"..Cyprus and especially Ammochostos has always been an inexhaustible source of inspiration. Cyprus as I lived it since my seventeen (1974), its customs, its natural beauties, its dances and its songs. Its light!
I have always felt the need to record these deeply rooted musical memories and I must confess that this would have never happened if it hadn't been for the long and persistent exhortation of Alkis Vafias, who, every time we met, never failed to ask me to play and sing the "Cyprians".
The reason I chose the specific dances and songs is purely emotional. I used to hear the songs from my mother, Panagiota Kosti Hatzifrantseskou, and I learnt the dances from my father, Panagiotis G. Koumis, with whom we used to dance ever since I was 9 years old. I remember him returning from his carpenter's workshop, usually after 8 in the evening, and despite being tired, he used to play the records in the gramophone and we danced the "kartzilamades" (Antikristos dance). And of course we used to dance at friends' and relatives' weddings, where the music was played by a traditional band with violins, lutes and tamboutsia (bedir); weddings which lasted for three days and nights."
This text by Andreas Georgiou opens the book of the album.
That's " Famagusta ". Memories, beautiful, unforgettable, worm, simple human memories, that sometimes ache. For this reason Andreas Georgiou didn't release the album the previous years. Now, the years that passed, offer sentimental safety, if ever the sentiment of a Cypriote that was born in Ammochostos can forget.
5 traditional dances and 4 songs: the best, the most authentic, music of Cyprus that Andreas Georgiou keeps inside him. Like a musical autobiography, "de profundis" .
Real gold. That's " Famagusta ".
The melodies and the rhythms come from the tradition. The arrangement: guitar, violin, percussion and voice. Live recording: in order not to loose the cleanliness and the warmth. The sound: contemporary. And the musicians . first class: what can we say about Giorgos Maglaras the best violist in Greece, Andreas Papas (from the group KROTALA) in percussion, and of course Andreas Georgiou with the unique sound of his 16strings guitar. At three songs we meet Christina Pjeri, a worm voice that comes from Cyprus too, and at the fourth song an amazing performance of Georgiou himself.
" Famagusta ": Authentic music.
1. The Jasmine ( Ch . Pieri ) 5:07
2. 3 rd Antikristos Dance 2:55
3. The Spring of Pegia's Women í (Ch. Pieri) 3:19
4. 1 st Antikristos Dance 4:13
5. Famagusta 1:59
6. Attalikos Dance 2:13
7. Red Goat (An. Georgiou) 3:55
8. 4 th and 5 th Antikristos Dance 5:38
9. Saint Marina(Ch. Pieri) 4:25
All tracks traditional Cypriot, arranged, orchestrated and produced by Andreas Georgiou
c + p LIBRA MUSIC Ltd. 2005
« back |
