Cretan music is the oldest music in Greece and perhaps all of Europe. Even in ancient times, excavations show that in Crete, there was music. When the Venetians ruled Crete, the Italians helped create music schools in the area and added influence from Byzantine music. As a result, Cretan music is a lot different than the music on the mainland. It is complicated and in ⅞ or 9/8 time, which are rare in Western music.
Cretan Instruments
The main role is given to the lyra, which is a pear-shaped lute. It looks like a violin but has older roots and is less refined. Players often play with many embellishments. The lyra is accompanied by the laouto, a kind of lute, and also the mandolin. When singing, the Cretans put their soul into the music. The result is a poetic tradition called “Mantinades” where singers take turns dueling with poetic verses that are injected with humor and spontaneity. serve as accompanying instruments.
Nikos Xylouris (Xilouris)
One of the most famous voices of Crete is Nikos Xylouris. He is also known as Psaronikos. Xylouris is known all over the island and his passionate voice inspired a generation of folk musicians. He was known for combining traditional songs with western melodies and influences. Xylouris was a symbol of resistance against the military junta in 1967, and he was targeted by the government for this reason. However, this only made him a greater national hero. Since his death at the young age of 44, his home in Anogia, Crete has been converted into a museum.
Music Styles in Crete
Mantinades
Crete’s mantinades are songs with 15-syllable verses that are improvised and often rhyme. These songs are sung at weddings, baptisms, and panegiria of all types in Crete. The Mantinades represents the Cretan spirit of poetry, which is not only found in the music but also in the mountains’ sheep-herders and old men sitting in kafeneios.
Rizitika
Rizitika refers to rebel songs that are sung in western Crete, specifically in the White Mountains, in the area around Chania. The Rizitika are sung during marriages, feasts, and baptisms. The repertoire has songs for the wedding banquet, for the transfer of the dowry to the house of the groom, the welcome of the bride, the gift gathering ceremony, and more.
Erotokritos
Erotokritos is certainly one of the most impressive songs in Crete. It is a long, adventurous love poem with 10,010 lines which was written 400 years ago during the Venetian rule. In English, it roughly translates to “tried by love.”
Dances of Crete
Cretan dances are high energy and some are danced only by men. They combine quick steps with acrobatic movements and are said to represent the nature in Crete – its mountains and wild sea. The slower dances usually include the women as well and focus on themes of love and marriage.
Where Can I See Live Cretan Music?
You can experience Cretan dance and music for yourself in the many village taverns of Chania and Rethymno. There are some Facebook pages that announce local musical acts and performances, but most advertising is done at a local level, with flyers posted outside of storefronts, or through word of mouth. It helps to ask a local! If you want to see the process of making a Cretan instrument, there are several instrument workshops in Rethymno that craft traditional instruments.
Anogia: City of Musicians
Anogia is a town in the mountains of Crete with only 2500 permanent residents, and a famous tradition of music. It produced 3 of the most famous Cretan musicians of the past century: Nikos Xilouris (Psaronikos), Vasilis Skoulas, and Psarantonis. Just 55 kilometers south of Rethymnon, the town’s name translates to “high place” because of its altitude.
Traditional music from Crete is played in Anogia during the summer at open-air concerts, and also at festivals during the first two weeks of August. Anogia also organizes cultural evenings that attract visitors from all over the country. The square of Agios Georgios is a popular place to stop by for coffee, a taverna meal, or to listen to traditional Cretan music. If you’re likely, you might even hear the locals singing their mantinades.
