Greek Music

The music of Greece is extremely diverse due to the musical genius of the Greeks in integrating the inspirations of the Eastern and Western cultures of Asia and Europe. Greece music dances years back onto the pages of antiquity as poetry, dancing, and music were inseparable and made up an integral aspect of the ancient Greek’s everyday life. Music was an important element to Greek tragedy of the first century A.D. With the fall of ancient Greece, music in Greece slept for nearly 2000 years but finally rebirthed in the 19th century. Popular forms of Greek music include the following:

 

·        Greek folk songs: This music originated from the time of ancient Greek poetry and music, and is divided into two musical movements: the akritic and the klephtic.

·          Cantadha: This music originated at the beginning of the 19^th century and is a style of romantic serenade, sung by three male voices in chorus. This style of music was popular on all the Ionian Islands and then appeared throughout the rest of Greece.

·          The nissiotika: This music originated on the islands of Greece where each island today has its own nissiotika and unique way of dancing it. Nissiotika are common in every island’s festival, and are usually accompanied by a large group of musicians who stay up all night long playing.