John Leatham

(1924-2003). Dr. John Leatham was a well-known British writer, translator and philhellene.

He came to know Greece in World War II, and later moved to the country to work as a journalist. Between 1957 and 1961, he was head of the Greek section of the BBC World Service.

From 1969, and until his death in 2003, he lived and worked in Athens.

Leatham's life and career were closely linked with all aspects of Greek life, culture, history and religion. He was baptised as an Orthodox Christian at Simonos Petra Monastery, Mount Athos.

Records

The most famous publication of the Domna Samiou Greek Folk Music Association. These Carnival songs with their ritual bawdiness – ‘sacred in the profane’ – disturbed the prudish devotees of tradition. The recordings (on CD and double LP) come with a detailed booklet analysing the pagan and ritualistic context in […]
The most famous publication of Domna Samiou’s Association. These ‘sacred in the profane’ songs of the Carnival with their ritual bawdiness disturbed the prudish ‘devotees’ of tradition. The records (in LP and CD) are accompanied by a detailed booklet analysing the pagan and ritualistic context in which these songs are […]
This CD contains the live recording of the tribute concert for Domna Samiou’s seventieth birthday, at The Megaron, the Athens Concert Hall, in 1998. Some of her closest friends and collaborators were invited as guests: Lykourgos Angelopoulos, Dionysis Savvopoulos, Eleftheria Arvanitaki, and the distinguished Turkish musicians Fahrettin Çimenli and Volkan […]
This significant edition aims to convey the spirit of Easter, the Christian feast celebrated amidst the glory and promise of springtime, through the selected rituals of that period of the year and their related sacred songs and tunes. (barcode: 5204910000524)
In fables, fragments of ancient myths are preserved. On this CD, Domna Samiou & her collaborators sing tales of the fabulous and the fantastic combining the real world with the supernatural and narrating stories, often tragic, which might once have occurred – or could do so one day – however […]
This CD includes songs and tunes in ‘7 beats to the bar’ (the rhythm of kalamatianos dances) and in ‘9 beats to the bar’ (the rhythm of zeibekikos and karsilamas dances) with lyrics and melodies both erotic and sorrowful. (barcode: 5204910000425)
This CD, published by UNHCR with an informative booklet, includes sixteen songs narrating different aspects of migrating to foreign lands: departure and life in foreign lands; the lives of families left behind; death in foreign lands or a return home. It marks a new direction to Domna Samiou’s music publications: […]
This LP includes nineteen songs narrating all the different aspects of migrating in foreign lands: the departure and the life to foreign lands, the life of the family left behind, death in these foreign lands or the return home. This publication of the UNHCR, with its informative accompanying booklet, introduces […]
The wealth of Greek traditional music has been enriched by every aspect of maritime tradition – by its values, virtues and charm – as is amply demonstrated by this wonderful collection of songs. They embrace the ways people have sung, since Ulysses, about the temptations of the sea, its risks, […]
The masterpiece of the Byzantine music tradition, the ‘Troparion of Kassiani’ and the ‘Akolouthia (Service) of Matins on Holy Wednesday’, sung by Yiorgos Remoundos and his choir, ‘The Kalophonarides’ (‘The Fine Vocalists’).