Maqams and Folk Tunes: Interconnected Codes of Pre-War Rebetiko
Description
In the musical practice of what we broadly refer to as folk and traditional music, terms such as makams and folk modes are used as codes of communication with the ultimate goal of developing interpretive skills as well as the ability to improvise—taximi.
In this workshop, we will focus on a general presentation of these codes, their interrelationships, and their connection to the musical practice of pre-war urban folk song, known as pre-war rebetiko.
The workshop is aimed at musicians who play folk and traditional instruments, as well as those with a broader interest in rebetiko and Eastern musical traditions. The presentation will be accompanied by an interactive workshop featuring the musical instruments of the participants, including the human voice.
Evgenios Voulgaris
Evgenios Voulgaris’ interest in traditional music began in 1992, the same year he completed his studies in Byzantine music. As a multi-instrumentalist, he has repeatedly collaborated with prominent musicians and composers on concerts, recordings, and television productions in Greece and abroad. Since 1995, he has been the lead mandolinist of the Orchestra of Colors. Teaching holds a special place in his career. He teaches at the Municipal Conservatory of Patras, where he also heads the Department of Traditional Instruments, and in the department of the same name at the School of Byzantine Music and Traditional Instruments of the Holy Metropolis of Elis. He has also taught the oud, Ghayli Tambour, Instrumentology, and Theory of Folk Music at the Department of Folk & Traditional Music (Technical Educational Institute of Epirus). Since 2006, he has also taught in the seminars of the Labyrinth Music Workshop in Crete, at the Music Village of Pelion and Cyprus, and at the Music Courtyards of Ikaria, while he frequently leads seminars by invitation in other parts of Greece and abroad. In 2004, he released his first solo album, titled *Travels*, in collaboration with Dora Petridi. This was followed by *The Prince’s Message* in collaboration with Christos Galanopoulos, and *Modal4* in collaboration with Thanos Gountanos, Pavlos Spyropoulos, and Dimitris Tasoudis. He has also composed music for the theater. His work on rebetiko led to the publication of the book *Urban Folk Song in Interwar Greece*, published by Fagotto (in collaboration with V. Vantarakis), and two albums: *Apsilias* with D. Mystakidis, A. Tsardakas, and T. Athanasiou, and *Whispering Rebetiko* with D. Mystakidis.