The folk music of Epirus
Polyphonic songs, the clarinet and slow dances: the music of Epirus that is also heard in Arta.
- Song
- Pentatonic and polyphonic
- Instruments
- Clarinet, violin, flute, lute
- Dances
- Slow, danced counter-clockwise
- Well-known
- Petroloukas Chalkias, Vasilis Kostas
The music of Epirus is centred on the northwest of Greece but is heard to varying degrees across the mainland and the islands. In Arta and the Tzoumerka the Kagkelari dance is one example.
The song
The folk songs are mostly pentatonic and polyphonic, “relaxed, gentle and exceptionally beautiful” according to the English Wikipedia, and are sung by both men and women. Polyphony is considered one of the most interesting forms, of very old origin. The types include laments (mirologia), shepherd's songs (skaros) and drinking songs (of the table).
Instruments and dances
The clarinet is the most prominent instrument, with the violin, the flute and the lute. It accompanies mostly slow, heavy dances such as menousis, fisouni, pogonisios, syrtos in three, zagorisios, koftos, yiatros and tsamikos. Dances are always danced counter-clockwise in circles, and women's dances are especially restrained.
Costume and musicians
Women wore ankle-length black coats, gold-thread caps with a long tassel and hammered gold jewellery. Notable musicians named are the clarinetist Petroloukas Chalkias and the lute player Vasilis Kostas.