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Αζιζιές
Instrumental air from Chios, set to a 2/4 dance rhythm common to all syrtos dances of the Greek islands and mainland. The syrtoi (plural of syrtos, meaning “dragging”) take their name from the dancers’ movements: holding hands in a half-circle, they always move to the right, dragging their feet slightly along the ground.
At times, either at the beginning (as an introduction) or at the end (as a kind of coda) of a song or dance tune, the lead musician of the folk ensemble will launch into a free melody, improvising on the tune that follows or precedes it. This Azizies is an example of that practice: the violin plays the free melody solo at the beginning, accompanied by a santouri (santur).
Based on Domna Samiou’s 1965 field recording of the song in Nenita, Chios.
Violin
Santur
