One of Greece’s most loved singers, Arleta, passed away this week leaving behind echoes of her soothing voice and the finest example of a disappearing ethos.

Arleta made her way into the Greek music scene in the late '60s and evolved into one of the main representatives of Greece’s so-called Neo Kyma or new wave genre. She started off performing works by Mikis Theodorakis, Manos Hadjidakis and Yiannis Spanos, who was to mark the Neo Kyma genre with his works.

The Neo Kyma emerged in the early '60s a few years before the Greek military dictatorship in 1967 and was mainly represented by composer Spanos and singers Lakis Pappas, Keti Homata, Kostas Hadjis, Yiannis Poulopoulos, Rena Koumiotou and Yiorgos Zografos, among others.

The idea was to modernize the “elafry” (or light song) genre. It featured mostly ballads to the accompaniment of a guitar or piano focusing more on the lyrics about current social and political affairs, and on the vocals. In the '60s and '70s, boîtes (small cosy venues) were the popular form of entertainment and it is here that Neo Kyma singers would perform.

Arleta made her debut in 1966 with Tragouda I Arleta (Arleta Sings) and immediately became identified with the genre. Off this album, “Kapoies Nychtes” (Some Nights) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5NOLa6C_Hg by Spanos and Kostas Georgousopoulos was censored by the junta and removed from the initial release.

This paved the way for her next album Arleta 2 which included three of her own songs, among these the much-loved "Ta Mikra Paidia" (The Young Children). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-PxfGP20R8

Arleta participated in over 40 albums in her career and despite veering away from the public eye, songs she wrote or performed have gone down in history and in the hearts of Greeks across generations. The celebrated "Mia Fora Thymamai" (I Remember Once) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r51Q3KDfHA0, "O Lykos" (The Wolf), “Serenata" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smlk1cuUi7c, "Erchetai Kyro" (Cold is Coming) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAw3SWwCwA8 and "Ta Isicha Vradia" (Those Quiet Nights) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmN0btvrUIY are only a few of the songs that continue to win over the younger generations.

Despite the often cheerful key of the music, the lyrics (often written by her) tackled issues of love lost, hypocrisy, loneliness and ruined relationships with Arleta's pragmatic sense leaving behind a melancholy effect dressed in wit which was to become her trademark.  

Arleta was born in the Metaxourgeio neighbourhood in 1945. She lived most of her life in Exarcheia and then Kypseli, central Athens, which she loved dearly. She went on to study at the Arsakeio, then an elite all-girls school, and to graduate from the Athens School of Fine Arts.

"I didn't want to write about things that were cheerful, to be easy on the ear, I couldn’t. I wrote because I wanted to express myself,” she said and she was not one to mince her words. Belonging to a generation of performers who experienced the political dictatorship in Greece and the ensuing sociopolitical changes, she often spoke about politics and social issues daringly expressing opposing views when few did.

For Arleta, the key to everything is love - eros - not for people only but for all of nature’s gifts, for everything around her.

She has left behind a large body of works that can - thanks to their pertinence - serve as inspiration for the younger generations: the true mark and legacy of a great artist.

The Greek Vibe has singled out "To "Tragoudi tis Limnis - O Glaros” (Song of the Lake - Seagull) to the music of Eleni Karaindrou and lyrics by Arleta https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwRui_l4RQM for its farewell.

Her funeral service will be held on Thursday, at noon, at the 1st Cemetery of Athens. She was 72.

#arleta #greek music #neokyma music #Greece music #Yiannis Spanos #Greek singers #manos hadjidakis #mikis theodorakis #Greek New Wave music #Greece Neo Kyma music #Greek song #Greek contemporary song

[thegreekvibe]

The rugged cliffs along the desolate coastline of the Back Sea and the cavernous gorges of Pontus have nurtured a music so powerful and proud that only one who has travelled to these weathered lands or is a Pontic Greek can grasp the deeply-rooted history behind the compelling rhythm and the…

[thegreekvibe]

Holy Friday: The Day the Greek Orthodox Mourn

Today, Holy Friday, is a day of loss and sorrow. A death knell echoes throughout Greece, from its remote villages to its buzzing cities. Flags are at half mast, and in the days of old, black cloths were hung from windows and balconies. On this day no activities are allowed. And in many remote villages, the only food on the table is vinegar, bread and olives.

Holy Friday is the culmination of Christ’s Passion. For churches and chapels across the land it is the most eventful time of the year. In the morning, young children pick spring flowers - white symbolising  purity, red for life and purple for death - to decorate the bier which is covered in an elaborately carved wooden canopy (the “kouvouklion”) on which an embroidered fabric (the “epitaphios”) is placed.

This embellished cloth represents the body of Christ and is placed on the bier after it is ceremoniously taken down from the cross. Sprinkled with rosewater and adorned with flower petals, the bier stands before the faithful, who have gathered for the “Egomia” (also known as the “epitaphios thrinos" or lamentations, consisting of three hymns  - “I Zoi en Tafo”, “Axion, Esti” and “E Genee Pase”) before the epitaphios is taken out of the church to be paraded through town.

♪ One of the most beautiful is the first, titled “I Zoi en Tafo” (meaning life in the grave). Of all the deliveries, the most compelling is https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=72&v=2yW39rHxW2c with legendary Cretan troubadour, the late Nikos Xylouris, and singer Manolis Mitsias for Greece’s public broadcaster ERT in 1977.

Once the epitaphios procession begins, it is followed by the congregation holding dark candles and in many cases by the parish choir chanting the “Trisagion”, the town’s marching band performing a funeral march or even military units as the bells toll mournfully.

♪ This version is unique, in that it is delivered by a female, something very rare in the Orthodox religious experience, and not by a Greek. The great Lebanese singer Fairuz, the most respected artist of the Arab world, performs “I Zoi en Tafo” in this 1962 recording. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiE-biR9USU#t=117 The result is galvanizing.

In larger towns, where there are many parishes, each epitaphios is carried throughout the neighbourhood only to merge with the others in the town’s central square.

♪ Here to the narration of actress Katerina Lechou and young performer Sofia Manou: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WqEUlqmAXE

On many islands the processions come together on the port with the epitaphios often being carried into the sea.

♪ Here a traditional delivery by one of the country’s most acclaimed Byzantine music teachers, musicologist Simon Karas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0G10997SAc

♪ And finally Greek band Trifono’s 2012 promising rendering https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1-1Q6guWdY

Once the procession is over, the epitaphios is returned to the church. As Holy Saturday dawns, there is a soothing silence. Everyone is preparing for the Resurrection service at midnight. The week of passions has passed, families unite, the devout hold white candles and when the lights go out, He Has Arisen, joy fills our hearts and even stronger an inner sense of hope… for we too, despite our trials, will spring to life.

♪ Photo above depicts a gold-thread adorned ‘epitaphios’ representing the Lament, dedicated to the Church of Agios Georgios in Ankara. The post-Byzantine work, on display at the Benaki Museum in Athens, was embroidered by artisan Despoineta in Constantinople in 1682.

[thegreekvibe]

Kassiani: A fallen woman or a poet?

Secular and sacred unite during Great and Holy Week leading up to the Resurrection of Christ (“Anastasi”) and Easter Sunday. In this week, Orthodox across the globe flock to their parishes to partake in the centuries-old religious rituals that make Easter the most celebrated and venerated holiday of the year.

Hymns and ecclesiastical (church) chants feature prominently in these sacraments as the“psaltes” (mostly male cantors) accompany the priest who during the liturgy.

Dating back to Byzantium, but considered a continuation of Ancient Greek monophonic music, a large part of Byzantine musical art is modal, dedicated to religion and composed on the eight-mode system (octoechos). The “troparion” is usually a short one-stanza hymn often chanted between psalm verses. The sacred hymns chanted during Holy Week conjure images of Christ’s Passions invoking among the faithful feelings of piety and spirituality.

One the most mesmerizing moments in the rituals of Holy Week is the “Tropario tis Kassianis” (The Hymn of Kassiani) chanted once a year on the evening of Holy Tuesday.

Young and old take their spot in the church to hear the verse of Sister Kassiani (later a saint), who speaks of a woman’s sins, her devoted love and her plea for forgiveness. Though reminiscent of Mary Magdalene, Kassiani is a very different woman.

The musical composition embracing Kassiani’s poetry is so imposing that it leaves worshipers spellbound. Performed here by professor of Byzantine music and arch cantor Nikodimos Kavarnos and his choir: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o12p6gh446k&feature=related

The hymn, written in the 9th century, speaks of the woman who anoints Christ’s feet and seeks His forgiveness for her sins.

Sensing Thy divinity, O Lord,

a woman of many sins,

takes it upon herself

to become a myrrh-bearer

and in deep mourning

brings before Thee fragrant oil

in anticipation of Thy burial; crying:

“Woe to me! What night falls on me,

what dark and moonless madness

of wild-desire, this lust for sin.

Take my spring of tears

Thou Who drawest water from the clouds,

bend to me, to the sighing of my heart,

Thou who bendedst down the heavens

in Thy secret Incarnation,

I will wash Thine immaculate feet with kisses

and wipe them dry with the locks of my hair;

those very feet whose sound Eve heard

at the dusk in Paradise and hid herself in terror.

Who shall count the multitude of my sins

or the depth of Thy judgment,

O Savior of my soul?

Do not ignore thy handmaiden,

O Thou whose mercy is endless”.

Legend has it that Sister Kassiani was at the monastery writing the hymn when Byzantine Emperor Theophilos arrived. To avoid him she hid leaving however her incomplete poem behind. Theophilos realized it was Kassiani’s inspiration and added the following verse: “Those feet at whose sound Eve hid herself for fear when she heard Thee walking in Paradise in the afternoon.” When he left, Kassiani completed her poem.

There are those of course who believe that Kassiani was the “fallen woman” of her poem, but research indicates that this was far from true. She was said to have been one of two brides to compete for the heart (and throne) of Theophilos in AD830. In the competition and despite her beauty and noble descent, Kassiani lost to Theodora, who won the golden apple and became empereress after marrying Theophilos.

The story has it that Kassiani lost because in his efforts to “test” his bride-to-be Theophilos said “Women are responsible for all evil” referring to Eve. Her sharp comeback caught the emperor off guard. Suggesting the Virgin Mary, she replied: “And of woman all Greatness”. Shocked and insulted by her astuteness he turned to her and said: “You would have been better off had you remained silent,” and handed the apple over to Theodora.

Kassiani abandoned this world and devoted her life to God, forming the Monastery of Kassia, where she later attained sainthood. Besides this hymn, Kassiani is considered to be a very important poet of Byzantium having penned many other works, secular as well as religious, including “Avgoustou Monarhisantos Epi tis Gis” chanted during Christmas. But she is most of all praised for her dedication to offering her verse to God, expressing through it the path to wholeness and the significance of faith, prayer and forgiveness.

Despite being the theme for a religious poem, The “Hymn of Kassiani” has intrigued many poets and historians throughout time, among them Kostis Palamas, Fotis Kontoglou and Yiannis Psycharis to name but a few.

As heard in the mystical setting of the Greek Orthodox church on Holy Tuesday, amid the lit candles and the worshipers of all ages, the “Tropario tis Kassianis” inspires awe not only because it has been chanted for centuries, but because to this day it continues to strike a chord, conveying the one true meaning of Easter: through forgiveness alone can we attain true love – our one and only chance at inner peace.

“Hronia Polla” and “Kali Anastasi”. May we all carry within our hearts year round the message of Easter.

*Photo credit: ‘St Kassiani the Hymnographer’ by the late nun Markella at The Chapel of The Archangels on the island of Patmos http://ekdoseisxrysopigi.blogspot.com/

[thegreekvibe]

On occasion of Greek Independence Day, March 25: "Somewhere towards the end of the poem, in the 144-149th stanzas, a tormented and blood-soaked Liberty calls on the Greeks to leave discord behind and unite."

The Greek National Anthem: An Ode to Freedom

At 158 stanzas, the Greek national anthem, the Hymn to Liberty (Ymnos eis tin Eleftherian), written in 1823 by Zakynthos-born poet Dionysios Solomos and set to music in 1828 by Nikolaos Mantzaros, is the world’s longest.

It became the official anthem of Greece in 1865 replacing the Bavarian National Anthem used by King Othon. In 1966, it also became the national anthem of tormented Cyprus. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_u5NfDR7AA

I remember when I was a child coming on holidays from the US to visit my mother’s birthplace in Tripolis, Peloponnese. There, on our evening strolls my grandfather would take me to the central square, where at dusk a military unit to the accompaniment of a band would retreat the flag. During the National Anthem he stood still looking at the flag with tears in his eyes. I stood still too, not really knowing why but he would always remind me once the music stopped that it was in respect to those who had fought for our freedom.

Years went by, and every time I hear the Greek National Anthem I can’t hold back my tears. I admit, I have often been embarrassed by my response as my fellow Greeks usually think I’m mad or just plain too sentimental. But for me, the national anthem has always touched a chord. The noble but anchored introduction, the major to minor melodic shifts and then the powerful, arousing build-up culminating in a promising and hopeful finale.

Perhaps because as a second generation Greek-American I can still vividly recall the agonising nostalgia and undying urge to step on Greek soil of all the Greeks who had left their homeland behind, particularly my mother’s.

Or maybe because I always remember the humble Greek athletes taking part in the Olympic Games, usually just a handful representing a tiny nation with no infrastructure or support, winning the giants with their huge sponsors and complex training programs. And then they would stand oh so tall and proud, that handful, as the Greek National Anthem was performed at the closing ceremony in honour of Greece, the Games’ birthplace.

Maybe because it reminded me of those summer days with my grandfather (who came back to Greece from Albania on foot after the war), at sunset when quiet would fall upon the town and we’d return home for a light evening meal of olives, grapes and cheese and the last news on the black and white TV before the broadcast would end… again with the national anthem.

Or perhaps now more than ever that Greece is yet again a David in a world of Goliaths trying desperately to win back its long lost dignity.

For Solomos, also a frontrunner of the Modern Greek language (demotiki), “Eleftheria” (Liberty) was much like a Greek goddess atop Mt Olympus, fearless, beautiful and determined. It is she who calls on the Greeks to come out of their stupor after 400 years of slavery to the Turks, regain their might, muster up their courage and fight or die.

And with the wisdom that the war has marked her with in the ninth and tenth stanza the anthem reads:

With blood-stained clothes I know for a fact that you secretly sought help in stronger hands of foreign lands. On your journey you started alone and alone you came back doors do not easily open when you need them so bad

and goes on in stanza 15:

Yet, behold now thy sons with impetuous breath Go forth to the fight seeking freedom or death.

If a national anthem is meant to arouse the spirit of a nation, then I think the Hymn to Liberty continues to achieve this in both its poignant verse and its inspiring music.

Whether it was sung against the centuries of Turkish domination, the current EU victimisation or at such promising for humanity moments as the Olympic Games bringing people closer together, it is a moment that brings tears to my eyes every single time because at the end of the day it also represents the struggle that each and every one of us experiences, it’s that inner voice that urges us to awaken from our deep sleep, from our self-constructed confines, and fight. And yes, we may be outnumbered, but as another great Greek writer (Rigas Feraios) put it: “Better off with one hour of free life, then 40 years of slavery and prison”.

Somewhere towards the end of the poem, in the 144-149th stanzas, a tormented and blood-soaked Liberty calls on the Greeks to leave discord behind and unite.

For this post I have borrowed British poet Rudyard Kipling’s 1918 translation of the Hymn to Liberty.

We knew thee of old, oh, divinely restored, by the lights of thine eyes And the light of thy Sword

From the graves of our slain shall thy valour prevail as we greet thee again- Hail, Liberty! Hail!

Long time didst thou dwell mid the peoples that mourn, awaiting some voice that should bid thee return.

Ah, slow broke that day and no man dared call, for the shadow of tyranny lay over all:

And we saw thee sad-eyed, the tears on thy cheeks while thy raiment was dyed in the blood of the Greeks.

Yet, behold now thy sons with impetuous breath go forth to the fight seeking Freedom or Death.

From the graves of our slain shall thy valour prevail as we greet thee again- Hail, Liberty! Hail!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWQkQxoSacE

Hail.

* Credit: Michal Bzinkowski for his fine work: http://humanitas.filg.uj.edu.pl/files/terminus/artykuly/d9b23762d6da8f325e2b215ff5338d2b.pdf