Teacher: Achilleas Tigas
«Νάϊ, νάϊ, γλυκύ.
Νάζι − κατὰ ἓν ζῆτα ἐλαττοῦται.
Αὔρα, οὐρανός, ᾆσμα γλυκερόν, μελιχρόν, ἁβρόν, μεθυστικόν.
Νάϊ, νάϊ.
Κατὰ δύο κοκκίδας, διαφέρει διὰ νὰ εἶναι τὸ Ναί, ὁποὺ εἶπεν ὁ Χριστός.
Τὸ Ναὶ τὸ ἥμερον, τὸ ταπεινόν, τὸ πρᾷον, τὸ Ναὶ τὸ φιλάνθρωπον.»
[Papadiamantis, Alexandros, “the fallen dervish” Apanta III, ed. N.D. Triantafylopoulos, Athens, Domos, 1989, pp. 111-116]
How did the sacred organ of the Mevlevi dervishes pass into the hands of the “uninitiated”? How does a modern “neyghen”, out of touch with Sufi religion and mystical philosophy, appropriate this primordial reed and interpret repertoire from all over the world? Could the “ney” play “chamika”, “kalamatiana” and “baidushkas”?
In the Postgraduate Programme of Studies “Performance – Interpretation of Traditional Music” of the Department of Music Studies of the H.C.P.A., we will attempt to approach the role of the instrument in contemporary music and to experiment with the dynamics that this may involve. By studying the musical traditions in which the instrument dominates, we will master the technique that will allow us to reintroduce the long reeded recorder of the Persians, Arabs and Ottomans as a valuable tool in contemporary ‘world’ music orchestras.