Music of Cyprus
The music of Cyprus includes a variety of classical, folk and popular music styles. New trends often originate in Ayia Napa, a resort that resembles a musical nucleus in its development of the island of Ibiza.
Middle Ages
Cyprus experienced numerous rule changes before the Middle Ages and was an important outpost of Christianity and European civilization during the Crusades. In the course of the turbulent history of a variety of music styles from Armenian, French, Turkish reached the island to Greek music. The cultural climax reached the island from 1359 to 1432 at this time. Was born on the island one of the most important collections of later medieval music. All items received are anonymous, and none of them appear in other collections. However, the repertoire proves certainly as an offshoot of French culture at the Cypriot court.
In this great time I. Pierre de Lusignan undertook a three-year trip to Europe, from which he brought an ensemble of musicians that had impressed him so that he in Reims 80 gold francs for it paid Charles V. On his return to Cyprus Pierre brought the French Ars Nova and later the Ars subtilior. The French musicians were able to establish themselves in Cyprus well, and so the city of Nicosia was a metropolis of Ars Subtilior.
Janus I de Lusignan developed the Cypriot music in a variety of styles. His daughter Anna brought after her marriage to Louis, Prince of Geneva with a 159- page manuscript, which contained over two hundred polyphonic sacred and secular compositions. The manuscript is preserved in the National Library of Turin.
Classical music
Notable composers were and are:
- Michalis Chrysanthou
- Nicolas Economou
- Marios Joannou Elia (born 1978 ), Cyprus, Austria
- Yannis Kyriakides (* 1969), Cyprus, the Netherlands
- Solon Michaelides (1905-1979), Cyprus - Greece
- Constantinos Stylianou (* 1972 ), Cyprus, United Kingdom
Traditional music
The folk music in Cyprus is similar to the Greek and Turkish music and includes dances like sousta, syrtos, zeibekiko, Tatsia, and the Karsilama suites. Unlike in Turkey, Greece, the suites consist of 4 kartsilamas dances, each different for men and women, some of them vary in tempo of the 9th / 8th The traditional music is based on the modal Makamen.
Turkish as Greek Cypriots use the violin as the main solo instrument, accompanied by laouto ( a Lautenart ) of the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots of the oud. Also, the accordion, percussion instruments and pithkiavli uses one.
Rock
In Northern Cyprus, founded in 1987, SOS ( band ) is the most famous rock group. In the south, heavy metal and rock the known Greek metal band Armaggedon is successful.
Hip- Hop
The rap music in Cyprus spread in 1993 when John Wu and Pono Kefalos ( Head Ache ) first sang in Cypriot dialect wai Vaomenoi Esso ( Locked Home). This band, however, published a title. Today, John Wu and Pono Kefalos work individually, the latter in close collaboration with Kinisiotherapeftis ( Kinesitherapist ). Some years later, new hip hop bands had success, including Sofos MC ( MC Wise ), Invinsible Underground Threat, Hardcore Headz Part of the Soul, the One- Way and FTW. Some of them rapping in Greek, others on Cypriot.
John Wu, Siopilos Afigitis and DNA are the only names selling their albums on a record company. The other bands and MCs publish their tracks and albums as free productions.