Join us for a celebration of Greek folk music featuring ZYGIA, a traditional Cretan Folk duo. Sip sage tea, enjoy some Greek tastes and while be inspired by these two talented performers who will ignite your passion for this inspiring music! Sliding scale, pay what you can at the door.
ZYGIA (pronounced zig-YAH) is a traditional Cretan folk duo comprised of Giannis on lute and Antonis on lyre. Hailing from the Greek island of Crete, where both men grew up and currently reside, Giannis and Antonis carry the traditions of an ancient, exuberant and moving music, whose roots of lyric, tone and dance go back thousands of years into the past. Their name, ZYGIA, refers to an old tradition of having just two musicians play as a duo at weddings, baptisms, festivals and other holidays (of which there are so many in Crete it’s easy to lose count)—most often a lute and a lyre together. The word in Greek shares an etymology with the words for balance and the scales of justice, and perfectly encapsulates the spinning but grounding effect that Cretan music has on the listener. This is music that induces a kind of bacchanalian joy.
Giannis (on lauoto) has performed extensively with various groups for the past ten years throughout Crete—to crowds of a thousand or just a few intimate listeners around a feast-table—with a style rooted in the eastern areas areas of Lasithi and Sitia, while Antonis, a young and rising lyra player and teacher, carries rhythms from the west, from the village of Margarites Mulopotamos in Rethymno. They’ve studied with famous local musicians, such as Giorgos Skordalos, Dimitris Sgouros, Giorgos Xylouris, Kelly Thoma and Ross Daly, as well as elders whose knowledge of old ways is unparalleled. ZYGIA is a relatively new collaboration between these two gifted young musicians, a meeting of passions, with a commitment to making old traditions live on in beautiful new ways. They’ve toured in Italy, and play regularly in Athens, as well as all over their native Crete.
