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The Polyphonic song of Epirus constitutes one of the most interesting musical forms, not only for the east Mediterranean and the Balkans, but also for the worldwide repertoire of the folk polyphony. The music is mainly found among Albanians, Greeks, Aromanians & Slavs in southern Albania and northwestern Greece.

The polyphonic song of Epirus is not to be confused with other varieties of polyphonic singing, such as the yodeling songs of the region of Muotatal, or the Cantu a tenore of Sardinia.

Origin

Although current research has not reached absolute conclusions, this polyphonic form is considered to be very old. The melodies of polyphonic songs of Epirus, including some more songs of Epirus and Thessaly, are the only ones in Albania and Greece that have preserved the pentatonic scale without semitones (a scale consisted of five tones without semitones). According to some musicologists, this scale is identified with the Doric way of the ancient Greek Dorians, the par excellence Hellenic harmony. Except from its scale, what pleads for the very old origin of the kind is its vocal, collective, rhetorical and modal character. The tradition of Polyphonic singing has being contested and used by both sides of the Greek and Albanian border in a nationalistic manner.

Polyphonic Music in Greece and Albania

These days, polyphonic song is found in northwestern Greek region of Ioannina (villages of Pogoni, Parakalamos and some villages north of Konitsa), in very few villages in northeastern Thesprotia (Tsamantas, Lias, Vavouri, Povla) and, mainly, in Northern Epirus some significant examples are the villages and towns were recognized Greek populations reside in southern Albania (Northern Epirus) (Delvinë, Dropull, Pogon, Poliçan, Vuthroto, Himara and others). Also found in to varying degree in the rest of Greece & the islands.

Structure

Polyphonic groups of Epirus consist of four members at least. There are four distinct roles that compound the group.

Voices

"Πάρτης" (partis) or "σηκωτής" (sikotis) is the voice that sings the main melody, beginning, "παίρνοντας" (pernontas, taking) or "σηκώνοντας" (sikonontas, lifting) the song. The second voice answers, "γυρίζει" (yirizei, turns) or "τσακίζει" (tsakizei, crimps) the song; that’s why it is called the "γυριστής" ("yiristis", the turner). Sometimes, instead of "yiristis", or according to some musicologists parallel with it, we find the role of "κλώστης" (klostis, spinner), which makes peculiar yodels, "κλώθοντας" (klothontas, spinning) the song between the tonic and subtonic of the melody, a technique that reminds the movement of the hand which holds the spindle and spins the thread. A role that is often, but not always, found is the one of "rihtis", who "ρίχνει" (drops) the song in the end of the introduction of "partis", singing an exclamation (e.g. "αχ ωχ ωχ" (ah oh oh), "άντε βρε" (ante vre) a fourth lower than the tonic of the melody, resting "partis" and uniting its introduction with the entrance of "ισοκρατές" (isokrates). The rest members of the polyphonic group, "isokrates", keep the "ίσο" (iso, vocal drone), namely the sound of the tonic of the melody, creating the modal base of the song. The isokrates' role is particularly important; the louder the «ισοκράτημα» (isokratima, keeping of the vocal drone) is, the more "βρονταριά" (vrontaria) the song goes (i.e. the better). The perfection of the rendition of the polyphonic song presupposes the existence and the unity of the several voices–roles of the polyphonic group. As a result, polyphonic song presupposes the collectiveness of expression and the firm distinction between the roles it reflects, and the unwritten hierarchy in the composition of the group and the distribution of the roles.

References

1. Bart Plantenga. Yodel-ay-ee-oooo. Routledge, 2004. ISBN 978-0-415-93990-4, p. 87 Albania: "Singers in Pogoni region perform a style of polyphony that is also practised by locals in Vlach and Slav communities communities .
2. Engendering Song: Singing and Subjectivity at Prespa by Jane C. Sugarman,1997,ISBN 0-226-77972-6,page 356,"Neither of the polyphonic textures characteristic of south Albanian singing is unique to Albanians.The style is shared with Greeks in the Northwestern district of Epirus (see Fakiou and Romanos 1984) while the Tosk style is common among Aromanian communities from the Kolonje region of Albania the so called Faserotii (see Lortat-Jacob and Bouet 1983) and among Slavs of the Kastoria region of Northern Greece (see N.Kaufamann 1959 ). Macedonians in the lower villages of the Prespa district also formerly sang this style "
3. Engendering Song: Singing and Subjectivity at Prespa by Jane C. Sugarman,1997,ISBN 0-226-77972-6,page 356,A striking counterpart from outside the Balkans is the polyphonic Yodeling of juuzli from the Muotatal region of Switzerland
4. Notes from the Balkans: Locating Marginality and Ambiguity on the Greek-Albanian Border,2005,ISBN 0-691-12199-0,page Back matter ,"... the appropriate manner(Adkins 2002; Adkins and Lury 1999; Skeggs 1997). 16. Theodosiou (2003); Nitsiakos and Mantzos (2003) note that polyphonic singing has become one of those traditions that is argued about by nationalist folklorists on both sides of the border, .."
5. Greek Folk Dances by Rickey Holden, Mary Vouras - 1965 - ,page 10,"The tonal variations produced on this instrument by Greek musicians, particularly in the music of Epirus"
6. World Music: The Rough Guide by Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham - 1999 - ISBN 1-85828-635-2,page 149,"The city of Ioannina in Epirus has long been an important centre of this style"
7. World Music: The Rough Guide by Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham - 1999 - ISBN 1-85828-635-2,page 5,"south of Gjirokastër, has a sizeable ethnic Greek population, and their music is related to the music of Epirus,"
8. World Music: The Rough Guide by Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham - 1999 - ISBN 1-85828-635-2,page 127 ,"The folk music ot Epirus (//игл.) exhibits strong connections with that of Northern Epirus (now in Albania)"
9. World Music: The Rough Guide by Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham - 1999 - ISBN 1-85828-635-2,page 127,"The repertoire tends to fall into three categories which are also found further south mirologya or laments (the instrumental counterpart is called skaros); drinking songs or tis tavlas ;and various dancable melodies as noted above common to the entire mainland and the islands also"

See also

• Music of Greece
• Yodeling

Further reading

• World Music: The Rough Guide by Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham - 1999 - ISBN 1-85828-635-2
• Greek Folk Dances by Rickey Holden, Mary Vouras – 1965
• Engendering Song: Singing and Subjectivity at Prespa by Jane C. Sugarman,1997,ISBN 0-226-77972-6

External links

• Greek Polyphonic Song
• Songs from Politsani
• Polyphonic Song from Delvino
• Polyphonic Festival, MySpace
• Polyphonic Singing from Epirus, Greece
• Polyphonic Song from Deropolis
• Greek Polyphonic Song
• Vasile Tole (in English)
• Switzerland’s Music
• Unesco

• Albanian music
• Epirus
• Greek music