
The song Ena to helidoni is composed by Mikis Theodorakis, one of the most important Greek Composers and the lyrics are written by Odysseas Elytis, one of the two Greek Poets that have won a Nobel Prize of Literature.Įna to helidoni is part of the poem Axion Esti, which is considered among the top poetic creations of the previous century.

Grigoris Bithikotsis sings Ena to helidoni, one of the most known and beloved Greek Songs, which translates to “Lone is the swallow”. The video featured here is part of a concert given in 1977 during the transition period of Greece towards democracy.
#MIKIS THEODORAKIS GUITAR PAOLA TABS HOW TO#
He later decided to learn how to play the bouzouki and started composing his first songs. At the age of 12, he fled Syros and relocated to Piraeus to work in different jobs during the following years. Since his early age, he had been working several jobs, like shoe-polisher, paperboy and worker in the yarn industry. He didn’t graduate school, as his family of farmers couldn’t afford the expenses. He was the first-born child of the family and he later had five more brothers and sisters. Vamvakaris was born on the island of Syros on May 10th, 1905. His recorded songs are over 200, recorded mainly on vinyl records of 78 rpm during the years between 19. M arkos Vamvakaris is acknowledged as one if not the most influential Greek rebetiko musicians who established the orchestra of bouzoukis and baglamas. The island of Syros has many Catholic residents, which are called Francs by the Greeks – a remnant of older times. The song was written in 1935 when Vamvakaris visited the island of Syros for the second time. Fragosyriani means Catholic girl from the Greek island of Syros. Some text was written by Spiros SkordilisĪ famous Greek song composed and written by Vamvakaris himself. More information below from two very good websites Never on Sunday, Melina Mercouri and from the film Zorba the Greek, Mikis Theodorakis music served to highlight the fact that the Greeks had something new and fresh to offer. In 1960 Greek music was rapidly gaining worldwide recognition. At first, though, it was always accompanying the bouzouki.

Its sound and rhythm are a little different than bouzouki, being more of a staccato rhythm.

In the first years, the assembly would include the singer, two players of bouzouki that played simple chords at first, and of course the baglama, which is a small version of the bouzouki.

Songs started blooming in the hashish venues and prisons of the port towns in Asia Minor and the Aegean Sea islands at the early years of the 20th century and reached its peak later during and between the main World Wars. The history of bouzouki is actually intertwined with the rebetika songs, which is among the most distinctive Greek music sounds. During the Byzantine period, the Bouzouki was known as Thampoura or the Tampoura. In recent discoveries of ancient wall paintings and sculptures, the Bouzouki did exist during the Byzantine era. Bouzouki is a descendant of ancient Greek and eastern instruments and was known to many pre-Hellenic cultures like Egypt, Assyria, and China. Is by far the most recognizable and distinctive Greek musical instrument. Short background Greek Music Bouzouki and Rebetika
