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The music of the Ionian Islands is the music of the geographic and historical region of the Ionian Islands. Folk music of the Ionian Islands is largely based on the western European style. It is dominant the use of guitars and 
mandolins
A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...
, while the ''kantadhes'' (romantic serenades
In music, a serenade (; also sometimes called a serenata, from the Italian) is a musical composition or performance delivered in honor of someone or something. Serenades are typically calm, light pieces of music. The term comes from the Italian w ...
from the Ionian Islands) are very popular. The island of Zakynthos
Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Z ...
has a diverse musical history with influences from Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
.
The Church music of the islands is also different from the rest of Greece's, with much western and Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
influences on the Byzantine Rite. The region is also notable for the birth of the first school of modern Greek classical music ( Heptanese or Ionian School, Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: Επτανησιακή Σχολή), established in 1815. Some notable composers of the classical Ionian School are Nikolaos Mantzaros, Dionysios Lavrangas and Nikos Hatziapostolou.
Folk dances of the islands include:
*Ai Georgis
Ai Georgis ( el, Άη Γιώργης) is a dance from the village of Nestani in Arkadia, a region of Greece in the Peloponnesus which takes its name from the mythological character Arcas. The dance is performed and danced on the feast day of St Ge ...
*Ballos
The Ballos ( el, Μπάλος) is a Greek folk dance and a form of sirtos. There are also different versions in other Balkan countries.
The Ballos is of Greek origin, with ancient Greek elements. The name originates in the Italian ''ballo'' ...
* Cerigotikos
* Diavaritikos
* Fourlana
* Kerkiraikos
*Syrtos
Syrtos ( el, συρτός, ''syrtos'' (also ''sirtos''); plural , ''syrtoi'' (also ''sirtoi''); sometimes called in English using the Greek accusative forms ''syrto'' (also ''sirto''); from the el, links=no, σύρω, ''syro'' (also ''siro''), ...
Notable artists
''Composers:'' * Fotis Aleporos * Dionysios Apostolatos * Dimitris Lagios * Dionysios Lavrangas * Spyros Markatos * Nikos Hatziapostolou ''Singers:'' * Spyros and Makis KaraviotisSee also
*Music of Greece
The music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its history. Greek music separates into two parts: Greek traditional music and Byzantine music. These compositions have existed for millennia: they originated in the Byzantine period and Greek ...
*Greek dances
Greek dance (''choros'') is a very old tradition, being referred to by authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch and Lucian. There are different styles and interpretations from all of the islands and surrounding mainland areas. Each region forme ...
*Greek folk music
Greek traditional music (Greek: παραδοσιακή μουσική, "traditional music"; also δημοτικά τραγούδια, "folk songs") includes a variety of Greek styles played by ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, the Uni ...
* Ionian School (music)
References
{{Reflist Greek music Culture of the Ionian Islands