Written by Sotiris Bekas
Terra Melodia means “the melody of the earth,” and Stavroula Malfa (santur, vocals), Ilias Malfas (violin), and Gerasimos Bekos (accordion, lute, lafta) use the term even more specifically to define the “melody of our land,” namely Greece.
The three of them met and bonded musically and friendly at the Alimos Music School, sharing a common reference point and interest in their love for original interpretations of Greek folk music, as well as music from other traditions. Their influences extend to polyphonic and Byzantine sounds, while they experiment with innovative, harmonic, and instrumental arrangements.
But what does the melody and music of “our land” mean to Terra Melodia? What does folk music mean to them? “It’s definitely part of our identity, and there’s a huge motivation given to young musicians to engage with this music. It’s something worth celebrating. After all, it’s something of our own. What we call ‘authentic’ is the old, the original. Then came the imitations of the old. From our side, we try to mimic the older great musicians, but also to maintain the tonal colors that suit each region. It’s important for these imitations to be very good, with few changes so that the essence and balance of traditional music are not lost,” says Stavroula Malfa. She also explains, “We all met at the Alimos Music School, in the Byzantine and Folk Music ensemble, under the guidance of Mrs. Aggelou. However, Gerasimos Bekos, who started accordion at the Music School, earlier and self-taught, learned to play at a very high level by studying music from Eastern Rumelia and other regions. He did the same with the lute and lafta. His talent and enthusiasm are great examples of skill and experiential play, which inspire us and have given our band a great boost.”
Recently, Terra Melodia participated in the 4th meeting of young traditional music groups “Trianafyllia’s Leaves,” organized by the Artistic Association of Folk Music Domna Samiou, in cooperation with the Environmental and Climate Change Organization. What is the significance and value for a group of young musicians to have the opportunity to express themselves artistically at this festival, which is gaining increasing popularity?
“It is a great honor for a group to be selected for a festival whose main concern is to maintain quality in this specific field and to give the opportunity for expression to very worthy new groups, as it happened this year as well. Moreover, it is a great opportunity to get to know each other, to see what musical potential exists in our generation, what are the different approaches to folk music, and I was genuinely delighted to see authentic traditional groups and very remarkable musicians. It is a great joy to see such a high level and musicians with great interest. Everyone can benefit from this,” says Stavroula Malfa.
In their approach, Terra Melodia focuses particularly on the element of dance. In folk music, after all, music and dance are inseparable elements. Thus, their criterion in their repertoire choices is for a piece to be danceable. They do not indulge in changes in rhythms and the idiom of each region, however, with great care, they add some musical “touches” that may make the result more interesting.
Their repertoire includes songs from several regions, and they intend to expand it to more, even those that do not often utilize the musical instruments of Terra Melodia (santur, violin, accordion, lute, lafta). “Gerasimos, besides the lute, plays accordion and brought us closer to the repertoire of Thrace, which we particularly like. Our goal is to study a different region each time, to learn its music well, and to continue to the next one. We like songs from the Cyclades, as well as from the Northeast Aegean,” explains Stavroula Malfa.
Panagiotis Vergos (santur), Areti Ketimé (santur), and Giorgos Kotsikas (violin) are the musicians who have significantly influenced them until now, as they studied and worked closely with them. However, they do not hide that they have drawn inspiration from the field of cinematic music, specifically from the works of Hans Zimmer and John Williams.
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