Rizituals: Women perform “rizitika”

The”Rizitiko” song and the woman star in the new play Rizituals by Xanthoula Dakovanou who is coming to Crete for two performances with the Musa group. Two important performers of Cretan music, Niki Xylouris and Eugenia Toli-Damavoliti, will appear with her.

With the new project Rizituals, the singer Xanthoula Dakovanou returns to the music scene, after her project Lamenta, from Epirus Traditions to World Jazz, which distinguished itself in the world music charts. In fact, it received significant international reviews and traveled as far as the Avignon Festival in France. This time, the creator brings with her modern explorations of the vocal traditions of Crete, with the support and patronage of the Ministry of Culture.

Rizituals begins with authentic “Rizitiko” melodies, which belong to the oldest vocal tradition of Crete and are traditionally sung around the roots of the White Mountains by men only. In the project, these archetypal melodies are highlighted by the voices of three women who sing among others in polyphony, incorporating Byzantine and medieval elements. Together with the show’s creator and artistic director Xanthoula Dakovanou, Niki Xylouris, an iconic voice of the Cretan tradition with her own personal style, and Eugenia Toli-Damavoliti, who has been characterized as a fairy of Cretan song, sing in the play.

In Rizituals we listen to arrangements of “Rizitiko” songs as well as new compositions by the author inspired by the “Rizitiko” tradition. They are flanked by the versatile cellist Sofia Euklidou, a musician with a long career in the classical repertoire but also in tropical Mediterranean music and improvisation, and by Dimitris Sideri on the lute, a musician with a deep knowledge of the Cretan tradition but also with his own, experimental approach organ.

At the same time, the master percussionist Solis Barki, an expert in the musical traditions of the Mediterranean and frame drums, performs and creates in multiple tones.

With the project Rizituals, Xanthoula Dakovanou and the Musa team bring a new, experimental look to the age-old vocal tradition of “Rizitiko” song and create a contemporary ecstatic ritual on stage.

The musicians participating in the Rizituals project are:

Xanthoula Dakovanou: Artistic direction, singing, percussion

Niki Xylouris: Song, percussion

Eugenia Toli-Damavoliti: Song, percussion

Sophia Euclidou: Cello

Dimitris Sideris: Lute

Solis Barki: Bedir, tambourine, didgeridoo and other percussive stories

The production is made by MOUSA AMKE, under the auspices and support of the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

The show in Chania (3/9, Firka Fortress) is held in collaboration with the Region of Crete-District of Chania and its cultural events, while it is supported by the Municipality of Chania, the Karolos Kampelopoulos Foundation-Monastery of Charles and the Greek-French Association of Chania.

With the kind support of ANEK Lines – Blue Star Ferries

Free entrance

Source: MOUSA AMKE