Thalia Spanou

(1925-1993). "Nisiotika" singer. Thalia Kondyla was born in Fournoi of Ikaria. She married Antonis Spanos (tsambouna- and flute-player), and together they created a band that played at feasts in Fournoi, Ikaria and Samos.

In the 1950s, she studied with Simon Karas, joined the "Association for the Dissemination of Greek National Music" and participated in Simon Karas’s radio programs. There, she met Domna Samiou.

Later, Thalia and Antonis Spanos accompanied Domna Samiou in concerts in Greece and abroad. They recorded songs together that where released in 45 rpm discs. They also recorded songs that were broadcast in the TV program “Apo pantou tis ellinikis gis” (“From every corner of Greek land”).

In the 1980s, Domna Samiou collected children’s songs of Fournoi from Thalio, as she liked to call her.

Θάλεια Σπανού
Θάλεια Σπανού
Fournoi of Ikaria, 1983

© Domna Samiou Archive

Θάλεια Σπανού
Θάλεια Σπανού
Fournoi of Ikaria, 1983

© Domna Samiou Archive

 

Songs

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  • SongEastern AegeanIkaria, FournoiChristmas Carol, Ritual SongCarol

Christmas Carol (Ikaria)

  • Καλώς τα τα Χριστούγεννα ♦ The same carol sung by Domna Samiou Greek Folk Music Association Choir (2019) directed and supervised by Katerina Papadopoulou. From Yiorgos Ε. Papadakis’s archive.
Ήρθε ο καλός μου
  • SongCycladesMykonosLove SongCouplets

My Beau Has Come

  • Ήρθε ο καλός μου ⬥ Studio recording, 1963. Released in extended play 45 rpm disc (Fidelity 8048, 1963) supervised by Domna Samiou.
d26
  • SongEastern AegeanIkaria, FournoiChildren's Song, Lampoon

So Many Lies

  • Είπαμε πολλά ψέματα ⬥ We’ve told so many lies, a truth now let us tell, we loaded forty pumpkins on a mouse’s tail. The pumpkins full of water, and the water full of frogs, when the frogs croaked, the mouse kicked up his clogs. He shed his load, ran off, [...]
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  • SongEastern AegeanIkaria, FournoiChildren's SongRecitation

The Evening Star Has Set

  • Πούλια εβασίλεψε ⬥ The evening star has set, the morning star arisen but back home from school my boy still isn’t. The evening star for company, the moon to light his way, and the bright morning star to save him from dismay. The teacher was shouting and brandishing his cane [...]
d20
  • SongAsia MinorSmyrna, BaindiriHoly Week’s Ritual Song, Ritual Song

The Lament of the Virgin (Baidiri, Asia Minor)

(Holy Week Lament)

  • Το μοιρολόι της Παναγιάς (Mπαϊντίρι) ⬥ … The Virgin heard the awful news, she swooned and fell, they fetched some water in a crock; three tumblers of flower-water and four of rose they bathed her with, until they had revived her, and once her senses were restored, she spoke despairingly: [...]
d20
  • SongPropontisMarmaraHoly Week’s Ritual Song, Ritual Song

The Lament of the Virgin (Marmaras, Asia Minor)

(Holy Week Lament)

  • Το μοιρολόι της Παναγιάς (Μαρμαράς) ⬥ … A voice from heaven could be heard, a good archangel speaking. My lady, that’s enough of prayers, enough of doing penance, for they have roughly seized your son and hauled him to the blacksmith, and thence to Pontius Pilate’s courts, and there they [...]
d20
  • SongEastern AegeanLesvos, SkoutaroHoly Week’s Ritual Song, Ritual Song

The Lament of the Virgin (Mytilene)

(Holy Week Lament)

  • Το μοιρολόι της Παναγιάς (Μυτιλήνη) ⬥ … Obediently returning home, she laid the supper table and patiently sat down to wait until her son should come back. Saint Good passed by and called on her and wished her a good evening: – How, with a son upon the cross, his [...]
d20
  • SongEastern AegeanIkaria, FournoiHoly Week’s Ritual Song, Ritual Song

The Lament of the Virgin (Phourni)

(Holy Week Lament)

  • Το μοιρολόι της Παναγιάς  (Φούρνοι Ικαρίας) ⬥ … – Be off with you, you gypsy scum, and may your hearth grow cold, and may you lack a second shirt to clothe your wretched back. They took the path, they took the path, the path that is a footpath, and so [...]
d20
  • SongPontusHoly Week’s Ritual Song, Ritual Song

The Lament of the Virgin (Pontus)

(Holy Week Lament)

  • Το μοιρολόι της Παναγιάς (Πόντος) ⬥ … Do you not see that naked man, forlorn and sore afflicted, who wears a garment steeped in blood, a thorny crown upon his head? That man is your beloved son and he’s my teacher too. … Translated by John Leatham
d20
  • SongThraceHoly Week’s Ritual Song, Ritual Song

The Lament of the Virgin (Thrace)

(Holy Week Lament)

  • Το μοιρολόι της Παναγιάς (Θράκη) ⬥ … Today the sky is sullen black, the day itself is sullen, today all folk are sorrowing, the mountains are in mourning, today the lawless wicked Jews have taken the decision that they will crucify the Christ, the King of every being. The Lord [...]
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Records

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  • AlbumCD2011Domna Samiou Greek Folk Music Association

Christmas, New Year and Epiphany Carols

Κάλαντα ευχές και παινέματα των Χριστουγέννων, της Πρωτοχρονιάς και των Φώτων. Άλλα λιγότερο κι άλλα περισσότερο γνωστά που προέρχονται από διάφορες περιοχές της Ελλάδας. Κυκλοφόρησε με την εφημερίδα "Ελεύθερος Τύπος" στις 30 Δεκεμβρίου 2011.
d20
  • AlbumCD, Digital release1998Domna Samiou Greek Folk Music Association

Easter Songs

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)
Μουσικό Οδοιπορικό 1959-1969
  • AlbumCD2008Universal

Mousiko Odiporiko 1959-1969

A collection of 127 traditional songs and tunes from all over Greece that were first released on 45 rpm records between 1959 and 1969 under the direction and musical supervision of Domna Samiou. The collection was compiled and edited by Yiorgos Tsampras.
Δισκογραφία 45 στροφών
  • Album45 RPM1959

Recordings in 45 RPM

Τραγούδια που κυκλοφόρησαν σε δίσκους 45 στροφών, την περίοδο 1959-1969, σε μουσική επιμέλεια Δόμνας Σαμίου.
d26
  • AlbumCD, Digital release2007Domna Samiou Greek Folk Music Association

The Great North Wind and Other Traditional Songs for Children

‘The Great North Wind ….’ is Domna Samiou’s second CD dedicated to her ‘young friends’. One of Domna’s main concerns is that, unless children are initiated in music, these songs will gradually disappear as time goes by. This CD is a good companion to those who want to offer their […]
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Concerts

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  • Concert
  • 1971-1980

Concerts at the English Bach Festival

Invited by Lina Lalandi, founder of the English Bach Festival and clavichordist, Domna Samiou made five appearances in the festival, presenting, in what could be the first time, the authentic traditional music of Greece to the English audience.
s001
  • Concert
  • 1971-1973

The First Concerts

In 1971, in the midst of the military Junta period in Greece, Dionysis Savvopoulos convinced Domna to sing at the club “Rodeo”. In the following years, she performed at “Kyttaro” and “Rizes”.
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