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Lesson timetable: 17:00 - 20:00 in the afternoon (total of 21 hours)
In this seminar we will deal with this unique and special type of vocal improvisation, the mane or amane, which is divided into two main categories, the Smyrnaean mane and the mane ala Turka, as they were captured in the gramophone recordings of the 1920s and 1930s. Examining the recording of each mane separately, we will see it piece by piece from a different perspective, in order to focus on the various details that are necessary for its accurate interpretation.
The seminar is aimed at people who sing, but also at those who play an instrument. To allow a methodical conduction of the lesson, the students will be divided into two groups. In each mane, the vocal part will be taught separately from the instrumental part. At the end the two groups will play together. The scores of the musical works will be sent along with sound samples before the seminar to the participants, so that they can have a first look.
* This lesson will be taught both in Greek and English.
Yiannis Niarchos was born in Athens in 1967. Since his early age, he has been involved in traditional, rebetiko and folk greek music, singing and playing mainly the guitar, as well as bοuzuki, baglama and the oud. Alongside his studies, he has played and sang in various taverns.
Since 2011 he is a founding member of the band Trio Maneros, which makes an attempt to present the special improvisational pieces of Smyrna and mainland Greece.
He is a member of the band Apodimi Compania, with whom he has recorded five CDs. With Apodimi he has travelled to Australia five times, 2007, 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2023, where he performed in concerts and festivals in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbain, Adelaide, Canberra, etc. In March 2013, he became a member of the dance-theatre performance group CIE MPTA, with Belgian, French, Greek and Tunisian dancers and musicians. Their performance has been staged in theatres and festivals in Brussels, Athens, Lyon, Paris, Sao Paolo, Buenos Aires etc.
In October 2013 he took part in the Turkish Cretan music festival that took place in Ayvalik.
He has been a member of the Banda Jovanica, in which they attempt to connect the Asian Minor musical tradition with the rich Hungarian, Rumanian and Russian musical tradition.
In October 2016, he performed on stage with Takim Band, singing “Café Aman- Greek Delight”and “Café Aman America”, supervised by the ethnomusicologist Labros Liavas.
He has also participated by playing guitar and singing in the tv show “Alati tis gis” supervised by the ethnomusicologist Labros Liavas and the tv show “Ta pantelonia einai perierga roucha”, supervised by Paris Mitsou.
In October 2019, he participated in a dance theater performance group UWRUBBA, consisting of Belgian, French, Greek and Tunisian dancers and musicians. The play has been presented at the Toulouse Theater in June 2021, Paris in July 2022, Nice in November 2022, Cherbourg and Toulon in January 2023.
In September 2020 he participated in a collaboration with Greek and Tunisian musicians, in order to present musical performances with the aim of finding common elements between the music of the two peoples during the interwar period: the Maalouf of Tunisia and the Rebetiko of Greece.