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“Birds, take my pain and sing it
to the world!” This situation has presented "Seistro"
music publications with a special challenge, which is none other than to issue a
complete collection of this great artist's work aimed primarily at young artists
as well as at its natural audience: the people who worshipped him. It was during the fall of 2001 that
discussions began, in both Crete and Athens, with Manos Mountakis (K.Mountakis'
son) laying the foundations for the commencement of this work. Many fans and
collectors of Kostis Mountakis' music, following the initiative of his son,
contributed to the process of collecting archival material, interviews, rare
recordings, photographs, and even narrations of striking and magical moments in
the life of this exceptional musician. This process would never have been
possible without the assistance of a particular individual who has, for many
years, played a unique role in the creation of an archive of recordings of
Cretan Music: Giorgos Gongas. During his long residence in Athens, Cretan
artists would always find "refuge" in his hospitable home. It was
there that their final rehearsals before studio recordings would inevitably take
place. These live recording sessions at the home of Giorgos Gongas, are indeed
unique and constitute the primary source for this edition. Of special importance
also were the recordings from radio programs, unreleased recordings, as well as
recordings from concerts in London, all of which were put at our disposal by
Manos Mountakis. Valuable material was also obtained from local radio stations,
events in honor of Kostas Mountakis, festivals, weddings, as well as from
various other performances, such as those at the theatre Nikos Kazantzakis in
Iraklio which were generously provided by various individuals. Of
great importance also was a visit to Estavromeno, to the home and school of
Kostas Mountakis, where his son Manos, his student (and now teacher himself),
Giorgos Skoutelis, and the music historian-musicologist Anna-Maria Giannakodimou
presented us with a wealth of unique documents from the archives of Kostas
Mountakis himself. Resulting, having gathered all of the
necessary material reflecting the life and work of Kostas Mountakis, we began in
February 2002, the process of sorting and selection. The sheer amount of
material at our disposal was such that we were obliged to make a careful
selection which would be suitable for this edition. It was also necessary to
ascertain the exact time and location of each recording, as well as the identity
of each of the accompanying musicians. It was also very important to chose the
recordings which best reflect the best moments and the particular atmosaphere of
Mountakis’ unique playing. In this respect, I hope that we have managed to
bring about the best possible result. Once, when Kostas Mountakis was asked
how he sees Cretan Music, he answered in the following words: «Whatever begins
with the criterion, and basic motive of material gain, without having any real
feeling , can never be successful, it will never realize its full potential.
Music is not made to order, it isn’t just executed, whenever you try
and contain it within specific boundaries, to limit it, to play just to make a
living, for example, it will never achieve its potential grandeur.It must always
rest on feeling because maintaining the tradition means treating it as a
passion, as something which inspires deep feelings, not seeing it as
merely a profession. When you treat music in this way only then can you
progress. We have such richness in our tradition, rhythms, poetry, great
strength. Let’s look at our tradition from the point of view of what we can
offer and not what we can gain, what can we leave behind us for others.» We are now in the very fortunate
position to be able to share with you this effort, to listen, to celebrate
together with the great Master himself, Kostas Mountakis. Produced by SEISTRON Order this CD from our new site www.cretashop.eu |
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