Why The Mountains Are Black '24: The Musical Cultures of the Southern Balkans
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Smoking and consumption of food and drinks are not allowed within the archaeological site's premises.
The event is filmed and photographed.
By attending it, the members of the audience consent to be filmed and photographed.
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The music festival will take place at Hamkos' house, in Konitsa. (View map)
The Onassis Stegi and Grammy Award-winning producer Christopher King are returning for the second year to Konitsa to seek novel answers to the question “Why the Mountains Are Black.” The internationally acclaimed three-days festival is coming to explore the music of the Balkans region, going deeper into its roots and branches. And the ritual goes on.
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Last year, Onassis Stegi and Christopher King produced an internationally acclaimed festival that reimagined the folk music of Greece and the southern Balkans as an ever-evolving, dynamic process. This year, we continue this exploration, going deeper into the roots and branches of music throughout Greece and within the larger Balkans region. “Why the Mountains are Black '24: The Musical Cultures of the Southern Balkans” also focuses on and illuminates the insurmountable role that the Roma people and musicians have given―and continue to give―to create this music.
From the shellac 78s featuring demotic songs in Christopher King’s collection to musicians and dancers from Greece and the Balkans to screenings of films by Viktor Gjika and Nikos Ziogas and public workshops with artists, “Why the Mountains Are Black '24” is an immersive audio and visual experience that is transformative to everyone who attends.
Musical groups and singers have been invited from across Greece, Albania, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Croatia to perform and present their music, along with dancers accompanying the musicians. Special outreach has been made to collaborate with dance organizations of Epirus. For each day of the event, Christopher King will give a short presentation based on commercial recordings made between 1913 and 1958 and taken from his personal archive. During the first two evenings of the event (Friday and Saturday), there will be a screening of a film relevant to both the region and the music. These screenings will be placed in context by both Christopher King and the directors and their relatives.
Christopher King envisions a public program that will continue deepening our understanding of the musical cultures of Greece and the southern Balkans. He believes that music is not a static, homogeneous thing but rather a complex, evolving human phenomenon that has no borders. And that culture and history can be understood through the lens of music.
And the ritual goes on. "Why The Mountains Are Black '24" will invite musicians from Croatia, Korce, Missolonghi, North Macedonia, Lake Prespa, Thessaloniki, and beyond.
Friday, June 28 | 20:00–00:00
Christopher King will introduce “Why the Mountains Are Black '24: The Musical Cultures of the Southern Balkans” by playing thematic 78s of male polyphonic music of Albania, a rare recording of pipiza, clarinet music of a gypsy group from southern Albania, other 78s, and describing the context of the music for the evening.- 1st Act: Grupi Lab (six male polyphonic singers from Labëria, Albania, led by Golik Jaupi)
- 2nd Act: Elias Kakaroukas Group from Agrinio (three Roma musicians from Agrinio accompanied by members of the “St. Symios” Association of Feast-Goers
- 3rd Act: Screening of “Gjeneral Gramafoni” by Viktor Gjika (a film about the music of southern Albania during the Italian occupation), introduced by the director's daughter Ester Gjika and Christopher King with Demetris Dallas translating.
Saturday, June 29 | 20:00–00:00
Christopher King continues the narrative of “Why the Mountains Are Black '24: The Musical Cultures of the Southern Balkans” by playing 78s from around Croatia, North Macedonia, Thesprotia, and other 78s.
- 1st Act: Adam Semijalac and Fige (Croatian Freak Folk and Vocal Choir)
- 2nd Act: Nova Prespa Band with Panos Skouteris and Aurel Qirjo (Brass Band from Lake Prespa region, North Macedonia, with Epirus musicians)
- 3rd Act: Screening of “Memento” by Nikos Ziogas (a film about the passage of time, the changes in tradition, and the presence of music in a village in Thesprotia), introduced by the director and Dimitris Chrysomallis, with Demetris Dallas translating.
Sunday, June 30 | 20:00–00:00
Christopher King closes the narrative of “Why the Mountains Are Black '24: The Musical Cultures of the Southern Balkans" by playing 78s from Macedonia, Bulgaria, and elsewhere.
- 1st Act: Alkyone (Greek folk song and dreamy fusion from Macedonia)
- 2nd Act: Samir Kurtov (Roma zourna virtuoso quartet from southwestern Bulgaria)
Photo: Andreas Simopoulos
Saturday, June 29 | 11:00 UTC +3 | Old Market Square
Duration: 90 –120 min | Language: English, Croatian, with Greek translation
Traditional Songs of Croatia workshop with the Fige Choir
Through the workshop, the audience and participants will be able to grasp and conceptualize the elements of Croatian traditional singing, specifically its phonetic and melodic structure. The goal is to begin the learning process with these songs.
Structure of the workshop:
- A brief introduction to the Fige Choir, its history, its working methods, and its repertoire.
- A live performance of two traditional songs from Croatia―their origins, characteristics of the regions they come from and the occasions when these songs were traditionally sung.
- Presentation and discussion about the meaning of the song lyrics.
- An interactive instruction on learning traditional songs for interested participants.
“Gjeneral Gramafoni” by Viktor Gjika
*The film will be screened on Friday, June 28
Directed by filmmaker Viktor Gjika, this black and white drama tells the story of a talented clarinet player and a group of musicians who are pressured to stop playing traditional Albanian music in favor of popular Italian fascist melodies. The film takes place during the time of Albania's monarchy under King Zog, a ruler who eventually capitulated to the rule of Italy.
Still from "General Gramophone" film
“Memento” by Nikos Ziogas
*The film will be screened on Saturday, June 29
“Memento,” a lyrical documentary, is an elegy to a vanishing Epirus but also a tribute to an Epirus that knows how to survive. It is a love song for all those who never left and those who migrated, for its musicians and its unparalleled nature.
In “Memento,” we are transported to the village of Giromeri, Thesprotia, during the days of Easter. Through the camera lens, we become observers of the everyday life and people of this small village while searching for the roots of this special custom. Through songs, words, and sounds, the handful of inhabitants try to keep the traditions and legends alive and extend life even after its natural end. Here we have a documentation of a custom that exceeds ethnography, with its origins lost in the recesses of time, where the colored film footage of the past is weaved with current black-and-white material and where the sounds of the clarinet echo through the stones, the mountains, and the faces. “Memento” is an attempt—counter to our era’s ruthless digitization ethos—to keep the analog memory of the Greek countryside alive: a memento of life.
Still from "Memento" film
Surrounded by imposing mountains, myths and legends, the house of Hamko—mother of Ali Pasha of Ioannina—is a well-hidden time machine in the plain of Konitsa. A historic and protected monument that was once enclosed by high walls with embrasures and secret passages, the set of buildings that comprised Hamko’s manor house transports the visitor back to the 18th and 19th century; a meeting point of people and traditions from the Balkans, and not least a fertile and solid ground upon which the foundation of here and now could be laid. Nowadays, only few parts of the archaeological site remain intact: the impressive arched gate, the high tower, some annex buildings, as well as sections of the surrounding walls.
Photo: Riley King
The House of Hamko, Konitsa
And there is no place richer with such life-affirming music than here in Greece and in the southern Balkans.
The current national borders in the southern Balkans emerged out of the collapse of the multiethnic Ottoman Empire during the early 20th century. Musical traditions in the regions of the southern Balkans reflected a mosaic of various ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups that inhabited the broader area. However, music in these regions has taken on national characteristics, as opposed to ethnic ones, as borders become consolidated and populations shifted. Nonetheless, the common origins of these different musical traditions continue to be apparent to this day as they evolve into their contemporary forms.
‘Why the Mountains Are Black '24: The Musical Cultures of the Southern Balkans’ explores how these traditions have developed, changed, absorbed, and manifested themselves in the 21st century. These three days of music, dance, and rarely seen cinema from both sides of the northern Greek border are curated by Grammy Award-winning producer and writer Christopher King. The events are fully produced by Onassis Stegi and hosted at Hamko's house in Konitsa, a literal and spiritual center of southern Balkan music. To fully appreciate the rich cultural asset of Greek demotic music, we must understand all the parts that contribute to the whole."— Christopher King, ethnomusicologist, writer, producer, and advocate of traditional music
Credits
Curator
Christopher King
Head of Production
Vassilis Panagiotakopoulos
Production Management
Dimitra Chatzicharalampous
Line Production
Marianota Giannaki, Danai Giannakopoulou
Technical Manager
Antonis Kokoris
Stage Manager
Melina Lorkidi
Sound Engineers
Alexios Politis, Theodoros Tsachalos, Ioannis Gkliatis, Alexandros Tzovaras
Lighting Design
Vangelis Moundrichas, Pavlos Pappas
Lighting Operators
Vangelis Moundrichas, Pavlos Pappas, Muhammed Ali Sompchy, Antonios Tsevas
Video
Efstratios Toganidis
Stage Engineers
Iakovos Darzentas, Leonardο Cela
Electricians
Fotis Andrianopoulos, Kyriakos Xanthopoulos, Filippos Kokkinakis
Translation
Dimitrios Dallas
F&B Manager
Fotis Liapis
Front of House
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Visitor Experience Coordinator
Zenia Agkistrioti
Visitor Experience Facilitators
Konstantinos Iacovou, Konstantinos Psychopaidis
Visitor Experience Assistants
Dimitris Varthalitis, Dimitris Katsimiris, Dimitris Krassas
Safety and Security
Nikos Kampanis, Ioannis Giannakos, Afendra Mparola, Dimitris Georgiou
Onassis Culture
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Director of Culture
Afroditi Panagiotakou
Deputy Director of Culture
Dimitris Theodoropoulos
PR Executive
Alexandra Chrysanthakopoulou
Communication & Content Department
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Group Communication & Content Manager
Demetres Drivas
Content Leader
Alexandros Roukoutakis
Head of Creative
Christos Sarris
Campaign Manager
Haris Giakoumakis
Commercial Manager
Nikos Rossolatos
Onassis Media Office
Vaso Vasilatou, Katerina Tamvaki
Junior Media Officer
Nefeli Tsartaklea-Kasselaki
Social Media Manager
Vasilis Bibas
Social Media Editors
Sylvia Kouveli, Alexandra Sarantopoulou
Social Media Performance Specialist
Giorgos Athanasiou
Copywriter
Margarita Grammatikou
Onassis Creative Studio
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Senior Motion Graphics Designer
Constantinos Chaidalis
Graphic Designer
Theodoros Koveos
Audiovisual Producer
Elena Choremi
Audience & Client Development Coordinator
Dimitra Pappa
CRM Specialist
Maria Proestaki
Website Editor
Despoina Kalyvi
Filming
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Camera Operators
Koralia Dogani, Dimitris Zivopoulos, Filippos Zamidis
Camera Assistant
Andreas Markou
Editing - DIT
Yorgos Kolios
Sound Recording
Kostas Ragiadakos
Photographer
Pinelopi Gerasimou
Produced by
Onassis Stegi
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