Rebetika group performs to celebrate classic Greek music

Song and dance from Greece filled the auditorium of the John Waldron Arts Center on Monday as Rebetiki Istoria entertained the crowd.

Rebetiki Istoria, meaning “rebetika history,” is the oldest and most famous rebetika musical group in Athens, Greece, according to the event’s program. Rebetika is a genre of music developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by the working classes in urban areas of Greece.

Frank Hess, coordinator of the modern Greek program at IU, helped arrange the performance after hearing the group members play at the University of Michigan two years ago. Performing in Bloomington was part of their second visit to the United States.

“They play almost exclusively at a club owned by the lead singer Pavlos Vassiliou,” Hess said.

Although the music was sung entirely in Greek, audience members received both the Greek lyrics and English translations. Rebetika songs tell the stories of the people who wrote them and their struggles with unemployment and poverty, love and loss and historical events.

Another element of rebetika music is the instrumentation.

The six-member group consists of violin, guitar and bouzoukis, which are six-stringed chordophones. Violinist and bouzouki player Yona Stamatis is the only American member of Rebetiki Istoria.

“I came across these musicians as part of my ethnomusicology studies at the University of Michigan,” Stamatis said.

A Ph.D. candidate, Stamatis studied abroad in Athens for three years to find musicians who knew the old style of rebetika, which has unique scales.

She came to Vassiliou’s club every night to hear Rebetiki Istoria play until they invited her to join them and learn the traditional songs.

“It was the best education I ever had,” she said.
Many rebetika songs are composed in dance rhythms, which caused audience members to nod their heads and tap their feet to the beat. Several dancers began traditional Greek line dances and invited audience members to join until the stage filled with more than 30 people of all ages.
Anelia Hanes was an eager audience participant.
“It’s an adaptable dance from the Balkans,” she said.

Hanes participates in a folk dance group in Indianapolis and came to Bloomington for the performance.

As the rhythmic songs progressed and moved faster, the dancers jumped and kicked their legs higher. Remaining audience members clapped and several shouted “opa” at the conclusion of the upbeat songs.

Although it has no specific definition, opa is a Greek expression of joy, and an ideal reflection of the well-received performance.