NEW YORK – Sounds of Cyprus: A Premiere of Traditional Cypriot Folk Compositions and Dances impressed the audience on October 4 with its selection of traditional Cypriot folk songs and charming new songs performed at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL) in Midtown Manhattan.
Part of the 7 Stories Up program at the SNFL, the event highlighted the traditional music and dances of Cyprus with informative introductions in Greek and English to explain the songs, dances, musical instruments, and various aspects of Cypriot culture, including the traditional Cypriot costumes which were also on display.
Sounds of Cyprus is a Cypriot orchestra co-founded by Peter Douskalis and Elena Chris in New York City. The group performs the traditional music of Cyprus in varying orchestrations and styles that both consciously honor the time period of composition and period instruments as well as perform with a modern approach. Peter Douskalis, Project/Music Director, plays the laouto, oud, mandolin, and guitar in the group, switching between the proper instrument as needed for the authentic and modern orchestration of the pieces. Elena Chris, vocalist and Creative/Artistic Director of the group, sings the traditional songs in the Cypriot dialect of Greek, as well as in Turkish for songs that contain lyrics in both languages. The group also includes Alex Tasopoulos on violin/viola, Erikos Vlesmas on contrabass, and Mark Katsaounis on percussion along with Murat Keyder on oud and Gizem Gokoglu on vocals for the SNFL performance.
Aspasia Katerinis, a librarian at SNFL, gave the welcoming remarks, thanking the Stavros Niarchos Foundation for making the program possible. She encouraged everyone to get a library card and to visit the New York Public Library (NYPL) website for more information on the 7 Stories Up program lineup. Katerinis then introduced Consul General of the Republic of Cyprus in New York Michalis Firillas who was “excited to see so many people interested in the Sounds of Cyprus.”
“When Peter first came to see me when I first arrived in 2021, he said he had this project about introducing Cypriot traditional folk music and song to the American public and I was immediately convinced he could do it and I thought it would be a wonderful way of reaching out to the American people and introducing them to this small Eastern Mediterranean island that everyone knows a lot about its archaeological wealth, but very little about its last 200 years of culture and history,” Consul General Firillas said. “I decided to crown myself godfather of Sounds of Cyprus to a certain extent and I’ve tried to give them as much support as I can and will continue to do so, though they seem to be doing pretty well on their own.”
“I would also like to thank the Stavros Niarchos Foundation and all the others who are supporting this project,” Firillas continued. “It’s a unique project in many ways, anyone who knows anything about traditional music in Cyprus, for many years it was a very static event, we didn’t have, and I was always jealous of this, we didn’t have the many young people that you have in Greece who pick up the traditional instruments, they’re very proud of their local heritage and they pursue and revive and continue the sounds of their locale, so I was very encouraged by what the Sounds of Cyprus are doing, and what they’re doing is not just a repeat of the traditional sound, they’ve also taken it a step further, maybe more than a step, and that basically has to do a lot with the fact that they are very professional in what they do, they really have command of not just their instruments, but the music as well.”
“They have really delved into the whole spectrum of traditional Cypriot music, as you know Cyprus is a multifaceted, multilayered culture… if you look at Cyprus it is literally at the crossroad of civilizations, every civilization that we admire, that we look back on in history, have passed through Cyprus and have left something and the Cypriots have always managed to use that, advance that, and to a certain extent to make it their own,” Firillas noted. “I’d like to end with a final expression of hope, 1974 was 50 years ago, our island was brutally divided, it still remains divided and I’m hoping very much that the Sounds of Cyprus, their multi-layered, multicultural expression of what Cyprus and its culture are all about is also signal that after 50 years we are bound to be reunited and relive our culture again together.”
Elena Chris shared her greetings in the Greek Cypriot dialect while Peter Douskalis spoke in English. The enchanting original songs with lyrics by Chris and music by Douskalis and Chris showcased the gifted duo’s songwriting talents. The group also performed three charming pieces with lyrics by Michalis Hatzimichail, two of which with music by Douskalis and the third with music by Douskalis and Chris.
The audience was impressed by the insightful introductions, the beautiful music, and the spirited dancing, though the dance group that was scheduled to appear had canceled at the last moment, as Douskalis explained. However, he stepped in to be instructed by Chris in the Cypriot Zeimbekiko and a few volunteers performed the Sousta and the Kalamatiano, receiving enthusiastic applause.
More information is available online: www.soundsofcyprus.com.
