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Antonios "Antonis" Xylouris (; born September 6, 1937), nicknamed Psarantonis (), is a Greek composer, singer and performer of
Interview (Greek)
Retrieved 20 October 2008 In May 2005, Psarantonis performed at the World Music Institute's 20th anniversary benefit concert at
Official Web site of Psarantonis
{{Authority control Cretan musicians 1937 births Living people Greek male songwriters People from Anogeia
Antonios "Antonis" Xylouris (; born September 6, 1937), nicknamed Psarantonis (), is a Greek composer, singer and performer of lyra
, from ; pronounced: ) is a small constellation. It is one of the 48 listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and is one of the modern 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Lyra was often represented on star ...
, the bowed string instrument of Crete and most popular surviving form of the medieval Byzantine lyra
The Byzantine lyra or lira () was a medieval bowed string musical instrument in the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire. In its popular form, the lyra was a pear-shaped instrument with three to five strings, held upright and played by stopping ...
.
Biography
Psarantonis comes from the mountainous village ofAnogeia
Anogeia (Ανώγεια) is a municipality in the Rethymno (regional unit), Rethymno regional unit, Crete, Greece. The municipality has an area of ., excluding the former municipal departments Axos and Zoniana. Population 2,240 (2021).
When exact ...
in Crete
Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...
which during World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
was destroyed by the German occupying forces, when he was just two years old. Psarantonis is the younger brother of the late Nikos Xylouris, a notable Cretan singer/musician as well as the older brother of Yiannis Xylouris, an equally notable Cretan musician. Psarantonis is also the father of Cretan musician George Xylouris and the Greek singer Niki Xylouris.
Psarantonis is known for the special timbre of his voice and his lyra
, from ; pronounced: ) is a small constellation. It is one of the 48 listed by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy, and is one of the modern 88 constellations recognized by the International Astronomical Union. Lyra was often represented on star ...
playing style. Apart from the lyra Psarantonis plays various traditional instruments. He first played the lyre at the age of 13 and recorded his first single in 1964, titled "I Thought of Denying You" (). He has released many recordings since then and has represented Greece many times in festivals abroad.Retrieved 20 October 2008 In May 2005, Psarantonis performed at the World Music Institute's 20th anniversary benefit concert at
Town Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...
, New York. In 2007 at the festival Rock "All tomorrow's Parties" in Minehead
Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and close to the Exmoor National Park. T ...
, UK. In January 2009, he gave memorable performances in the rock music festival All Tomorrow's Parties
"All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released as the band's debut single in 1966. The song is from their 1967 debut studio album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''.
Inspiration for the so ...
hosted in Brisbane
Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
, Sydney and Mount Buller
Mount Buller is primarily a resort town on the slopes of Mount Buller (Victoria), Mount Buller, within Mount Buller Alpine Resort, an unincorporated area of the Australian state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It is located approximately n ...
(in Victoria) and curated by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds.
In 2007 he worked with Daemonia Nymphe on their album ''Krataia Asterope'' doing the vocals and playing the lyra in the track ''Dios Astrapaiou''
He has also worked with Italian singer and songwriter Vinicio Capossela, similarly to his son Labis.
Discography
*1973: Κρητική Ξαστερία *1976: Η Μάχη της Κρήτης *1976: Πηγές *1978: Σαϊτέματα *1982: Αναστορήματα *1983: Οι ρίζες μου *1985: Εκτός Εαυτού *1986: Να κάμω θέλω ταραχή *1989: Τα μεράκια του Ψαραντώνη *1990: Από φλόγες η Κρήτη ζωσμένη *1991: 30 Χρόνια Ψαραντώνης *1991: Μαθήματα Πατριδογνωσίας *1991: Ο γιος του Ψηλορείτη – Son of Psiloritis *1994: Παλιό κρασί 'ναι η σκέψη μου – My thoughts are like old wine *1995: Μουσική Ανοιξη *1996: Από Καρδιάς – De Profundis *1997: Cretan Music – The way of Psarantonis *1998: Νογώ – I reckon reflexions *1999: Ιδαίον Άνδρον -Idaion Antron *2000: Τέσσερις Δρόμοι για τον Ερωτόκριτο *2000: Λεόντιος Μαχαιράς – Χρονικό της Κύπρου (Μουσική Ψαραντώνης) *2000: Χαϊνιδες – Ο Ξυπόλυτος Πρίγκιπας *2001: Νίκος Κυπουργος -Τα Μυστικά του Κήπου *2002: Ριζίτικα – Rizitika *2002: Παπά-Στεφανής ο Νίκας-Αγρίμι και Κοράσο *2007: Ψαραντωνης & Βασίλης Σκουλάς – Άνθη του Χρόνου *2007: Να 'χεν η Θάλασσα βουνά – Had the Sea mountains *2008 :Σαν Πυροβατης *2008: Αντάρτες των βουνών – Mountain rebels *2009: Εκειά που θέλωSee also
*Byzantine Lyra
The Byzantine lyra or lira () was a medieval bowed string musical instrument in the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire. In its popular form, the lyra was a pear-shaped instrument with three to five strings, held upright and played by stopping ...
* Cretan Lyra
The Cretan lyra () is a pear-shaped three-stringed Greece, Greek Violin, a traditional Greek musical instruments, musical instrument, central to the traditional music of Crete and other islands in the Dodecanese and the Aegean Islands, Aegean Ar ...
* Music of Crete
References
External links
Official Web site of Psarantonis
{{Authority control Cretan musicians 1937 births Living people Greek male songwriters People from Anogeia