Greece - The Aegean Islands

 Now Greece is known for its many islands, which are popular holiday destinations with pristine beaches and white washed houses.  We're only be visiting a few of them, starting with Kos in the Aegean Sea near the coast of Türkiye.  

Here we are reaching far back in history to the earliest recordings of music.  Maria Papagika was born in 1890 on the island of Kos and died in 1943 in New York.  She was the first female Greek recording artist.  She emigrated to the USA in 1915 with her cimbalon playing husband, when Kos was under Italian rule.  She was known for her sweet soprano voice and became a popular Rebetiko performer for the wider diaspora of the Balkans.  Here is a song she recorded around 1926 called Galata Manes, which features on the 2004 compilation album The Rough Guide to Rebetika:

I don't know much about bouzouki player Takis Elenis apart from that he is originally from the island of Leipsoi, but later emigrated to the USA.  He collaborated with other Greek musicians, specifically with fellow bouzouki player Anestos Athanasiou and the Feejon Group, playing traditional Greek dance tunes from all around the islands.  The only release I am aware of is Smithsonian Folways' 1989 album Greek Folk Dances.  Here is a tune from the album called Frangosiriani: 

Next we're heading to the island of Lesbos (or Lesvos).  Due to its close proximity to the Anatolian coast, it has always had more eastern influences.  In 1996 Crete University Press published a compilation of traditional music from the island called Lesvos Aiolis, featuring various artists.  The following song also featured on the 2010 compilation The Rough Guide to Greek Café. It's called Kontrabatzidhes:

Next we meet one of the giants of Greek music and national treasure in composer Mikis Theodorakis, who was born on the island of Chios in 1925 and only died in 2021.  He most famously wrote the score for the 1964 movie Zorba the Greek and the Mauthausen Trilogy, which has been described as the most beautiful piece of music ever written about the Holocaust.  He was also known for his political activism, associated with the left and the Communist party and against the 1967 to 1974 ruling Junta.  The latter got him in trouble on many occasions leading to imprisonment and temporary exile.  He did serve in government before and after though.  As I said in the last post, I had the enormous pleasure of seeing him live with his orchestra and Maria Farantouri in 1981 at the incredible natural rock arena of Bad Segeberg in Northern Germany.

Here is the final dance scene from Zorba the Greek:

And here is a live performance from 2001 of O Kaimos together with singer Yannis Parios, who was born in 1946 on the island of Paros:

Finally we hop over to the island of Syros, where the 'patriarch of Rebetika' Markos Vamvakaris was born in 1905 (died in 1972).  Apparently he left his native island in the mistaken belief that the cops were after him and settled in Piraeus, where he worked in various odd jobs.  When he first heard the Bouzouki he was inspired to learn it himself and became quite a virtuoso on the instrument, writing his own songs.  Mikis Theodarakis himself described him: "We all, we are but branches of a tree. Markos is that tree."  Here is an extract from a 1963 documentary, which also features Vasilis Tsitsanis from Trikala.  The song Markos sings is called Antonis Vakaris Seretis and features on the 2004 compilation album The Rough Guide to Rebetika:

That's it from the Aegean Islands, next we are heading for the Greek mainland.  Meanwhile you are invited to follow my virtual travels on my Tripline map.