Ancient Greek island Keros breaks 5,000 years of silence

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A mystical performance connected the uninhabited land of Keros returned to the country aft 5,000 years to honour the “first musicians” discovered there.

The celebrated Cycladic figurines of the “Harpist” and the “Flutist” were created during the aboriginal Bronze Age, astatine a clip when radical from crossed the Cyclades would flock here; a taste creator hub and possibly adjacent the archetypal maritime sanctuary successful the world.

The fewer spectators who were invited astatine the past moment, to witness, Five Millennia of Hellenic Sound, were transfixed by the unique performances of Greek and planetary musicians, but besides by the quiescent vigor of the land, that has intrigued archaeologists for decades -ever since the enigma of the bonzer fig of breached marble figurines captured the world’s imagination.

Directed by Michail Marmarinos, the Keros performance successful September, was the closing enactment of the 10th Anniversary of the Koufonisia Classical Music Festival, and the vision of renowned conductor and pianist Kornilios Michailidis, the festival’s laminitis and creator director.

“For me, it was 1 of the astir moving and important experiences I’ve ever had – arsenic a instrumentalist and arsenic an organizer — passim each these years. It was surely 1 of the astir hard things I’ve ever done, and astatine the aforesaid time, 1 of the astir beautiful,” Kornilios Michailidis told Neos Kosmos.

Although Keros lies conscionable two nautical miles from Ano Koufonisi, reaching it is thing but simple. With nary larboard and a rocky shoreline, it tin lone beryllium approached by sportfishing boats when the northbound wind allows. Uninhabited since the precocious 1960s and declared an archaeological ιστοσελίδα under strict protection, the land “opens” lone with special support from the Ephorate of Antiquities of the Cyclades.

“I was successful awe that we had made it there contempt the difficulties. It seemed unbelievable that we had pulled it off,” Michailidis continues.”A immense weight was lifted the infinitesimal I saw the assemblage arriving. It was the weight of two years of work for this peculiar concert, which astir didn’t hap due to the fact that of the weather, but successful the extremity recovered its spot successful the astir unforgettable way.”

Retracing Hellenic Sound implicit 5 thousand years

For its 10th Anniversary, the festival’s organisers retraced Greek sound done the centuries, highlighting some of the astir important aspects of Greek, oregon Greek-inspired creation, done 7 chiseled concerts, culminating successful the landmark show connected Keros.

Kornilios Michailidis, curated a philharmonic travel from antiquity to the 20th century: from past chants and Byzantine hymns to traditional laments, and then into the modern property with works by Iannis Xenakis and Giorgos Koumendakis. Ancient Greek hymns — the Delphic Hymn to Apollo, the Hymn to the Muse and Calliope, and Seikilos’ Epitaph — were performed connected faithful replicas of past instruments such arsenic the diaulos, harp, and lyre. The chanting of poetic fragments of Orphic hymns added yet different furniture of gravity to the whole experience.

The bequest of Colin Renfrew

The performance connected Keros, inspired by the celebrated Cycladic figurines of the “Harpist” and the “Flutist” was dedicated to the precocious archaeologist and philhellene Lord Colin Renfrew. He archetypal stepped connected this distant land arsenic a postgraduate student successful 1963 and went connected to go a pioneering archaeologist renowned for his groundbreaking probe connected the Cyclades and Aegean prehistory. For the past two decades of his life, helium focused connected solving the enigma of an enigmatic past ritual that took spot connected Keros.

Renfrew not lone provided the astir plausible mentation for the thousand oregon much breached fragments of Cycladic marble figures, but alongside Michael Boyd, their team besides uncovered bonzer grounds of aboriginal municipality beingness during the Bronze Age (around 2800 BC to 2200 BC).

“We are successful a portion that successful antiquity was a cradle of civilization for the full Aegean,” Michailidis said. “The land of Keros, other Koufonisi, remains a focal constituent of excavations and research. What Colin Renfrew has done for Greece done his beingness is incredibly important, and excavations proceed today under Michael Boyd. We haven’t seen everything yet! What will travel to airy successful the coming years will beryllium remarkable.”

The astir caller excavation, completed successful 2018, revealed awesome stairways, drainage systems, and stone-built structures, grounds of sophisticated municipality architecture unprecedented for the period. The settlement, connected what is present the small land of Daskalio, was erstwhile linked by a constrictive causeway to Kavos, connected the west of Keros, where vast quantities of breached marble sculptures and vessels were ritually deposited implicit some 500 years.

Renfrew believed that Keros served arsenic a pan-Cycladic sanctuary, where breached figurines and pottery were intentionally deposited, signaling analyzable spiritual practices. He was capable to beryllium that these artifacts were purposefully breached elsewhere and brought to Keros, indicating the island’s special symbolic status successful the Cycladic world.

A taste rebirth successful the Small Cyclades

As archaeologists unearth the glorious past of Keros, a caller epoch of civilization has taken basal connected the neighboring land of Koufonisi with the founding of the Koufonisia Classical Music Festival 10 years ago.

Michailidis, whose household of musicians has spent summers connected Koufonisi for implicit 30 years, recalls however it each started.

“Through the years we would organise concerts connected the land connected an advertisement hoc basis. In 2016, we decided to found it formally arsenic a festival.”

Today, the festival draws visitors from crossed Greece and abroad. Alongside concerts, an acquisition programme offers the island’s children subsidised euphony lessons successful soft and guitar, with teachers traveling weekly from Athens and Naxos. Children are adjacent taken to Athens for taste experiences, funded by the festival.

This year’s day event, peculiarly the landmark performance connected Keros, received widespread publicity and attracted distinguished guests from adjacent and far.

Although initially planned arsenic a livestream without an audience, a small radical of locals, officials, and supporters was ultimately admitted, Michailidis explains. “The weather prevented the livestream, but the full performance was filmed and will σύντομα beryllium broadcast worldwide.”

The performance was besides performed successful Koufonisi so the wider assemblage could stock successful the experience.

“Organising the festival is simply a immense magnitude of work for us, astir a full-time job. And it is something we bash voluntarily arsenic a family, done a non-profit organisation. But is is an acquisition that makes us each richer. In the consciousness of motivation restitution it fills us deeply.”

“Music speaks to everyone”

Among the galore moments that person stayed with him, 1 successful peculiar stands out. Before the festival was officially founded, Michailidis erstwhile performed Beethoven’s past three sonatas connected the island.

“They are hard pieces, not easy accessible. And yet I went up with it. To my surprise, it turned retired to beryllium 1 of the champion concerts I’ve ever fixed successful terms of assemblage response. The assemblage hardly breathed; they were utterly absorbed. Not lone did they stay until the very end, but for years afterwards, I’d walk the streets of the land and radical would stop to punctual maine of that concert. Many of them had ne'er heard a soft successful their lives, had nary vulnerability whatsoever.”

He says it was a staggering experience. “It proved to me, that classical euphony truly speaks to everyone. Under the close conditions, it tin genuinely scope everyone, particularly those with a axenic and unfastened bosom and the curiosity to clasp something new. That performance was, successful fact, the crushed the festival was born.”

Even though the household is not primitively from the island, Michailidis says they consciousness similar locals.

“In caller years, it’s not a vacation anymore — we spell to work for the festival. And yet it rejuvenates us.”

Even though the land has radically changed implicit the 30 years, “the representation that remains with us is the spot we fell successful emotion with, successful each its purity and beauty.”

In that sense, the festival is simply a reminder of each that.

“Music successful general, but particularly classical, with its natural, acoustic transmission, fits so well with the landscape, the vigor of the place, the quality of the island. Even though Koufonisi has nary humanities nexus to classical euphony (its tradition is much tied to people music), I would accidental it resonates profoundly with the very quality of the island.”

The festival has already acold exceeded each their expectations and dreams, particularly aft this year’s dedication to ‘Five Millennia of Hellenic Sound’ with the performance connected Keros. But there are still galore ideas formulating for the future, with a greater accent connected the acquisition broadside of their project, and improving the infrastructure. “We’d similar to physique an amphitheatre, for example, to marque the accumulation of concerts easier some for the assemblage and for the musicians.”

“Our extremity is that thing should beryllium missing from the island, thing that we take for granted successful Athens. We want civilization to beryllium a constituent of notation for the islanders, conscionable arsenic it was successful antiquity. Beyond beaches and tavernas, we want something of lasting value. That’s our contribution.”

Reflecting connected the concert’s dedication, Michailidis adds that “Lord Colin Renfrew belongs to the land of Keros, due to the fact that of his life’s work for Greece, work present continued under Michael Boyd. We are yet to spot the afloat value of this portion successful prehistory. Renfrew was a true gentleman, successful each sense, but successful a humble and humble way. A antheral with large humour.”

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