At their debut performance in India at the World Sacred Spirit Festival, the Stelios Petrakis Quartet from Greece left the audience spellbound and wanting for more. In a candid chat with Shrabasti Mallik, they talk about how Cretan music is inspired from Turkey, Italy and the Ottoman Empire
It has been a week since the Stelios Petrakis Quartet from Greece performed in the Chokhelao Bagh inside majestic Mehrangarh Fort at the World Sacred Spirit Festival, but we still cannot help but feel the notes ringing in our ears. It was not pure Cretan music, though. We remember Petrakis, the leader of the group, telling us that it was mainly folk dance and music except a few compositions like the first piece that they played. “With the composition I have tried to give some music, which is not traditionally Cretan, but with which I hope to touch the soul of the audience. These are universal melodies,” he said right after the performance looking all flushed with the standing ovation that they received.
Petrakis was glad to know that we wanted to learn about the roots of Cretan music and told us that since the island of Crete is between Turkey and Italy, these two countries are the biggest influences. Until the early 19th century, Crete was under the Ottoman Empire so there are some influences of the Ottoman music, too. “It also had a very strong influence on the lifestyle of the people. In fact my grandmother remembered the Ottoman way of living. So the music is really about many worlds and many cultures,” said Petrakis and added, “On the other side, we had the Venetians before the Turks. We were part of the Venetian Empire so we had the influences of instruments like violin, mandolin from them as well. Still we created our own style taking advantage of all these elements.”
The performance that lasted about 45 minutes not only kept us engaged and entertained but also had plenty of surprises in store. The musician playing a bow instrument similar to a cello and held in the same way between the legs (which looked like a bigger version of the lyra) suddenly got up to give us a demonstration of a traditional Cretan dance. And not just one, he did it thrice in between playing his instruments.
We came to know from Petrakis that the first dance is called Cirto, which means crawling and the second is called pentozalis and is characterised by a five step beat. “The third is called the jumping periktosh and is exceptionally spectacular because it shows the veracity of the dancer and also of the musicians. That is why we kept it at the end,” Petrakis pointed out.
What intrigued us were the many instruments that they used. We could identify the lyra, bagpipe and the mandolin, and Petrakis told us that the bigger version of the lyra was built by him, especially for the needs of the band, to cover the bass or low frequencies. “I call it the cello lyra or the Cretan cello,” he laughed.
Even though Crete is a small island but according to Petrakis folk music is gaining popularity there. Many children now are aware of the music. He elaborated, “If this generation knows so much you can imagine how far we will go. There is no chance of losing folk music. It is very present and if you walk around the centre of Heraklion city, the Capital of Crete, you will find posters of performances and plays all over.”
The members told us that they always enjoy performing for an audience who know their music. It is encouraging for them to hear the audience clapping and appreciating what they do. “An interactive audience makes the performance worthwhile. A silent audience on the other hand absorbs every note and clap at the end but for us that gets a bit frozen and too intense if we do not get a reaction,” they said.
It was for the first time that the quartet performed in India and they could not be more happy. “It was a really amazing experience to play in a country with such a high level of musical knowledge. People here know their music and it is almost like a reward for us to be invited to play here in India,” said Petrakis, happiness beaming on his face.