Explorations of Epirote Folk Music: An American Southerner in Northern Greece October 9, ,at The Rubin Museum of Art
The Hellenic-American Cultural Foundation hosted a curated evening of Epirote music with Christopher C. King. Writer Amanda Petrusich describes Mr. King’s introduction to her of Greek violinist Alexis Zoumbas’ recording in TheNY Times as “one of the most devastating bits of music I’ve ever encountered.” Both Αναμνήσεις and The National Herald praised the event.
Nicholas Gage, award-winning investigative reporter for The New York Times and author of seven acclaimed books, introduced Mr. King and oversaw the question and answer segment. Mr. King, an honorary Greek citizen, is a writer, curator, and Grammy-winning producer. At the event he read excerpts from his book, Lament from Epirus: An Odyssey into Europe’s Oldest Surviving Folk Music, a Wall Street Journal best book of , where he explored the powerfully cathartic nature of this ancient Greek folk music. His narration was interspersed with interludes of live Epirote music by Aurel Kyrio (Nikolakis), Beth Bahia Cohen, and John Themelis, as well from Mr. King’s rare, archival 78 rpm discs.
Aurel Querjo Kyrio (Nikolakis) was born in Korça, Albania on November 22, He completed Elementary, Middle, and High School studies in musical profile, focusing on instrumental violin. He completed his higher studies at the Academy of Arts, majoring as a classical conductor. Along with classical music, he expresses his talent in traditional Epirotic music. He has participated in many folk music groups in the UK, USA, Albania and Greece. After the fall of communism in Albania, he spent 20 years in Greece as a violin teacher and as a violinist of Epirote music. He has played at many folklore festivals in Europe, USA, and Canada. Currently he resides in London and has spent the last 12 years as a violinist in various music groups, collabor
Profile: Eva Salina
With Peter Stan, Live at Jalopy, , photo by Nina Galicheva
Although Eva Salina represents the younger generation of American teachers at the EEFC workshops, she has been on staff off and on over the past 18 years. She has taught song survey courses, introductory singing, singing classes for kids, and Romani singing. As an American who “grew up at Balkan camp,” she is a professional performer and teacher whose work is steeped in Balkan music.
“When I was seven years old, someone gave me a cassette of some Yiddish songs,” Eva says. It was a recording of a s-era LP recorded by members of Aman, the Los Angeles-based folk dance performing ensemble. Eva really connected with the voice of the singer, Pearl Rottenberg (later, Pearl Taylor). “These were not-so-well-known, beautiful Yiddish songs, and the lyrics were all transliterated in the liner notes,” she says. “I taught myself all of them.”
Her parents, Mark Primack and Janet Pollock, were not musicians but wanted to support their daughter’s enthusiasm for that style of music and started looking around their Santa Cruz community for someone who could give her lessons. They couldn’t find anyone singing Yiddish songs, but they did find a band, Medna Usta, performing Eastern European music in local cafes and clubs. Mark approached one of the members, Ruth Hunter, about the possibility of the 7-year-old Eva taking some lessons with her. Eva remembers Ruth walking up the hill to their house, accordion on her back.
Luka and Eva taking a lesson with Ruth Hunter, Santa Cruz,
“It was as if somebody had lit a pilot light inside me,” Eva said. “I was so moved and inspired by the music.” She continued to take lessons; Mark started taking accordion lessons with Ruth, and eventually Janet took singing lessons with her as well.
Around the same time, a neighbor, Susan Wagner, started hosting monthly gatherings called večerinkas, featuring folk dancing, live music, eating and socia
Vicky Manteli*
Abstract
In this paper, I discuss the phenomenology and aesthetics of Michail Marmarinos’s Trackers, Summer ; in particular, I analyze the director’s stage approach to Sophocles’ drama as an ecologically driven revision of Sophocles’ non-extant satyr play. The director explores the borderline between nature and culture, inspired by a myth of the Satyrs and Apollo, who were mystified by music. The imaginative stage interpretation of the theogony of music, central to the myth of Trackers, resonates with experience of contemporary audiences affected by COVID In the discussion below, I focus on the performances at the ancient theatre of Epidaurus, July 24–26, , and on the plateau of Mount Ziria, July 31, , both of which highlight the director’s talent for open space management.
Production Details of Michail Marmarinos’s Trackers
In the midst of the COVID pandemic, acclaimed Greek theatre director Michail Marmarinos revisited ancient Greek drama, focusing on satyr drama, he directed Sophocles’ fragmented play Trackers. Originally scheduled to open in the Athens/Epidaurus Festival but postponed due to the pandemic, the production was finally staged in Summer at three different venues.
Trackers premiered at Epidaurus theatre on July 24, , with additional performances on the following two nights. A subsequent performance was staged on the plateau of Mount Ziria, i.e., Mount Cyllene of ancient Arcadia, the dramatic setting of Sophocles’ drama; on September 16, , the performance was staged at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Athens. My analysis, however, is based solely on performances staged at Epidaurus and Ziria.
Sophocles’ Trackers (Greek title Ichneutai)
I believe it would be useful to begin with a brief plot summary of this lesser-known play by Sophocles. The main characters are the g