Kontilies (R. Cogan), Racheal Cogan & Tony Lewis, 2007

Kontilies (Racheal Cogan)
Tony Lewis - frame drum
Racheal Cogan - tenor recorder
Live performance at:
The Boite's Mark St. Hall, Fitzroy, Vic, Australia
July 14th 2007

Filmed by Evangelos Karavitis

Kontilies [pron. "Kon-dil-yez"] are a form of music/dance from the island of Crete in Greece, where I spent some time from 2000-2001. Kontilies generally consist of simple repeated motifs, that in the hands of a good musician can become a hypnotic moment of dazzling complexity and virtuosity.

Whenever I heard this style performed on the lyra (a Cretan bowed lute), I wanted to get the same sound and feeling on the recorder. However I was unsure if it was possible to catch that incessant trance-like flow, simply because of the need to breathe. When I tried to achieve this idea through circular breathing, I felt that I had come close to the sound I wanted. So while I have titled this piece after the musical genre, I am not following the style strictly, but attempting to recreate the feeling that so captivated me when I heard it. Another element sometimes used in this style of music is the drone. The middle section of this piece captures that aspect by using a sung moving drone underpinning the melody.

I like to call the music that I compose and perform Contemporary Modal Music. This is a term I acquired from Ross Daly, while working with him in Greece in 2000 and 2001. It describes contemporary music that is based in modal melodic structures, as opposed to the foundation of chord progression that underpins conventional Western music.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• frame
• drum
• recorder
• racheal
• cogan
• tony
• lewis
• blockflute
• circular
• breathing

[urckrecords]

thank you thank you thank you for posting this!!!!

[rachealcogan]

:)

thanks!

[mindeyed]

Your music is beautiful. It definetly reminds me of trance music from Africa or Morocco. Sufi Trance Recorder!

[rachealcogan]

Thank you :)

[victotronics]

Great performance. Is that a regular recorder? (Maker, type?) You're getting a very cool ethnic sound out of it.

[rachealcogan]

Thanks :)

It's a Roessler tenor in boxwood.

[bakis85]

+1

if you wanna play original kontilies you need the lyra and the lute... :D

[KostasGallios]

hhhnta mpre einai etoutana?

kontylies xwris lyra kai lagouto?

aa mpre kouzoulades!

[rachealcogan]

yep