The ancient Greek midsummer tradition of Klidonas — where young women place personal tokens into a pot of “silent water” under the starlit sky, hoping to glimpse their future husbands in dreams — sets the tone for Watersong, the latest album by renowned Greek vocalist Savina Yannatou.
The project, created alongside her long-time collaborators Primavera en Salonico and featuring the Tunisian singer Lamia Bedioui, has already garnered critical acclaim. The Guardian’s folk music critic Jude Rogers awarded the album five stars, calling it “a global tour of traditional songs about water — how it can be balm and curse, source of life and storm,” and hailing Yannatou as “a fabulous Greek singer whose work over the last five decades hasn’t stood still.”
Released on April 11 under the prestigious German label ECM, Watersong marks Yannatou’s fifth collaboration with the label. Its inspiration springs partly from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, specifically Ariel’s haunting hymn, “Full Fathom Five,” setting the stage for a musical exploration of water in all its forms — life-giver, destroyer, myth, and mystery.
A Reverence for Water’s Dual Nature
Watersong is built around the many faces of water: the blessing of rain, the perils of storms, the sorrow of tears, the ebb and flow of seas and rivers. Traditional ballads, Renaissance melodies, and original compositions are reimagined, evoking the timeless relationship between humanity and the world’s waters.
Although its official release came earlier this month, Watersong was first unveiled in 2020 with a mesmerizing live performance at the Little Theatre of Ancient Epidaurus — a fitting venue where history and nature converge.
A Conversation Across Cultures
Since her groundbreaking Songs of the Mediterranean album in 1997, Savina Yannatou has devoted herself to uncovering and reinterpreting the traditional music of the Mediterranean, always infusing it with fresh, innovative elements.
In Watersong, her collaboration with Lamia Bedioui creates a breathtaking dialogue between Arabic, Bedouin, and Mediterranean musical languages. Instrumentally, the album draws from a rich, evocative palette: the oud, qanun, ney, violin, accordion, waterphone, and contrabass conjure a soundscape that feels both ancient and vividly contemporary.
The musical journey crosses continents and centuries. A traditional Egyptian tune melts into a melody from North Macedonia; a 10th-century poem by Arab prince Abu Firas al-Hamdani finds resonance between a South Italian lament and a Greek carol. Elsewhere, an Irish Gaelic ballad and a Corsican folk song stand side-by-side, followed by Primavera en Salonico’s inspired rendition of the African-American spiritual “Wade In The Water.”
Far from merely presenting a patchwork of influences, Yannatou and her ensemble reveal the deep, often hidden connections between disparate traditions, offering a vision of shared human experience through the lens of water.
The Ensemble Behind the Magic
Primavera en Salonico’s lineup includes virtuoso Kostas Vomvolos, the group’s primary arranger, on accordion and qanun; Haris Lambrakis on ney; Kyriakos Gouventas on violin; Yannis Alexandris on oud; Michalis Siganidis on contrabass; and newcomer Dine Doneff on percussion. Their versatility and deep musical sensitivity breathe life into every track.
Following a series of successful live performances, including a tribute concert at the Olympia Theatre “Maria Callas,” Watersong is now available in full on major music platforms, inviting listeners on a voyage across waters, cultures, and time.
