The dances which make up this album of two records issued by the Lykion ton Ellinidon are dances of Goumenissa, Kilkis, and of a wider area of Central Macedonia.
Thanassis Serkos, clarinetist from Goumenissa, and his "compania" composed of: 1) Vassilis Velkos - daouli, 2) Yannis Gevgelis - trombone, and 3) Giorgos Dingas - trumpet, play all the dances included in this edition. There are two reasons which prompted this exclusive choice: The first and basic one is that Th. Serkos and his "compania" constitute a very important musical group of folk musicians in the area which they represent, and that not only because Serkos himself is a first rate clarinet player, but also because he and his collaborators endeavour to base their repertoire on the traditional songs and dances of their region.
As the years go by, the compania remains one of the few who, along with melodies from other places, possess such a large repertoire of local traditional tunes. Although there may be changes from time to time in the individual players who make up the company -a common occurrence in all such groups- the leadership and supervision of Thanassis Serkos, together with his masterful playing of the clarinet, contribute to create the special quality of sound which distinguishes his "compania" and which is so very much appreciated, not only in Goumenissa and the surrounding region, but also in all the other places where he has appeared. The company's wide repertory of songs and dances from Central Macedonia, Epirus, Thrace and Thessaly have made it famous and widely popular.
The second reason which led to the issuing of these records is the bond which was created between the folk dance group of the Lykion ton Ellinidon and Thanassis Serkos and his company during the International Folk Dance Festival of Palma de Majorca, in April 1989. Wonderfully supported by the inspired accompaniment of Th. Serkos and his collaborators in a series of Macedonian dances (1), the folk dance group of the Lykion ton Ellinidon was able to show off its technical skill and interpretative ability to the utmost advantage and to carry off the first prize.
Such a prize, in an international contest of such importance, in which the competition between the 54 dance groups from 24 participating countries was very stiff, must certainly be considered a most important distinction in the field of Greek folk music and dancing. With these records and the dance tunes they contain, the Lykion ton Ellinidon wishes to preserve the repertoire of that prize-winning programme and at the same time to pay tribute to the Lykion's musical partners for their invaluable contribution and their share in the winning of an award which marked a culminating moment in the group's career (2).
(1) The dances which were selected for the competition were: “Syre-syre”, “Souleimanovo”, “Dousko”, “Pousnitsa”, and a Macedonian “antikrystos” (face-to-face dance) which is not included in these records.These dances make up Side A of record LCGW 111. The artistic and choreographic supervision were under the direction of Lefteris Drandakis.
(2) For details, regarding the Palma de Majorca International Folk Dance Competition, see the October 1989 Bulletin of the Lyceum Club of Greek Women. (published in Greek)
LCGW 111
SIDE A
1. Soubeti or Moiroloi 2.25
2. Tou Souleiman 3.50
3. Dousko 4.15
4. Pousnitsa 1.50
5. Syre-syre 2.30
6. Kore Eleni 2.20
7. Endeka 2.40
SIDE B
8. Geiko 4.10
9. Bella Olympio 2.33
10. Proskynitos 3.45
11. Syngathistos 2.10
12. Karassoulis 5.00
13. Milo mou kokkino 2.28
LCGW 112
SIDE A
1. Aidoni-Tassa 3.32
2. Zacharoula 2.30
3. Gaida 5.00
4. Tritepati 2.42
5. Patrounino 2.40
6. Koutsos 3.08
SIDE B
7. Karatzova 4.52
8. Karsilamas - Dyo koritsia 5.12
9. Tis Katerinas 3.35
10. Xypna kali gitonissa - Maceda 5.35
Thanassis Serkos and his "compania"
Thanassis Serkos (Goumenissa, 1947): clarinet-zournas
Vassillis Velkos (Goumenissa, 1954) : daouli
Yannis Gevgelis (Goumenissa, 1945) : trombone
Giorgos Dingas (Goumenissa, 1953): trumpet
The recordings took place in Athens in Studio ERA in September 1989 and in February and May 1990.
Recorded by: Yannis Sigletos
