Tsampounes tou Aigaiou -
Bagpipes of the Aegean Sea
This is the recording of a
concert held in Yéryeri, Crete, in August 2006. The concert featured the
folk musical traditions of four of the Aegean islands (Crete, Páros,
Kálymnos and Kárpathos), and particularly the local bagpipe, known as
Tsamboúna |
 |
Although the numerous Aegean islands all share a common musical and cultural
heritage, each one presents its own local variant. Major or minor differences in
the dances, the instruments, the rhythms etc., make up each island’s own musical
identity, recognisable yet closely related to those of the other islands.
Throughout the Aegean area one can distinguish two parallel musical streams. The
older, indigenous one, which once dominated the musical life of the islands, is
characterised by simplicity on all levels: melodies with a narrow range, a small
variety of rhythms, and frequent use of repetition. All this is played in a
non-virtuoso manner, mostly on “primitive” instruments with limited
possibilities, usually constructed by the musicians themselves. On the other
hand there is a newer musical stream, influenced mostly by the Asia Minor
tradition: here we find more elaborate tunes, greater variety, instruments
constructed and played in a more sophisticated way.
The tsamboúna, an instrument of archaic construction, is probably the most
typical of the older-stream instruments. It is a droneless bagpipe with twin
double-reed chanters. Through the ages it has played an important role in
forming the essential characteristics of the local music of the Aegean. On each
of the roughly twenty islands where it is still in use nowadays there are small
local variations in its construction, form, sound, repertoire and playing
techniques, as well as in the choice of instruments that usually accompany it.
Other instruments typical of the older stream are the toumbí (drum), the
thiambóli or sourávli (fipple-flutes), the mandoúra (reedpipe), and the
old-style lýra (upright fiddle). The newer stream prefers violin, clarinette,
sandoúri (hammer dulcimer), laoúto (lute), and modern-style Cretan lýra.
Although today the older stream of music is rapidly losing popularity and is not
frequently encountered, what is most interesting is that the coexistence of the
two streams has led to combinations and hybrids that are peculiar to each island
Of the four islands represented at the concert, Páros seems to have preserved
the tsamboúna tradition in its purest form. The melodies are minimal, as is the
instrumentation – merely a bagpipe and a drum, as it has been for generations.
If the local players of the newer-stream music have extensively borrowed from
the tsamboúna’s repertoire and technique, the few bagpipers still active are
very reluctant to play anything but what they themselves first heard played on a
tsamboúna.
Kálymnos presents a different reality: here almost the entire repertoire of both
the older and the newer stream is “imported”, or at least shared with other
places in the Greek world. However there is a very distinctive local musical
idiom, recognisable by the peculiar sound of both the Kalymnian violin-laoúto
ensemble and the Kalymnian tsamboúna, among other features. New melodies are
still being incorporated and assimilated into the tradition today. Most of the
repertoire of the tsamboúna is also played by the other instruments, although in
quite a different fashion – sometimes even the steps of the same dance differ
according to the instruments used.A bagpipe will never play together with a
violin, and only occasionally with a laoúto. Few pieces belong exclusively to
the bagpipe; these are mostly instrumental, they are never accompanied by a
laoúto, and are the only ones claiming purely local origin.
Kárpathos is the only island where there is a single musical style, not divided
into newer and older streams. Here the newer stream passed by and only left a
few elements, such as the use of the laoúto, that were incorporated to what is
essentially the older stream.The usual instrumental ensemble of Karpathos,
consisting of tsamboúna, old-style lýra fiddle, and laoúto, is not frequently
heard on other islands. Even when the lýra and laoúto play alone, without a
tsamboúna, their repertoire and technique are the same.Unlike most other
islands, where the tsamboúna is principally played in small parties among
friends, in Kárpathos (especially in the northern villages of Spóa and Ólymbos)
it still appears regularly in marriages and “official” local festivities.
Finally, in Crete the tradition of the tsamboúna (here locally known as
askomandoúra) is closely related to that of two other wind instruments, the
thiambóli (fipple flute) and the mandoúra (reedpipe). All three are mainly
associated with the shepherds. Their tradition has long been so much
overshadowed by the dominant modern style of Cretan music (using violin, modern
lýra, laoúto and other string instruments) that their use is now restricted to
only two small areas of the island. Even in these regions they are played almost
exclusively in solitude or in small gatherings. The few young players of these
instruments have started borrowing elements from mainstream Cretan music (such
as the larger ensembles with percussion, one or two laoúto and occasionally even
lýra, as well as playing many violin or lýra tunes, particularly the syrtós
dances) in their attempt to keep these instruments alive.
In the very recent years, all over the Aegean islands but also in Athens and
other cities, there has been a gradual re-discovery of the tsamboúna. After the
abandonment of the social circumstances that gave birth to this instrument and
its music, a few young people of urban origin have started showing a new
interest in the tsamboúna, its playing, construction and cultural value. The
Yéryeri concert gave occasion to some of these young musicians to meet and
collaborate with representatives of the old generation.
G. P. Shinas
Produced by
SEISTRON
PRICING (registered post
and packaging included)
[ New
releases ]
[ Artists A-M ] [ Artists N-Z ] [ Other artists ] [ Collections-Collective Recordings ]
No Credit Card? We accept orders "CASH ON
DELIVERY" for the following countries: Belgium, France, Germany,
Greece, Switzerland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden,
Cyprus.
Send us a mail or a fax
+(30)2810-301927
mentioning: name - exact address - telephone - precise description of items
ordered. We will contact you to confirm your order and ship it "CASH ON
DELIVERY" (See prices above). For details on paying by check or money order click here
Kann
ich eine Bestellung aufgeben, ohne mein Kreditkartenkonto zu belasten? Ja, aber
nur in den folgenden Landern: Griechenland und Zypern. Senden Sie uns eine E-Mail oder ein Fax
+(30)2810-301927
und listen Sie darin die gewunschten Artikel auf. Selbstverstandlich darf Ihr
Name, die genaue und ausfuhrliche Anschrift sowie eine Telefonnummer nicht
fehlen. Die Lieferung erfolgt gegen Nachnahme ohne Aufpreis (es gelten die
Versandpreise zum aktuellen Wechselkurs US Dollar -Euro)
