The Music of Macedonia is the music of the Greek geographic and historic region of

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

. It forms part of the broader musical tradition of mainland Greece and of the southern Balkans. Compared to other regions of Greece, the music of Macedonia is characterized by a high degree of diversity, due to the numerous influences it has received over the years from neighboring countries and particularly from refugees arriving in the early 20th century. In general terms, Macedonian music can be thought of as the connecting chain between the Western musical tradition of Epirus and Thessaly and the Eastern musical tradition of Thrace and Constantinople. Macedonian music is known for its tradition of patriotic folk songs, including klepht songs and songs that make references to the Macedonian Struggle. It is also notable for the use of brass instruments (called ''chálkina''), trumpets, tympana and

koudounia The Koudounia ( el, κουδούνια), are bell-like percussion instruments. Most often, they are made from copper and upon playing (that is, hitting them with a stick) they give out a special ringing sound. Originally the koudounia had been used ...

. Other instruments used include clarinet, violin and

Macedonian lyra The Macedonian lyra (Greek: Μακεδονική λύρα) is a Greek pear-shaped, three-stringed bowed musical instrument, used mainly in the Greek folk music of the Greek region of Macedonia, and especially in the region of Drama, usually acc ...

. Folk dances from Macedonia include the

Hasapiko The hasapiko ( el, χασάπικο, , meaning “the butcher's

ance Ance may refer to: * Ance (given name), a feminine given name * Ance, Latvia * Ance, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Ance (; Gascon: ''Ansa'') is a former commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. O ...

��) is a Greek dances, Greek folk dance from Constantinople. The dance originated in the Middle Ages as a battle mime with swords performed by the Greeks, Greek butchers' g ...

and

Syrtaki Sirtaki or syrtaki ( el, συρτάκι) is a dance of Greek origin, choreographed for the 1964 film ''Zorba the Greek''. It is a recent Greek folkdance, and a mixture of "syrtos" and the slow and fast rhythms of the hasapiko dance. The dance ...

(found allover Greece),

Leventikos Leventikos ( el, Λεβέντικος, ''Levéntikos''); or Bufčansko ( mk, Буфчанско), also known as ''Litós'' (Λιτός), ''Kucano'', ''Nešo'' or ''Pusteno'', is a dance of western Macedonia, mainly performed by ethnic Macedonian ...

, Endeka Kozanis, Stankena, Akritikos, Baidouska, Macedonikos antikristos,

Kori Eleni Kori may refer to: * Kori (woreda), a district in Afar Region, Ethiopia * Kori, Central African Republic * Kori, Bushehr, a village in Iran * Koori, Fukushima, a town in Japan * Koli people, an Indian ethnic group * Kori caste, a weaving caste of ...

, Partalos, Kleftikos Macedonikos, Mpougatsas, Kastorianos, O Nikolos, Antikrystos, Sirtos Macedonias, Zeibekiko and

Kapitan Louka Kapetan Louka or Kapitan Louka ( el, Καπετάν Λουκάς) is a dance from the region of Macedonia in Greece. It is a dance specifically from the area of Kozani. The dance is named after a freedom fighter in Macedonia, Loukas Kokkinos bor ...

. Macedonia and especially its capital, Thessaloniki, maintain a thriving music scene and have been home to many of Greece's most prominent popular musicians of singers, including Marinella,

Stavros Kouyioumtzis Stavros Kouyioumtzis, also Kougioumtzis, Kouyoumtzis, or Koujioumtzis, (23 July 1932 – 12 March 2005) ( el, Σταύρος Κουγιουμτζής ) is one of the most significant Greek music composers of the 20th century. Kouyioumtzis w ...

, Giannis Kalatzis,

Paschalis Terzis Paschalis Terzis ( el, Πασχάλης Τερζής; born 24 April 1949) is a popular Greek singer. Biography Terzis was born in Pylaia, a suburb of Thessaloniki. In his early teens, he began to sing with friends, some of whom helped him in his ...

, Natassa Theodoridou, Antonis Remos,

Nikos Papazoglou Nikolaos "Nikos" Papazoglou (in Greek: Νίκος Παπάζογλου; 20 March 1948 – 17 April 2011) was a Greek singer-songwriter, musician, and producer from Thessaloniki. Papazoglou began performing in a number of Greek local groups in th ...

, Giannis Aggelakas, as well as bands such as

Onirama Onirama is a Greek pop rock band that has had a number of hits in Greece. They are known for their wide range of music, and party-like concerts. ''Onirama.gr''. Retrieved on July 10, 2008 Career 2000-2005: Beginnings & First successes Onirama was ...

Xylina Spathia Greek hip hop groups Xylina Spathia ( el, Τα Ξύλινα Σπαθιά, en, The Wooden Swords) were a popular Greek band from Thessaloniki, distinguished by their special and personal sound, which was unprecedented for the Greek music of the ...

Trypes Trypes (Greek: Τρύπες), which translates in English as "Holes" were a highly influential and acclaimed Greek rock band, originating from Thessaloniki, Greece. Their unique sound emerged mainly from the combination of vocalist Giannis Aggelak ...

and Nightrage.

History

Excavations in Macedonia have discovered musical instruments similar to the

aulos An ''aulos'' ( grc, αὐλός, plural , ''auloi'') or ''tibia'' (Latin) was an ancient Greek wind instrument, depicted often in art and also attested by archaeology. Though ''aulos'' is often translated as "flute" or "double flute", it was usu ...

as early as the Neolithic Era and throughout classical antiquity. The Ancient Macedonians enjoyed similar music to the rest of the Ancient Greeks and Alexander the Great and his successors built odea for musical performances in every city they built, from Alexandria in Egypt to cities as distant as Ai-Khanoum in what is now modern-day Afghanistan. Macedonian songs are in particular influenced by the Acritic Byzantine tradition, while instruments such as the tambourine, the

and the Macedonian bagpipe are directly descended from medieval Greek equivalents. Many local dances such as Syrtos have also been danced to similar music for hundreds of years. Modern Macedonian music is an admixture of the music of pre-20th century Greek Macedonians, which has some similarities to the music of neighboring Epirus and Thessaly, such as the music of Greek refugees from Asia Minor, who arrived following the

Asia Minor disaster Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Regional variation

Western Macedonian music is the closest to that of Thessaly and Epirus and is dominated by brass instruments, with the exception of Grevena and the surrounding area, where the Epirot orchestra (

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

, violin, laouto and tambourine) is more common. Grevena is also known for its folk and Acritic songs traditionally sung by women without accompanying instruments to celebrate Easter. These songs date back to the Middle Ages and were passed down over the centuries among the then largely illiterate rural population. A similar tradition is found in the historically Greek-speaking villages of the western and southern parts of Kozani. The cities of Kozani and Kastoria follow a separate tradition of urban songs, which survive until this day. A rich brass tradition also evolved in Pella and Kilkis, replacing the earlier zurna (

karamuza The karamuza ( el, καραμούζα), is a type of Greek reed instrument, likely having descended from the aulos, a common instrument of ancient Greece and Rome. It is made from wood, with a typical length of about 60 cm. The karamuza was ...

) and bagpipe bands, which still dominate Imathia and much of

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and Eastern Macedonia. In Naoussa and the surrounding area, traditional orchestras consist of the famous davul and zurna combination, while Veria is known for its Ottoman-style urban music. In mountainous Pieria, the dominant instrument was the gaida, while Chalkidike, due to its tradition of sea-faring trade, shares more in common with the music of the Aegean islands, the dominant instruments there being the violin and the laouto. Nearer the border with North Macedonia and particularly in Florina, songs such as

and associated dances are shared between Greek and Slavic speakers, with the same songs often having lyrics in both languages.

Folk Songs

*My white doves (Ασπρα μου περιστέρια) - love song *Oh, that the mountains had been lowered (Ας χαμήλωναν τα βουνά) - love song *A lady called me (Με μήνυσε μια αρχόντισσα) - love song *

Famous Macedonia "Famous Macedonia" ( el, Μακεδονία ξακουστή, Macedonia xacusti, ) is a Greek military march folk song often regarded as the regional anthem of Greek Macedonia, and used by the Hellenic Army since the Balkan Wars. It is associated ...

(military march from the

Balkan wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

adapted from the traditional 'Macedonian dance', itself a derivation of an Acritic song, written in iambic decapentasyllabic - today serves as the anthem of the region of Macedonia) * They will never take the Macedonians' land (Δεν θα την πάρουνε ποτέ την γη των Μακεδόνων) - patriotic song from Balkan Wars
Tzouvanaki
wedding song from Thessaloniki
We were three brothers
wedding song from Thessaloniki
Lenio
local "butcher's song" from Assiros
The quiet one
wedding dance
Sultana
song from

Pylaia Pylaia ( el, Πυλαία) is a former municipality in the Thessaloniki Prefecture of Greece. In the 2011 local government reform, Thessaloniki Prefecture became the regional unit of Thessaloniki (without boundary changes), and Pylaia became a par ...

Konstantinos
old folk song from

Ossa, Thessaloniki Ossa ( el, Όσσα, Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Висока), known before 1926 as Visoka (Βυσσώκα), is a village and a community of the Lagkadas municipality. Before the 2011 local government reform it was part of the municipality of Vertisk ...

As many mountains as I passed
lounge song
Mother, a silver klontiri
wedding song from Serres
They put me in prison
Table song from

Draviskos Draviskos ( el, Δραβήσκος) is a village in Serres regional unit, located 45 km southeast of the city of Serres. Since 2011 it is a municipal unit of the Municipality of Nea Zichni. Until 1926 it was named "Zdravik". History Antiquity ...

, Serres
Bulgarian women go up
Song from Serres
The castle of Mourias
Byzantine folk song from
Turks in Toumba
Slavic language song from Florina
Oh, Royal Tree
Lament from Eratyra about the

Fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city fell on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 53-day siege which had begun o ...

Folk dances

Folk dances in the Macedonian region of Greece include: * Akritikos * Baidouska * Endeka Kozanis * Kastorianos *

Makedonia (dance) Makedonia ( el, Μακεδονία, Macedonía or el, link=no, Μακεδονικός Χορός, Macedonicós Chorós) is a form of the Greek folk dance Hasapiko ( el, χασάπικο, chasápico) that has evolved over the years to the patriot ...

Makedonikos antikristos Makedonikos antikristos ( el, Μακεδονικός Αντικριστός) is a dance from Macedonia in Greece. It means "face to face dance from Macedonia", and it is danced by two people, usually by a man and a woman. It is mainly danced in ...

* Kori Eleni (Eleno Mome) * O Nikolos * Partalos *

Proskinitos Proskinitos is a form of a Greek folk dance from Macedonia, Greece. See also * Music of Greece * Greek dances Greek dance (''choros'') is a very old tradition, being referred to by authors such as Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch and Lucian. Ther ...

* Syrtos * Zaharoula