Petroloukas halkias biography

Worldmusiccentral.org › 2019 › November › 24.
Born in the village of Delvinaki in Pogoni, Epirus, Petroloukas Halkias comes from a long line of Epirotic musicians.
A Greek clarinetist, playing traditional Greek music.

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Album Recording with Petroloukas Halkias

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Petroloukas Halkias is a living legend and master of the clarinet in Greece at the age of 85 years old. After living and performing in New York for 20 years, he returned back to Greece where he created and established an extremely innovative, superb and complex, at the same time, vocabulary on the clarinet. Petroloukas Halkias is from Epirus, North West part of Greece, which is the place I was born and grew up by listening to his music live at the local celebrations.

During my studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston, his music and his way of performing the instrumental compositions of Epirus was my main passion. I dedicated three years of studying his way of playing these pieces in depth. My instrument, the laouto, has clearly an accompanying role in the Greek traditional music by playing chords and harmony supporting the clarinet players, violinists and singers. However, in this case, I started studying and performing Petroloukas’s musical lines and vocabulary, which is very unusual and

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One of the foremost representatives of Greek demotic (folk) music, Petroloukas Halkias is a living legend and master of the clarino (clarinet). At 85 years old, he is a keeper of the musical traditions of Epirus, a region in northwest Greece known for music with strong melodic lines, mournful lyrics, and slow rhythms. Vasilis Kostas, a groundbreaking performer on the laouto (a long-necked, fretted lute with four paired strings), represents the next generation brought up in this tradition. The two met four years ago, sparking a musical partnership that is redefining the typical relationship between clarinet and laouto.

The music of Epirus has an immense and rich repertoire, expressing feelings of joy and sorrow, paying tribute to people no longer alive or to those living in far-away lands, and celebrating life and nature. Its unique musical idioms vary significantly from the rest of Greece’s musical traditions, featuring instrumental and vocal pieces based mostly on pentatonic sounds and slow tempos. Central to Epirotic tradition are panegyria—multiday, music-filled religiou

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Petroloukas Halkias

Petroloukas Halkias is a Greek folk singer and musician known for his soulful and passionate performances. Born in the mountainous region of Epirus, Halkias' music is deeply rooted in the traditional sounds of his homeland. His songs often explore themes of love, loss, and the beauty of the natural world. With his powerful vocals and captivating stage presence, Halkias has become a beloved figure in the Greek music scene, captivating audiences with his heartfelt renditions of traditional and original compositions.

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