• THE ROOTS OF CRETAN MUSIC: A JOURNEY FROM THE RENAISSANCE TO TODAY •
June 13-15, 2025
OBJECTIVE
This masterclass aims to immerse participants in the heart of Cretan music, offering a deep understanding of its repertoire, history, and cultural distinctiveness. The focus will be on exploring the musical roots of Crete, from the Renaissance to the present day, through the study of traditional instruments, dances, and language that shape this unique music.
Participants will discover the main styles and melodies of traditional Cretan music (such as kontylies, sirtos, rizitika, and mantinades), while concentrating on improvisation techniques, melodic and rhythmic variations, and the specifics of Cretan singing.
Special attention will be given to the analysis of historical recordings (from the 1920s-1960s) to understand the timeless elements that make them authentic, and how these characteristics can be integrated into contemporary musical practice.
Additionally, participants will have the opportunity to work in groups, exploring the coexistence of various instruments to develop a collective and harmonious approach to Cretan music. This training, both theoretical and practical, offers an interactive format allowing students to fully immerse themselves in this repertoire and incorporate it into their own musical journey.
The masterclass is open to all levels and instruments, with written material in Western notation and rhythmic systems provided to facilitate learning.
GENERAL CONTENT
- Vocal technique: relaxation, breathing and breath control, vocal warm-up, voice placement
- Rizitika: Kòri kai yiòs / Avyerinòs
- Mandinada / Rhythm and creation
- Tabahaniotika
- Learning songs
- Playing style
- Melismas in melodies and rhythm
- Modern approaches to Cretan tradition
- Development of melodic and rhythmic phrases in Cretan music
- Erotokritos / analysis of different approaches
- Xylouris and Xarchakos
- Instrumental reading and listening
- Accompaniment techniques
- Orchestration
- Specificity of the Cretan language
- Dance
- Historical and socio-cultural context of the style
PARTICIPATION CONDITIONS
The masterclass is open to:
- Amateur and professional musicians with prior instrumental practice. All types of instruments are welcome.
- Singers aged 16 and over, whether or not they have previous singing experience. Knowledge of Greek is not required.
- Both readers and non-readers. No prior theoretical knowledge is necessary.
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BIOGRAPHIES
MARIA SIMOGLOU
Polymorphic singer and multi-instrumentalist, composer and author, Maria Simoglou has more than 20 years of presence in the international music and theater scene.
Born in Thessaloniki, studying in Berlin and living in Marseille for the last 10 years, she is fortunate to benefit from a double musical culture, so academic as well as traditional, thanks to the family cradle full of traditional music from Macedonia, Thrace and Asia Minor and thanks to the studies she followed, first at the musical College and Lycée of Thessaloniki (ud, qanun, percussion), then at the National State Conservatory of Thessaloniki (oboe, piano) and finally at the Berlin musical academy “Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule” in the singing / music-theater branch with professors Marion Lukowsky and Pr. Magdalena Hajossyova.
She participated in singing workshops, among others, with Pr. Barbara Shlich, Pr. Norma Sharp, Thomas Quasthoff, René Jacobs, Spyros Sakkas, etc.
Very early she collaborated with many groups and orchestras in Greece and abroad in the field of traditional, classical and contemporary music. She is regularly invited to concerts, festivals and participates in musical seminars, especially for cinema, dance and theater music. She regularly intervenes on radio and television in Greece, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, England, France, United States, Australia etc.
She participates and collaborates in numerous concerts and recordings alongside singers and musicians of international renown (Harris Lambrakis, Paolo Pandolfo, Rhani Krija, Sokratis Sinopoulos, Claudio Bohorquez, Olivier Ker Ourio, Ross Daly, Spyros Sakkas, Stelios Petrakis, Efren Lopez , Andre Minvielle, Giorgos Xylouris, Sokratis Malamas, Bijan Chemirani, Patrick Vaillant, Kevin Seddiki etc.)
Since 2011, she has been working with the theater company “Mises en Scène” with which she takes part in two different shows: “Bon Appétit” and “La parabole des papillons” (directed by Michèle Addala / dramaturgy with Gilles Robic).
She has been living in France, in Marseille, since 2008, where she directs and integrates different ensembles. She collaborates as a singer, musician or actress in traditional and contemporary music, dance and theater shows.
Since 2008 she regularly gives Master-Classes (DROM, IIMM, FAMDT) and teaches in particular vocal and body technique as well as the repertoire, interpretation, ornamentation, rhythms and improvisation techniques, specific to the vocal, universal technique, Greek songs and songs from Asia Minor.
MARIA KANAVAKI
Maria Kanavaki was born and raised in Heraklion, Crete. She began studying piano at the Heraklion Conservatory at the age of 7, then continued at the Thessaloniki Conservatory (Northern Greece). After high school, she pursued higher education in economics at the University of Macedonia (Northern Greece) and studied voice at the National Conservatory of Athens.
From the age of 16, she worked in the professional performance field as a pianist, accordionist, and singer in Greece and abroad, collaborating with renowned composers and singers such as Haig Yazdjian, Vassilis Skoulas, Pantelis Thalassinos, Miltos Paschalidis, Giannis Charoulis, Trifono, Giota Nega, Gerasimos Andreatos, Manos Pyrovolakis, and many others.
She also participated in theatrical performances both in Athens and on tour, such as “Ta bouloukia” and “I operetta sto theatro” at the Herodium Theatre (Athens), directed by Yiannis Kalatzopoulos, “Ta prosopa tou erota” directed by Pemi Zouni, “Mousikes tou Kinimatografou” with Angelos Antonopoulos, and “Afieroma stin melopiimeni poiisi” with Thalia Prokopiou. She collaborated with renowned Greek actors like Eleni Gerasimidou, Stelios Goutis, and others.
Maria has also appeared on numerous radio and television shows. Her first album of original compositions, Parakseno topio (Strange Landscape), was released in 2007 in collaboration with her partner Christos Pavlis. Her second album, Mikres Atasthalies (Small Tricks), was released in 2011, again with Christos Pavlis. She has also worked as a playwright, and her works have been performed by various theater companies.
Since 2013, she has lived in France, where she has collaborated with numerous groups and musicians from the global/French scene, such as Malik Ziad, Hassan Boukerrou, Yardani Tores, Thomas Bahler, Phoçair, Francois Lemonnier, and more.
For many years, Maria has given Masterclasses (IIMM) and taught piano and singing in the field of contemporary music. Thanks to her Cretan roots and extensive experience (collaborations with Vassilis Skoulas, Zaharias Spyridakis, Manos Pyrovolakis, Kostis Kallergis, Giorgis Manolakis, Giannis Haroulis), she specializes in Cretan music and singing.