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Greece
has one of the richest and most varied bodies of traditional music and dance in
Europe- there are estimated to be at least 10,000 recorded dances.
In 2014, Pefanis and Fevgalas produced volume
1, a collection of 184 tunes from the Greek Islands (Crete, Cyprus, the Aegean,
the Aegean, Ionian and other islands.). Volume 2 concludes this monumental
work, with 200 tunes from all parts of the Greek mainland.
In
the modern world there is an almost irresistible force of homogenization
affecting all traditional music, no matter where it comes from. The huge
diversity and individuality of local Greek music, partly a result of separation
by mountain or by sea, stands in danger of being simplified and eroded. In this
book, the authors have deliberately stood against this trend, by producing
accurate transcriptions of classic recordings made at a time when the music was
still largely aural in its transmission.
“Our intention here has been to give as clear
a depiction as possible of the musical mode of expression of earlier
generations…”
These
recordings come from a variety of instruments- mostly clarinet, violin, lyra
and gaida. In some cases they have, for
reasons of practicality, changed the keys from the original, and, in the case
for example of tunes taken from the lyra, drones have been omitted. However,
basic ornamentation is included throughout, with a brief explanation in the
opening text. Many of these tunes are modal, and the authors have followed the
convention of including both sharps and flats in the key signature, together,
rather than (as is the case, for example, in klezmer books) of putting flats in
the key signature and sharps as accidentals within the music.
The
collection is divided by region, and in each grouping there is a good
representation of a wide range of dances, such as the Syrto, Chasapiko,
Kalamatianos, Zeimpekiko and so on. The title often refers to the specific
location or the source recording. The table of contents includes an English
translation of the titles, though these are not used in the body of the book,
so a non Greek speaker has to keep referring back. The opening text is also translated, as is
the extensive discography and list of source musicians at the end.
This
is not a book for the faint-hearted. If you’re looking for a simple
introduction to Greek dance music, this is not for you. A few of the tunes are in bite-sized
portions, but many are three of four pages in length, with little or no
repetition- your sight reading skills will be well tested! There is a considerable range of difficulty;
it is perhaps unfortunate that many of the hardest tunes are at the start, while the Macedonian tunes
in the second half are considerably more straightforward.
Nevertheless,
is you
an experienced player of Greek traditional music, the depth, ambition and
thoroughness of this impressive collection is something you are unlikely to see
anywhere else.
