The traditional musical instruments hold a special place in the Cretan culture and the musical tradition of Crete. The roots of some of these musical instruments are lost in the depths of the centuries. In the archeological excavations of Knossos and Phaistos, in representations of sculptures, ceramics, seals and murals, musicians and dancers are depicted reminiscent to the present era, where the lyre player plays in the middle and the dancers dance around him in a circle. Elsewhere are depicted flutes, double flutes, conch shells and trumpets. The Archaeological Museum of Heráklion preserves a flute with rings that move to cover the holes to give the notes. From excerpts from an ancient theater play we learn that “Minos ordered that his son Gláfkos and his flutes be buried together, which he much loved while alive”.
There is no social event or festival in Crete that is not accompanied by live traditional Cretan music and song, The musicians are seemingly tireless, feeding on the energy of their music and the dancers that dance in front of them. There are four main musical instruments in Crete today: lýra (λύρα), laoúto (lαούτο), violin and mantolíno (μαντολίνο).
While the lyra is the undisputed queen of Cretan music, the other instruments are just important. Great laouto players can turn it into an instrument of musical improvisation and melody instead of just a lyra accompaniment. The violin is still played today in some areas of the prefecture of Chania mainly as the main instrument instead of the lyra. The mandolin is also very popular in several areas.
The bulgarí (μπουλγαρί), askomantoúra (ασκομαντούρα), sfyrochámpiolo (σφυροχάμπιολο) and daoúli (νταούλι) are also traditional instruments of Crete with a less noticeable presence today. It would be an omission not to mention the guitar which in recent decades has taken its place in the Cretan stage as the second accompanying instrument of the lyra.
The documented information about the dating of the presence of most instruments, such as the laoúto, the violin, the ascomantoúra, the sphyrochámbiolo and the ntaoúli, dates mainly to the Venetian period and comes from various sources (iconographic, literary, archival, references from priests, memoirs, notarial documents, etc.). For the lyre in its current form, the bulgarí and the mandolin the detailed elements start from the second half of the 18th century. Finally, the violólyra, as a variation of the lýra, appears in the interwar period, the 20’s and 30’s.
The Lyra
“If Crete has two souls, one soul is the lýra, and it is full of love, sun, fire and salt “
The lýra (lyre), in a form and shape like what we know today, although known in Greece as early as the 9th century AD, began to be used in Crete, according to modern scholars, after the Turkish conquest, in the 17th or in the 18th century. Nowadays the pear-shaped Aegean lýra (found in variations in Thrace, Macedonia, Karpathos, Kasos and elsewhere) is considered the pre-eminent folk instrument of Crete. This lýra dominated and was established from the middle of the 20th century, mainly due to the influence of great and famous folk musicians.
The lýra is a pear shaped, three-string bowed instrument, held vertically against the thigh, rather than being placed under the chin of the player like a violin. The strings are stopped by pressing the fingernails of the player’s hand against the side of the string, rather than by pressing the string against the fingerboard. On its bow they used to hang small spherical bells, called gerakokoúdouna (γερακοκούδουνα), hawk bells, because it is believed that similar bells hung during the Byzantine period on hunting hawks. During play, the gerakokoúdouna are transformed into a second instrument of rhythmic and harmonious accompaniment.
The area of Crete where the use of the lýra has always dominated is the prefecture of Réthymno. Until the first quarter of the 20th century it was played mainly alone without accompanying instruments and in the center of the dance circle.
The main types of lýra that we find today in Crete are the following:
The lyráki (λυράκι), small lýra – the first form of lýra, smaller in size than today’s and has a sharp sound.
The vrontolýra (βροντολύρα), thunder lýra – a large lýra in size with a deeper belly and bass sound.
The viololýra (βιολολύρα), violin lýra – shaped similar to the violin. It emerged as an attempt to Europeanize the lýra during the interwar period, due to the acceptance that the violin enjoyed in those years in Crete. Today, it is not used often.
The achladóschimi (αχλαδόσχημη), pear shaped – the well-known lýra today, between a lyráki and a vrontolýra in size and sound it has dominated Cretan music for the last decades.
The Laoúto
“On the rhythm of the lýra, on the strings of the laoúto, I forget and sing of this phony world “
The Cretan laoúto (lute) is the largest in size and has the lowest tuning among the other types of lute, due to the lýra and its melodic role in relation to it. The laoúto we know today is the evolution of that of the renaissance and has existed in Crete since the mid-16th century, the time of the great Cretan poet Vitséntzos Kornáros, both as an accompaniment instrument and as of melody or improvisation.
It rhythmically and harmoniously accompanies the lýra or the violin, sometimes playing the basic sounds of the melody, sometimes offering a simple or double drone and sometimes taking over the melody for a short time for the lýra player or violinist to rest. The lute is often used as a solo instrument.
Constructively, the belly, which used to have an oval shape in relation to the circular shape today, was made of thin curved cedar or pine boards that were closed on top by another thin wooden board. Right there, to set the intervals of the notes from the neck to the head, they placed a transverse division bar made of ebony. On a long-fretted neck, it has 8 strings, 4 pairs that correspond to the notes Sol (G), Re (D), La (A), Mi (E). The strings of the three pairs are usually tuned to the tautophony while those of the fourth pair are tuned to the octave. Tuning the lute is generally considered difficult and the ways of tuning vary. It is played with a handmade pen crafted by the musician from a bird of prey feather folded in two, or a long plastic pen.
The violin
“Raki and lýra or violin, laouto and company, when we mix them together, we always have a good time “
Of course, we are talking about an instrument with a global impact, whose presence in Crete among the musical instruments used, is noted from the end of the 16th century in various sources.
The oldest known folk violinist in Crete is considered to be Stéfanos Triantaphyllákis or Kioros (1715-1800) from Lousakiés, Kíssamos, Chaniá, who inspired or shaped the music of the pentozáli (πεντοζάλι) dance, as well as several tunes of the syrtós (συρτός) of Chaniá.
The violin remained until the 1960s the most popular instrument in most areas of the prefectures of Chaniá, Lassithi and Heráklion. However, after the WWII and the appearance of the great master lýra players, the lýra slowly began to replace the violine as the instrument of choice in the island.
The Mantolíno
“With my mantolíno and with my love, in your neighborhood I leave my sigh”
The mantolíno (mandolin) is an instrument that was formed in Europe in the 17th century and its appearance in Crete dates to the era of Venetian rule. For many years now, it has been used by Cretan folk musicians mainly as an instrument of melody or accompaniment of the lyra in central Crete and the violin in the east.
According to the testimonies of many great old musicians, until the first quarter of the 20th century, the mandolin was the main accompanying instrument of the lýra in the prefecture of Réthymno along with the bulgarí. It has a great impact in Crete since the interwar years, while today it is also played as a solo instrument, in personal and family events of the inhabitants of Crete.
The Boulgarí
The bulgarí is a string instrument that belongs to the tambourine family with a small pear-shaped convex belly and a long slender fingerboard. It has three thin double strings made of steel, and movable frets. The bridge is mobile, and the strings are tied to the lower end of the instrument.
The bulgarí has existed in Crete since at least the 18th century, while at the beginning of the 20th century the refugees of Asia Minor contributed significantly to its spread. It was used (and is still used) mainly in the performance of tabachaniótika (ταμπακαχανιώτικα) songs that were heard in the urban centers of Crete (Chaniá, Réthymno and Heráklion) during the interwar years (1920-1940), which blend the local music with the traditional Asia Minor music and rebétika (ρεμπέτικα) songs.
Although its use is rare nowadays, played as a solo instrument, in personal and family events, in the past it was very popular as a melodic instrument or even an accompaniment to the lýra.
The most important master player and representative of this instrument in Crete was Stélios Foustaliéris from Réthymno.
The askomantoúra
The ascomantoúra is a descendant of the áskavlos (άσκαβλος), an ancient wind musical instrument for which there is a reference in Aristophanes’ “Lysistráta”. Reminiscent of a bagpipe, it takes its name from askós (ασκός), sack or bag and mantoúra (μαντούρα) the only wooden flute with a reed. The instrument, in Crete, seems to have been very widespread until the beginning of the 20th century. It was characterized as a musical pastoral instrument as its use was widespread in the Cretan countryside.
There are various myths about the creation of the instrument. The most common of which is that of Ikarios, a friend of the god Dionysus, who after catching a billy goat eating his vines, killed and skinned it, making the first áscavlos. It is said that Dionysus’ breath comes out of the instrument, and it is depicted in various vessels of ancient times.
The ascomantoúra is usually made by the instrument player himself and consists of 3 parts: the askí (ασκί), bag, the mouthpiece and the tsamboúna (τσαμπούνα), the sound chamber. The bag is made of goat skin as it is more durable than that of sheep. The animal skin must be complete as all parts are used in the rest of the instrument making process. The skin is washed well and placed in brine for 15 days to tighten and remove the smell of the animal. Afterwards it is squeezed to soften and washed again. The skin is then shaved, sewn through the back legs and tail and turned inside out so that the seams are not visible. The tsamboúna and the mouthpiece are fitted on the two free front legs.
The tsamboúna is made of a short piece of oleander wood with a groove inside that ends in a funnel. The funnel is not always a continuation of the same wood but it can be made of ox horn or thick reed. In the groove are applied two thin and hard reeds that will generate the sound, while the gaps between them are filled with wax. The reeds must have equal length and thickness, to give the same tonal height. One is for the melody and has 5-6 holes, while the other for the pitch, with 1 hole.
The mouthpiece is a small tube of walnut wood attached to the skin with a ring and a leather valve to prevent the air from escaping.
The ascomantoúra is played with the bag under the left armpit. There is no specific playing technique and each musician chooses the way that suits him best. The basic pitch of the instrument is determined randomly by its construction, and depending on the distance of the holes in the reeds, the intervals are also determined. The sound of the instrument is sharp and loud in volume, suitable for open spaces. It is usually played, along with other instruments, at festivals, local festivals and weddings.
It is an endangered organ. Few are the remaining ascomantoúra players in Crete, as are reports, recordings and photographs. The decline seems to have begun after the war, when with the development of technology and the Europeanization of music, this highly traditional musical instrument slowly began to be displaced.
The sphyrochámbiolo
Essentially the “flute of Crete” it is considered primarily a pastoral instrument that was played either alone or together with the lýra and other musical instruments in the island.
It is made of thick reed with an obliquely cut mouthpiece blocked with an oleander wood plug, allowing a breath of air to enter the instrument. Just below the plug there is a square hole in the chamber, where the sound is generated. The sound chamber has six round holes on top and one in the back for the thumb.
With it the Cretans expressed themselves alone or in various events and small gatherings. Fragile and warm, sweet and sad, the sound of the sphyrochámbiolo charms, regenerates and renews the musical conscience of its listeners.
The inherent weaknesses of the raw material and the empirical method of construction did not allow the evolution of the instrument, with the result that its expressive possibilities remained limited. Thus, its use decreased over time and, equally, the memory the sound and the appreciation of its simplicity.
The ntaoúli
The use of drums in Crete is mentioned in the texts of Cretan literature from about 1600.
The Cretan daoúli is a small drum, also called ntaouláki (νταουλάκι) or toumpí (τουμπί), and is preserved to this day mainly in the prefecture of Lassíthi where it is considered one of the special features of the musical heritage of the prefecture. It is a rhythmic instrument, which is played with two specially made small sticks, the ntaoulóxyla (νταουλόξυλα) or the toubóxyla (τουμπόξυλα).
It is usually accompanied by at least one melodic instrument, which can be the lyra, the violin or the ascomantoúra.
Sourced from translated and edited excerpts from:
kritesneasionias.gr
Archive of Musical Culture of the North Aegean