By Giannis Lyviakis
"Agrimia ki agrimakia mou, lafia mou meromena, pete mou pou einai oi topoi sas kai pou einai ta himadia sas.
-Gremna 'nai mas oi topoi mas, leskes ta himadia mas
ta spiliarakia ton grremon einai i katoikia mas"
Rizitika: the folk songs of Crete. Songs about life and death, about the history and heroes of the place, about pain and love. Songs of the common man. The book by the teacher - folklorist Stamatis Apostolakis is dedicated to them: "Rizitika", whose "2nd revised and augmented edition" was recently published. A 572-page version that does not tire the reader. A publication that is of great interest to researchers, but also to every citizen. With hundreds of radical, rich bibliography, but also a glossary that explains the meaning of words. Mr. Apostolakis' work is, in fact, impressive. And the book is interesting for another reason: The radical, that is, our roots, is a form of resistance to globalization that threatens our time. As Mr. Apostolakis himself notes:
"Rizitika is the name of the folk songs that have lived for centuries and are sung to this day by the people who live in Rizes. Roots and villages of the root we say the villages of the provinces of Chania prefecture located at the roots of the White Mountains and of course the" high villages " provinces of Chania ". "The content of the radical song, varied. Historical and heroic religious and social, naturalistic and erotic, happy and complaining, sings the hours, the beauties and the stations of life, with unique melodies, like the self-foundations of our Byzantine musical heritage. More than three dozen goals, the motifs of their members, with the basic division into songs of the tabla (symposia) and songs of the strata (of the spree, of the street) ". The specific book of Mr. Apostolakis is a contribution to the place and its history.
(23/4/2010)
