Greek Music / The Music of Greece at cdRoots

More music from Greece

Rembetika 2: More Of The Secret History Of Greece's Underground Music - va (4 CDs) - 29.99
4 CDs, 89 tracks, the second in the series by JPS records, tracks the well know and the obscure of rembetika. Remastered cuts from the early days of sound recording, many having never appeared on CD before. PLEASE NOTE: foreign orders shipped without jewel boxes

Contagio - Bandadriatica - 17.99
BandAdriatica focuses on the Adriatic Sea bands and Balkan fanfares, music for processions, carnivals and other events. This recording offers a hypothetical voyage around Adriatic sea port from Salento to Dalmatia, from Venice to Durazzo and out to the Greek islands. Marches and tarantellas, slavic dances and Greek night songs are given personal interpretations by this ensemble of brass, accordion, reeds, strings and percussion. Special guests: King Naat Veliov and the Kocani Orkestar

Microkosmos - Ross Daly - 15.99
Crete's master of the Lyra returns in 2004 with a remarkable and criticaly acclaimed recording that brings together a global cast of musicians including Balake Sissoko (kora), Kelly Thomas (lyra), Bijan Chemirani (percussion - zarb and daf) and Pedro Estevan (bendir).

Taxidoscopio - Kristi Stassinopoulou and Stathis Kalyviotis - 18.99
These Greek artists are producing global pop without peer, mixing local roots with international sounds and modern technology to create, over the course of the last few years, a completely unique aural pallette that relates to almost no one else. fRoots says: '…a completely unique, utterly recognisable and forward-looking style of their own. And in that distillation, it seems to have become more distinctly Greek - a strange, other-worldly Greekness, for sure, but a 21st century Greekness that's modern within its own culture, out there, ahead and rooted rather than just banging off some local language version of what the globised industry dictates. No predictable Greek rock, Europop or hip-hop here then.'

Tutti baci - Savina Yannatou and Elena Ledda - 18.99
The 2006 excursion by these superb Greek and Italian vocalists, includes Mauro Palmas and Primavera En Salonico. It's a bold statement, acoustic but agressively new.

Terra Nostra (Live) - Savina Yannatou - 16.99
The 2001 live recording by the great diva from Greece, again with her incredible Primavera Salonica ensemble. (reissued on ECM in 2003)

Eternity and a Day - Eleni Karaindrou - 16.99
Music for the film by Theo Angelopolous

Sumiglia - Savina Yannatou - 17.99
The 2005 recording by Yannatou and Primavera en Salonico is positively superb, with a rich beauty and a vital edginess that rises above genre.

Chants, Hymns and Dances - Tsabropoulos and Lechner - 16.99
Compositions by Gurdjieff and Vassilis Tsabropoulos, performed by pianist Tsabropoulos and Anja Lechner on violincello. the pieces are boundary crossing experiments in multi-cultural classicism and contemporary minimalism, often mournful, occasionally spritely.

Ulyses' Gaze - Eleni Karaindrou and Kim Kashkasian - 16.99
Music for the film by Theo Angelopolous

Mauthausen Triology - Mikis Theodorakis - 17.99
In Memorium of Liberation' is a composition for four poems written in the Mauthausen concentration camp, by a survivor of the camp. The recording was made live, at a memorial held in Mauthausen in 1995. Composed and performed in Greek, with the lead voice of Maria Farantouri. More recordings are included in this collection, performed in Hebrew and in English between 1995 and 1999. The CD also includes a speech by Simon Wiesenthal, also recorded at the Memorial at Mauthausen in 1995. This is a powerful piece of neo-classical Jewish music.

Sour Cherry and Bitter Orange - Haris Alexiou - 19.99
2007 release by this important Greek singer is a winner, with a rich mix of traditional songs and modern art music, performed by an ensemble of uds, clarinets, recorders, daouls, trumpets from Northern Greece, hand drums from Epirus, violins, guitars, lutes, reks, bendirs, arabian darbukas, lyras from Crete and acoustic guitar and bass, in a unique orchestration by Thomas Konstantinou.

Primavera en Salonico (Spring in Salonika) - Savina Yannatou - 31.99
(This CD has become impossible to find.. these are the last copies I may be able to stock) Sephardic songs performed by the great Greek singer and the Primavera en Salonica ensemble

II - Mode Plagal - 19.99
The second recording by the Greek roots-jazz band

Rosa Das Rosa - Savina Yannatou - 19.99

Savina Yannatou Sings Manos Hadjidakis - Yannatou, Savina - 19.99
A great singer takes on the songs of another great singer, in an elegant recording of Greek classics, accompanied by a simple ensemble of piano, strings and occasional additional support. Simply beautiful.

Ta zontana (2 CDs, live) - Thanasis Papakonstantinou and Laikedelica - 19.99
The legendary Greek composer, singer and musician in a full-length (and lengthy!) 2 CD program of new works, and songs from previous his two recordings given a whole new perspective by the amazing ensemble he has backing him up: Babis Papadopoulos (guitars), Alexis Apostolakis (drums), Yorgos Badouk (guitars, keyboards, bass, harmonica), Dimitri Baslam (acoustic bass), Dimitri Mystakidis (acoustic guitar, lute), Photis Siotas (violin, keyboards, backing vocals), Pandelis Stoikos (melodica, trumpet) and the amazing vocalist Martha Frintzila. One of the best rock recordings of 2004, from anywhere on the planet.

Bagpipes of Greece - various - 19.99
An collection of authentic Greek bagpipes recorded across the entire country over the last thirty years. Many of the musicians are shepherds and peasants and have been recorded in their homes or local environments. Currently, Greece appears to have no bagpipe revival (perhaps due to the lack of bagpipe makers) so these recordings chronicle a rare traditional culture. Recorded and annotated by Wolf Dietrich.

Blowers From The Balkans: Classic Historic Recordings - various - temp out of stock-19.99
Classic Historic Recordings featuring clarinet, tárogató, nai, bagpipes, kaval - A remarkable collection of recordings from players of wind instruments from the countries that make up the Balkans: Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania and the former Yugoslavia. The recordings were made from 1906 through the mid 1940s. All have been nicely re-mastered. The featured instruments include clarinets (and related reed instruments), panpipes, bagpipe and flutes with a variety of backings. Includes detailed notes from the compiler Risto Pekka Pennanen as well as historic photographs.

Instrumental Music From Greece - Topic World Series - 19.99
The benchmark compilation of Greek folk music.

folk music of Greece (Topic 907) - Topic World Series - 19.99
Recorded in 1966, '67 and '69 by Wolf Dietrich, presenting a stunning collection of both instrumental and ceremonial music, and lyrical songs and ballads.

Yakinthos (Jacintos) - Manos Ahalinotopoulos - 18.99
The reed player, primarily known for his work with the Balkan clarinet, has recorded with many of the greats of Greek music, including Dalaras, Arvanitaki, Mouschouri, Theodorakis, Drellas, Nikolopoulos, Portokaloglou and artists from throughout the world including Ara Dinkjian, Goran Bregovic, Arto Tukbojancian, Okay Temiz, Sushela Raman, Charlie Mariano and the Nederlands Blazers, but this is the first recording under his own name, and the best in Balkan music have come to help him make is a stunning debut.

Amalgama - Iasis - 19.99
Roots meets jazz in this unique Greek ensemble's work

Bahar - Makis Abliantis - 19.99
with Dragan Dautovski, Vangelis Karipis, Tanya Nikoloudi, Nikos Kapilidis, Makis Abliantis, Manokis Lidakis, Hariprasad Chaurasia

Hayata Dair - Sobre La Vida - Livaneli - 17.99
As a writer, composer, film director, philosopher, activist and humanitarian, Turkish artist Omer Zülfü Livaneli is a true Renaisance man. This album of peoms set to music is his life's story told through a fiction called music. Recorded in Athens and Istambul with musicians of both countries. A bonus disc includes a video documentary with interviews and fragments of performances, with guests like Al DiMeola, María Farandouri, Maria del Mar Bonet, Joan Baez, Yorgos Dalaras y la Orquesta Sinfónica de Londres.

the Kapaiae Ta Bhmata - Melina Kana - 19.99
The great Greek singer in a semi-traditional song set featuring Hristos Nikolópoulos, Manos Eleftheríou, Maros Bizanis, Fotinís Labridis and Fílippos Grapsas.

En Concert (CD and DVD) - Miquel Gil with Savinna Yannatou - 19.99
An epic event: the meeting of two great European singers, and backed by an incredible ensemble made of Primavera en Salonico and Orqestra Arabe de Barcelona. CD and DVD (PAL format, playable on computers and most DVD players). Highly recommended.

Bodjal - Ale Moller Band - 17.99
Ale Möller comes full circle. From the bouzoukispellman who learned Swedish folk music on a Greek instrument so many years ago comes a stunning new album of music that leans heavily on those Greek roots, and then explodes across the continents. With Maria Stellas and Mamadou Sene on vocals, a core band of Moller's strings, accordion, flutes and voice, Magnus Stinnerbom (fiddles, mandolin), Sebatian Dube (bass) and Rafael Sida Hulzar (percussion). My 'Record of the Year' for 2004. Highly recommended

I vrochi apo kato (The rain from below) - Thanasis Papakonstantinou - 19.99
More musical wonder and strangeness in 2006 from the Greek laikadelica master.

Balkan Blues / Souffles de l'ame - Various Balkan artists - 38.99
Balkan Blues is a musical journey through seven different countries, tracing two aspects of the Balkan soul -- on the one hand, ballads that tell of pain and hope, and on the other hand the magical exuberance of the virtuoso performances that accompany joyous celebrations. This double CD clearly shows that the music of the Balkans knows no national or ethnic boundaries. With: Toni Iordache, Dumitru Farcas, Ion Petre Stoican, Bulgarian All Star Orchestra, Petro-Loukas Chalkias, Psarantonis, Loudovikos, Ferus Mustafov, Esma Redzepova,

Haratsi - Nikos Papazoglou - 19.99
CD reissue of the 1983 recording by one of the most potent voices of contemporary Greek music. His unique, deep voice s known for its passion and idiosyncratic tone, and his mastery of greek poetry and tradition in the service of modern music is legend.

I Ekdikisi Tis Giftias - Nikos Xydakis - 19.99
Reissue on CD of the 1978 recording by the Greek pianist and composer

Pandora's Box - Lakis and Achwach - 16.99
Lakis Jordanopoulos, a Greek living in Vienna for 16 years, founder of the group, follows the classical leaders of the Rembetiko very closely on his first record 'Evros'. On this second record he develops more individuality and creates a sort of Neo-Rembetiko. With musicians from four nations he shows that there are no social or musical prejudice or barriers in music.

Echo of Time (2 CDs) - Ross Daly - 24.99
The irish born Greek lyra master Ross Daly's 20 year collaboration with Creten writer Mitsos Stavrakakis is catalogued in this 2 CD collection of recordings, some dating back to 1982

Bouzouki Pioneer, 1932-1940 - Markos Vamvarkis - 12.99

L' Oreille du Voyageur - Aksak - 15.99
A Balkan musical tribute to the traveler/poet/photographer Nicolas Bouvier, interpreted with a modern ear, but true to traditional styles and instrumentation.

Dimotika / Cinq Souvenirs Involuntaires - Markeas - 18.99
/ Taximi Calvo, bouzouki; Tresallet, viola; Veyrier, cello; Soccoja, mezzo and the Ensemble Ars Nova

Voleur de Secrets - Elisa Vellia - 18.99
The record label says: 'Elisa Vellia was born and grew up in the heart of Greece, and was entranced by the music of her native country. At the age of 21, she left Athens for London, where she discovered the singular beauty of the Celtic harp. She devoted all her time to it, working with some of the major ?gures in the world of the Irish and Scottish harp, and took part in two recordings of Scottish music, Power and Honesty and After the Ceilidh. This musical passion inevitably led her to Brittany and its wealth of cultural riches. It was here that Elisa found the ideal place for her own music, that of a cultural identity without frontiers. Vellia’s songs contain a mixture of poetry and singing in every accent and every tone of the Mediterranean. Her unique voice evokes the entire range of cultures this fascinating and mysterious sea has brought to the world. Jean-Luc Aimé’s delicate and pure orchestration is enhanced by the presence of such exceptional musicians as Youval Micenmacher and Haig Yazdjian.'

Echotropia - Kristi Stassinopoulou - 19.99
Original Greek edition of this Mediterannean folk-pop classic

Mitos (Network Vol.8) - Ross Daly and Labyrinth - 18.99
Labyrinth fuses the diverse cultures and traditions of such countries as Sudan, Armenia, Turkey, and Crete in a way that could only be considered brilliant.' - Journal Frankfurt

The Diaspora of Rembetiko - various - 36.99
Unfortunately, often referred to as the Greek blues (yeah yeah yeah), rembetiko (rebetika, rebetiko) is nonetheless a rootsy and raw form of urban music that devloped uniquely in Greece, via both its local underground and its imigrants, and as with all folk music, moved outward into the world. This double CD set has 33 tracks, 9 of which are released for the first time on this anthology or taken from out of print publications.

Rizitika - Psarantonis - temp out of stock-19.99
Psaradonis is widely known as an acknowledged master lyre-player in traditional music from Crete and in Greek traditional music generally. This is a program of rizitika (it means 'of the root'), classical poems that may be sung with or without music. They are poems about revolution, human condition, dreams, nature, etc. Many are heavily influenced or rooted in ancient Byzantine music.

Pirates - Lakis and Achwach - temp out of stock-16.99
Focusing on a seafaring theme on this 2004 release, this Greek-inspired multi-culti band explores the world, musicically, through both traditional and contemporary methods and tools. The band was founded 20 years ago by Lakis Jordanopoulos in Vienna. The point of the project was and is to expand from Greek music tradition and interpret lesser-known Greek songs and instrumental music. They do so with an international outlook (and ensemble) and a world view of great curiosity.

Xenos - Lakis and Achwach - 13.99
Austria-based Greek musician Lakis Jordanopoulos´ songs are about uprooting and exile, like the songs of the Greek Rembetes, who learned to laugh and cry at the same time. The music he creates with the ensemble Achwach is the neo-Rembetiko of a Vienna-based international band, a music about happiness and sadness, love, loneliness and despair.

Taxidi/Die Reise - Lakis and Achwach - 16.99
Greek-Austrian musican Lakis and his ensemble Achwach prove the variety of their musical work. 'Die Reise' (the journey) is not only the CD's title, it is emblematic of their approach to music.

Le vespe - Stefano Saletti and Renato Giordano - 14.99
The idea behind Le vespe was not to recover 'the lost music of the Greeks,' but to search for a 'Spirito Sonoro' that was compatible with the ancient ideals. Le Vespe is a search for commonality and digression in the music of the Balkan peninsula, from modern and ancient Greece, Bulgaria, the Roma and beyond, fused with the art music of Europe, both old and contemporary. It is both and neither ancient and modern, and the tension and beauty this divergence creates is palpable.

Letter from Istanbul - Derya Türkan and Sokratis Sinopoulos - 15.99
Derya Türkan - kemençe; Sokratis Sinopoulos - kemençe and lavta; Ugur Isik - violoncello; Taner Sayacioglu - kanun; Serdar Bisiren - daire; Oktay Özerdem - bendir

Cargo - Kontrabando - 19.99
Greek composers, singers and musicians present a unique new Greek music that uses traditiona (lyre, kanun, ud, percussion) and modernity (guitar, keyboards, violin) to break boundaries.

I reckon Reflections - Psaradonis - (e-mail me first for details)
A master lyra player known for his work in both Greek and Cretan folk music is accompanied by an ensemble of percussion, ud, bouzouk, lutes, flutes and other instruments.

Rembetika - Historic Urban Folk Songs from Greece - Various Greek artists - 16.99
These are the songs of Greece's urban refugees and ghetto dwellers in the first half of this century, passionate vocals accompanied by violin, oud, baglamas, and other traditional Greek and Turkish instruments. Artists include Andonis Dalgas, Roza Eskenazi, Marika Papagika, and others.

Dubient - Various artists - 17.99
Studio dubs and fusions by 'man data sound' and members of Mode Plagal pull together all kinds of influences in a mix of electronic and rootsy acoustic sounds.

Brazilero - Nikos Portokalaoglou - out of stock
Film music from a Greek composer who knows the world.

Hoarse Prophet - Vrachnos Profitis - Thanasis Papakonstantinou - temp out of stock
A daring and ultimately successful fusion of modern rock and ancient Greek roots, produced by a major rock figure in Greece, and accompanied by both folk and rock musicians. This is an intricate, swirling recording that is both very 60s and at the same time forward looking.

Laspi (Mud) - Maria Aristopulou and Ilias Tsagaris - 17.99
An atmospheric work for female voice and a jazz-rock influnced ensemble of guitars, bass, percussion, horns, mandolin, baglama and drums. An essential Greek core is subdued by a languishing, bluesy feel.

O Hamenos Ta Pairnei Ola - Yannis Aggelakas - 17.99
Soundtrack from the Greek film 'Loser Takes All' by Nikos Nikolaides, made by one of the countries leading rock-pop writers and an artist who has crossed all genre-boundaries in the last few years, both solo and with his band Trypes.

ballatti tutti quanti ballati forte - Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino - 17.99
One of the first group to present traditional music from Puglia (Southern Italy), thirteen songs from the traditional repertoire. The texts tell story of the tarantism and other trance phenomenon of the area as well as of other activities related to the local daily life

Echotropia - Kristi Stassinopoulou - 16.99

Parathechtika - Alkistis Protopsalti and Goran Bregovic - out of stock
A brilliant group of musicians work out on the music of Goran Bregovic sung by Alkistis Protopsalti in this epic 1991 recording.

Mortika - various - temp out of stock-18.99
From the pages of fRoots: 'A shade over 74 minutes' worth of superbly remastered – and therefore sonically stunning – recordings from the 1920s to the 1950s, recorded in Athens, the US, and, in one case, Weimar Republic Berlin, offer just about the single most cohesive portrait of this extraordinarily tough and beautiful music... Of the music, I can tell you that the 21 well-chosen performances present the listener with a superbly balanced variety of the sub-styles within rebetika... Utterly wonderful...' - Paul Vernon

Devr-i Alem - Buzuki Orhan Osman - temp out of stock-16.99
This German born Greek, now based in Istanbul, is a modern master of the bouzouki. With a large band of giutars, cura, flutes, percussion, banjo, horns and reeds, and a roster of guest vocalists, he produces contremporary Turkish/Balkan music that has spirit, verve and originality.

Secret of the Rocks - Kristi Stassinopoulou - temp out of stock-17.99
This is the Resistencia edition published in Spain - same music, notes in SpanishThe Greek singer and her partners in music write some of their best songs ever. says Nondas Kitsos in RootsWorld. This highly contemporary music is still deeply rooted in the tradition, offering a unique and powerful perspective on contemporary Greek culture.

Mediterranea - Savina Yannatou - temp out of stock-15.99
Yannatou and Primavera en Salonico ensemble offer a mosaic of voice and rhythm from the song traditions of Greece, Tunisia, Sicily, Corsica, Albania, the Holy Land and more. In addition to Yannatou's stuning voice, the ensemble offers toumbeleki, bendir, tambourine, daoul, kanonaki, viola, nay, oud, tamboura, recorder, guitar, violin, and double bass.

Yahudice - Hadass Pal-Yarden et al - temp out of stock-20.99
Urban Ladino Music from Istanbul, Izmir, Thessalonica and Jerusalem 'Rarely, if ever, does top class scholarship balance passion and musical mastery as this effort by Hadass Pal-Yarden. It's hardly possible to catalog it simply as a CD with detailed notes, as the booklet is a 160 page affair with the same text accurately translated in English, Turkish and Hebrew. So there's meat for the more hungry readers, but for pure musical pleasure you could disregard the apparatus entirely and just let yourself be enticed into the finely shaded but deeply felt recreation of the largely lost world of the Ladino Jewry of the Ottoman empire.' - Francesco Martinelli, RootsWorld

Virgin Maries of the World - Savina Yannatou - temp out of stock-19.99
On the trails of re-discovering musical treasures lost in the depths of the centuries, united by a most obvious and at the same time unsuspecting narrative thread, Savina Yannatou and the Primavera en Salonico Ensemble present a collection of popular and folk songs, hymns, encomia, eulogies, lamentations, carols, excerpts from popular masses (missa) all dedicated to the universal figure of Virgin Mary.

Gaia - Yiota Vei and Michalis Nikoloudis - temp out of stock-18.99
Traditional songs in acoustic, modern settings, from Greece

Paralogues - Byzantine Ballads - Yiota Vei - temp out of stock-19.99
Greek singer and her ensemble create very modern interpretations of Byzantine musical works

Agrypnia (Insomnia) - Thanasis Papakonstantinou - temp out of stock-19.99
The Greek interpreter of modern and tradtional styles has created a second epic work of rock, folk, creative avant garde, new music.

Loot - Melina Kana and Ashkabad - temp out of stock-19.99
Kana is joined by composer/musician Thanasis Papakonstantinou and a small ensemble of violins, accordion, reeds, piano, percussion, bagpipes, cello and other assorted acoustic instrument.

Jewish-Spanish Songs from Thessaloniki - David Saltiel - temp out of stock-17.99
Sephardic songs from Salonica, Greece, sung by one of the more respected vocalists from the folk-music side of the genre, and accompanied by a fine ensemble of ud, quanun, violin, frame drum and lyra.

Traditional Greek Lullabies - Kypourgos and Yannatou - temp out of stock-19.99
The idea for an album compilation of lullabies was from composer Nikos Kypourgos and coincided with his daughter`s birth. Most of these traditional songs have been preserved in various archives. The fact that Kypourgos did not have any recorded material at his disposal provided an alibi to treat the songs more freely. This final compilation is performed by a group of excellent musicians complemented by the unique voice of Savina Yannatou. The real secret of Lullabies is that they can actually touch and appeal to grown-ups just as much as children.

Ifantokosmos - Kristi Stassinopoulou - temp out of stock-19.99
The 1997 recording by this amazing Greek singer, songwriter and musican is by far her most interesting, with a strong folk-rooted ensemble but a wild and adventurous approach.

Female Greek Singers in Traditional Songs - various - temp out of stock-19.99
A variety of traditional song forms presented by well-known and little-known singers alike, including Maryo, Eleni Vitali, Yiota Vei, Eleni Tsaligopoulou, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, Savina Yannatou, Melina Kana, Kristi Stasinopoulou, Lizeta Kalimeri

AN-KI - Ross Daly and Djamshid Chemirani - temp out of stock-17.99
Ross Daly teams up with the Iranian master percussionist Jamshid Chemirani, the leading exponent of the zarb drum. The word 'An-Ki' means both 'Heaven-Earth' and 'deity' in the ancient Sumerian language, and An-Ki the record reconciles apparent musical opposites. These range from the ethereal Marmarygi (the Greek word describes the effect of light on marbles as well as the flash of a dancer's feet), which is characterised by Daly's use of a tiny, four-stringed Kenyan harp, to the earthy Bam and zeïbekiko dances from Asia Minor.' - fRoots

Diaphanous - Thanasis Papakonstantinou - temp out of stock-19.99
The Greek master of mystery and mood is back with his 2007 release. Once again, echoes of Leonard Cohen, Jim Morrisson and Tom Waits are coupled with radical new ideas for the use of Greek traditional and modern musical forms,and once again, he is astounding. Highly recommended

Beyond the Bosphorus - Mode Plagal and Bosphorus - temp out of stock-21.99
A probing collaboration betwTurkey's most important art-folk ensembles and the searing Greek jazz band. An absolutely essential recording.

III - Mode Plagal - temp out of stock-19.99
The third recording by the phenomenal Greek roots-jazz band features some of Greece's best singers as guests, including Yiota Vei, Theodossia Tsatsou, Eleni Tsaligopoulou, Evgenios Spatharis and Savina Yannatou. Recommended

Djef Djel - Ale Moller Band - temp out of stock-17.99
Nothing that has ever come from the hands of Ale Möller has been anything less than brilliant, in my opinion, and this one continues his exploration of the Swedish ethos in the global continuum. This time around, it is just the band, a now well-seasoned sextet of musicians from all over the planet, in sync with each other's ideas and exploring new applications of their roots in Sweden, Greece,Mexico, Canada and Senegal.

Imerologio - Nikos Xydakis - temp out of stock-19.99

I also have a catalog of great music from Italy, Spain

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