Recording Studio: Cyprus changed hands numerous times prior to the medieval era, and was an important outpost of Christianity and European civilization during the Crusades. The tumultuous history of Cyprus introduced a variety of styles, including France, Turkey, and Greece. The island’s peak as a cultural capital of Europe occurred from 1359 to 1432.
During that peak, Pierre I de Lusignan made a three year tour on Europe, bringing with him an entourage of recording studio musicians that impressed Charles V in Rheims so much that he donated 80 francs in gold to them. On his return to Cyprus, Pierre I brought with him the French Ars Nova and, later, the Ars Subtilior. French musicians became well established in Cyprus, and the city of Nicosia became a capital of the Ars Subtilior style. Janus I de Lusignan saw Cypriot music evolve into its own variety of music. His daughter, Anna, brought a manuscript after her marriage to Louis, Count of Geneva, which contained 159 folios with over two hundred polyphonic compositions, both sacred and secular. The manuscript is now a part of the collection of the National Library of Turin.
Recording Studio: Cyprus Traditional music
Recording Studio Folk music on Cyprus is similar to the folk music of Greece and music of Turkey, and includes dances like the sousta, syrtos, zeibekikos, tatsia, and the karsilama suites. Note that unlike Turkey and Greece, there are suites of four karsilama dances, different for men and women, some of them other than the standard 9/8 tempo. Traditional music is modal, based on the makams. Both Turkish and Greek Cypriots use the violin as the main solo instrument, accompanied by the lute for Greek Cypriots and the ud for Turkish Cypriots. Accordion, percussion and penny whistle (pithiavli) are also used. Notable performers of Greek Cypriot folk music include singers Michael Tterlikkas and Christo Sikkis. A niche artist of traditional music is Gianni Delfinogamis, a champion of many tshiatísta (Cypriot Greek: τσιατίστα, “spite [song]”) competitions. The tsiatísta is improvised antiphonal singing akin to the Cretan mantinada, with satirical and comedic intent, usually performed between friends or relatives poking fun at each other. Greek-Cypriot folk music is most closely related to the folk music of the Aegean Islands and especially so to the music of the Dodecanese.
