The kantada is a musical bridge between Greece and Italy, between the passion of song and the sweetness of heartfelt confession.

Originating in the Ionian Islands and nineteenth-century Athens, these serenades have echoed through the years as reminders of a romantic era, when voices and melodies united hearts beneath balconies and along whitewashed alleyways. Their music is imbued with the fragrance of jasmine, the sea, and Mediterranean light, as guitars and mandolins intertwine with the human voice in songs celebrating love, nature, and the joy of life.

Influenced by Western European musical traditions, the kantades became both precursors and companions of Greek operetta, where song evolved into theatre and emotion found expression on stage. Composers such as Dionysios Lavrangas, Lambiris, and Kokkinos, together with poets including Dionysios Solomos, gave shape and spirit to a genre that masterfully combines classical refinement with popular sensibility.

Through George Ziakas’s new orchestral arrangements, these beloved serenades come to life once again—not merely as nostalgic memories, but as an invitation to a musical journey of the soul, far removed from the pace of modern life, where music speaks its truest language: the language of love and dreams.

Credits

• Soprano: Mina Polychronou
• Tenor: Andreas Karaoulis
• “Nikos Skalkottas” Conservatory Choir
• Music Director & Arrangements: George Ziakas
• Accompanied by: Plucked String Orchestra