The activities of the Institute of Greek Music Heritage extend to the promotion of research in an active way, by funding original treatises by internal or external collaborators of the Institute. The projects are the practical form of encouragement of research activity for all fields of music research by young scientists (postgraduate students, PhDcandidates, post-doctoral fellows and new scholars), sponsored by the Institute.
The aim of the Institute is to have original and expanded topics of treatises, in order to cover more and more genres of music, scientific and artistic fields, which are recorded in the electronic data bank of the Institute. The treatises are carried out in collaboration with departments and/or research laboratories of university departments, either autonomously or inter-institutionally, and are supervised by a university professor or professors, and where appropriate by mentors (artists of renowned prestige).
The Institute collaborates with the following organizations:
- Applied Music Acoustics and Oscillations Laboratory, Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Ionian University
- Athens Art Network
- Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Ionian University
- Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, NKUA
- Department of Philology, NKUA
- Department of Primary Education, University of the Aegean
- Modern History Sector, Department of History and Archaeology, University of Ioannina
- Laboratory of Cultural and Visual Studies, Department of Journalism and Mass Media, AUTH
- Laboratory of Ethnomusicology and Cultural Anthropology, Department of Music Studies, NKUA
- Laboratory of Visual Anthropology: Image, Music, Text, Department of Sociology, University of Crete
- Postgraduate Program “Sports Tourism, Event Organization, Dance” of the Physical Education and Sport Science Department, Democritus University of Thrace
TOPICS OF TREATISES
MUSIC AND HISTORY
1.The cultural heritage of Smyrna: Musical landscapes of a cosmopolitan port in the early 20th century
Summary
Smyrna, at least until its destruction, was a cosmopolitan port of the Eastern Mediterranean, an intercultural meeting point of encounters, musical exchanges and broader cultural interconnections, with a strong Greek presence. Its remarkable commercial activity contributed substantially to the social development of the region and was based on a rich mosaic of ethnicities, cultures, trends and ideas, often diverse, that came into contact and shaped what we now understand as Smyrna’s musical and dance heritage. Artistic music from the West, but also oriental amanes, church troparia (hymns), rebetika of Smyrna and Constantinople, light songs, Armenian and Jewish musical idioms, European music, as well as the Aegean musical and dance tradition, are all, as aspects of Smyrna’s everyday cultural life, explored and presented through examples and references to important genres, figures and institutions that dominated the so-called “Paris of the East” in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The study aims to provide a broad overview of the distinctive local musical and dance forms in relation to the social developments of that period, as well as of the cultural influences exerted on later artistic creation by the arrival of Asia Minor refugees in mainland and island Greece. The written treatise is accompanied by audiovisual material.
Institutional Bodies
- Laboratory of Ethnomusicology and Cultural Anthropology, Department of Music Studies, NKUA
- Athens Art Network
Research group
Research Supervisor:
Nikos Poulakis, Ph.D. in Musicology, Laboratory Teaching Staff Member, Laboratory of Ethnomusicology and Cultural Anthropology, Department of Music Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Research Collaborator:
Spyros Pratilas, PhD Candidate, Laboratory of Ethnomusicology and Cultural Anthropology, Department of Music Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Mentors:
Kyriakos Gkouventas, Babis Tsertos, Giorgos Monemvasitis
For the treatise see here.
SOCIOLOGY OF MUSIC
2. Singing Greece: Manifestations of the image of Greek people in contemporary Greek music and lyrics
Summary
The study will attempt to map and analyse the ways in which contemporary Greek song refers to Greece, Greek men and Greek women.
The study focuses on the period from the Metapolitefsi to the present day and will examine popular lyrics from different musical genres, as well as their possible visual representations in relevant video clips. Interviews with musicians commenting on the issue of Greekness in public discourse will also be taken into account. A classification by genre and creator will also be attempted, in order to better understand where references appear most frequently, in what way, and with what ideological background each time.
Central to the research is the question of whether folk song attributes different or similar qualities to Greekness compared to art song and to music with stronger Western influences, such as rock, pop and hip-hop. Particular emphasis will also be placed on cases in which the modern Greek is portrayed as a fundamentally ambivalent, problematic or even undesirable identity by specific musical genres that seek to criticise the national characteristics of the present, either in comparison with foreign ones or with those of the past.
In all examples of the musical representation of Greek identity, attention will also be given to the broader context, such as the economic crisis, political events and periods of social normality. This treatise will also include a parallel historical and musicological review of “Greekness” in post-war song up to the Metapolitefsi, using criteria that go beyond lyrics and concern the music itself, as well as the ideological positions of the creators of the period.
Institutional Bodies
- Laboratory of Cultural and Visual Studies, Department of Journalism and Mass Media, AUTH
- Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Ionian University
Research group
Research Supervisor:
Vasilis Vamvakas, Professor, Department of Journalism and Mass Media, AUTH
Research Collaborators:
Renata Dalianoudi, Associate Professor, Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Ionian University
Panagis Panagiotopoulos, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, NKUA.
Thomas Lioutas, graduate of Fine Arts, MSc in Cultural Management and Communication, AUTH
Duration
January 2026 – August 2026
MUSIC PRODUCTION AND DIGITAL MEDIA
3. Creation of a digital musical instrument with physical modelling processes, as a process of highlighting historical musical instruments
Summary
The exhibition of historical musical instruments in museums is now a global demand. The aim of the treatise is to construct a virtual musical instrument that simulates the physical original through physical modelling techniques, using input data provided by the simulation of the instrument’s mechanical behaviour using the finite element method. The virtual instrument will be playable using a MIDI keyboard within an ICT (Information and Communication Technology) application.
The phases of the project include the detection, mapping and evaluation of historical musical instruments, the application of the aforementioned physical modelling principles, and the protection of the process through a patent application.
Institutional bodies
- Applied Music Acoustics and Oscillations Laboratory, Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Ionian University
- Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, NKUA
Research group
Research Supervisor:
Dionysios Katerelos, Associate Professor, Ionian University
Research Collaborator:
Spyridon Polychronopoulos, Dr., Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, NKUA
Duration
January 2026 – June 2027
MUSIC COVERS AND INTERNET
4. Covers of folk & popular songs and their impact on internet users
Summary
The renegotiation of familiar musical forms through covers is an undeniable reality. The concept of tradition, after all, inherently involves change. Many musical groups focus their creative work on covering well-known songs from the folk and traditional music repertoire. What does each cover consist of? Is it only a different orchestration, a change in rhythm, or both?
Using online ethnographic methods, the treatise examines whether these covers are readily accepted by music audiences and how users of popular music platforms, such as YouTube, Spotify and TikTok, receive such new proposals. By studying user comments, the treatise seeks to approach the notions of nostalgia and “musical familiarity”, as well as the way in which these are reinforced through covers of such musical themes.
It also investigates whether the covers function in the same way as the corresponding folk and traditional songs on which they are based, or whether the changes they introduce disrupt “continuity” and create cracks in the sense of reminiscence and longing.
Institutional bodies
- Department of Primary Education, University of the Aegean
- Department of Philology, NKUA
Research group
Research Supervisor:
Giorgos Katsadoros, Professor of Folklore, Department of Primary Education, University of the Aegean
Research Collaborators:
Aphrodite-Lidia Nounanaki, Doctor of Folklore, NKUA
For the treatise see here.
MUSIC AND DIGITAL FOLKLORE
5. Music and text in electronic orality. The case of the electronic lament in Crete
Summary
This treatise examines the electronic lament in Crete as a new form of electronic orality and public expression of pain, with or without music, mediated by modern technology and social media, in relation to traditional laments.
Crete has always displayed cultural particularities that make it a fertile field of research in terms of music, dance and poetry. Previous research related to laments and death rituals has identified a new hybrid form of ritual mourning: the electronic lament, which is created and shared through social media. The electronic lament appears to carry the traditional elements of laments, as identified and recorded in the island’s traditional society, into an entirely new context, one that shapes new regularities and new boundaries.
The emergence of electronic laments is often accompanied by an attempt to express pain musically. This gives rise to songs and mantinades (Cretan rhyming verses) that are triggered, just like the lament itself, by the deeply experienced feeling of pain, and are expressed through technology.
Institutional bodies
- Laboratory of Visual Anthropology: Image, Music, Text, Department of Sociology, University of Crete
- Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Ionian University
Research group
Research Supervisor:
Aris Tsantiropoulos, Associate Professor of Social Anthropology, Department of Sociology, University of Crete
Research Collaborator:
Angeliki Lyginou, PhD candidate, Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Ionian University
For the treatise see here.
MUSIC, THEATER AND HISTORY
6. Satire in ‘plaster’: Covers of popular songs and censorship practices in Revues during the seven-year Junta 1967-1974
Summary
This treatise attempts to record the ways in which the writers of revue performances sought, during the dictatorship of the colonels, 1967–1974, to overcome the suffocating framework imposed by the regime’s censorship mechanisms and to carry out, as far as possible, a broader critique of domestic political life, social transformations and international developments.
The main body of the study consists of the texts of the revues of the period, while emphasis is placed on the satirical adaptation of popular songs by the writers of the theatrical texts. At the same time, the treatise examines the censorship practices of the regime, which aimed to limit or eliminate the critical aspects of adapted songs or theatrical dialogues, the procedures for licensing theatrical works, the weaknesses and gaps of the censorship mechanisms, as well as the consequences for creators when they ignored the relevant guidelines.
Finally, the study also focuses on the impact of this particular genre on the formation of a kind of psychological and intellectual resistance among the public against the dictatorship. The writing of the research is based on the use of unpublished archival material from state agencies, the texts of revues, the recollections of protagonists and press publications.
Institutional bodies
- Modern History Sector, Department of History and Archaeology, University of Ioannina
Research group
Research Supervisor:
Lambros Flitouris, Associate Professor, Department of History and Archaeology, University of Ioannina
Research Collaborator:
Grigoris Kolydas, PhD, Department of History and Archaeology, University of Ioannina
For the treatise see here
MUSIC (AND) ETHNOGRAPHY
7. The music and dance tradition of the Sarakatsani of Bulgaria
Summary
The Sarakatsani, as nomadic livestock farmers, lived in the mountains during the summer and in the plains during the winter, scattered throughout mainland Greece. The cradle of the Sarakatsani was the mountain range of central and southern Pindus and Roumeli, with Agrafa as its centre.
The first displacement of the Sarakatsani took place during the Ottoman occupation in three phases. The first movement occurred after the revolt of Dionysios Skylosophos in Epirus in 1611, towards eastern Epirus. The second movement took place in 1665, during the persecution of the Sarakatsani by the Turks, from the Sakaretsi and Agrafa region towards Thessaly and up to Mount Olympus. The major movement of the Sarakatsani took place during the years of Ali Pasha, from 1788 to 1821, during his wars against the Souliotes and Katsantonis, as well as during the years of the Greek Revolution. At that time, the Sarakatsani moved northwards to Macedonia, Serbia, Thrace, Turkey and Bulgaria.
As far as the territory of Bulgaria is concerned, the main centres where the Sarakatsani cultural ethnic group was present were located in the regions of Stanke Dimitrov, Samokov, Berkovitsa, Vratsa, Karlovo, Kazanlak, Shipka, Karnobat, Maglizh, Kotel and Sliven.
The aim of the research is to record the musical and dance tradition of the Sarakatsani of Bulgaria in the province of Sliven. More specifically, the research aims to document the music, Greek-language songs and dances of this particular cultural ethnic group. Data collection will be carried out through interviews with permanent residents of the area, who are distinguished by the increased validity and reliability of the information they provide, as well as through field recordings during musical and dance events, such as celebrations and festivals. A final report and digitised material will be delivered.
Institutional bodies
- Postgraduate Program “Sports Tourism, Event Organization, Dance” of the Physical Education and Sport Science Department, Democritus University of Thrace
Research group
Research Supervisor:
Dimitrios Goulimaris, Professor at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science, Democritus University of Thrace
Research Collaborators:
Argyrios Bistas, Graduate student at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science, Democritus University of Thrace
Vasilis Serbezis, Retired Associate Professor Faculty of Physical Education and Sport Science, Democritus University of Thrace
Collaborators:
Christos Christof, president of the Sarakatsani Association of Bulgaria
Elena Kozarova, dance teacher of the Sarakatsani Association of Bulgaria
Dimitris Kyriakou, researcher of the Sarakatsani of Bulgaria
song genre: traditional
ethno-cultural group: Sarakatsani
geo-cultural region: Sliven, Bulgaria
material type: primary
method of recording: field research, amateur recording equipment
language: Greek, idiomatic song
categorization: unaccompanied / “a cappella”
lemma: Sarakatsani
material links: youtube
keywords: kleftiko, kathistiko, unaccompanied, love songs, Sarakatsani, Sarakatsanoi, Bulgaria, Sliven, national identity, dance, music
Bibliography:
Campbell, J. K. (1964). Honour, family and patronage: A study of institutions and moral values in a Greek mountain community. Oxford University Press.
Rice, T. (1994). May it fill your soul: Experiencing Bulgarian music. University of Chicago Press.
Bohlman, P. V. (2004). The music of European nationalism: Cultural identity and modern history. ABC-CLIO.
Kaufman, N. (2001). Bulgarian ethnomusicology. Ethnologie Française, 31(2), 219–227.
Mantjoukas, C. (2008). Sarakatsanaioi tis Fthiotidas: I diamorfosi tis mousikochoreftikis taftotitas ton neon ilikias 10–15 eton se schesi me tis proigoumenes genies (Doctoral dissertation, Panteion University). National Archive of PhD Theses. https://www.didaktorika.gr/eadd/handle/10442/24622
Tsaousis, V. (1998). Tragoudia – Choroi – Ethima ton Sarakatsanon. Laografiko Mouseio Sarakatsanon Serron.
Tyrovola, V. (2001). O ellinikos paradosiakos choros: Istorikes kai ethnografikes proseggiseis. Ellinika Grammata.
Tyrovola, V. (2003). I mousiko-choreftiki paradosi ton Sarakatsanon, Spoudes ston Elliniko Politismo, ELP 40 “Technes II: Episkopisi Ellinikis Mousikis kai Chorou”, t. G’ kai E’.
Tyrovola, V., & Koutsouba, M. (2006). Structural analysis and typology of Greek traditional dance. Journal of Dance Research, 24(2), 34–49.
Katsarova, R. (1951). Dances of Bulgaria. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Katsarova, R. (1958). Bulgarian folk dances. Sofia Press.
Kaufman, N. (2001). Bulgarian ethnomusicology. Ethnologie Française, 31(2), 219–227. https://shs.cairn.info/journal-ethnologie-francaise-2001-2-page-219?lang=en
Karastathis, A. (Ed.). Praktika synedrion Sarakatsanaion. Panellinia Omospondia Syllogon.
Serbezis, V. (2004). Paradosiakos choros kai politismiki taftotita. Gutenberg.
Kovatcheva, D. I. (2011). La comunidad karakatchani en Bulgaria: Localización, identidad y costumbres. European Society of Modern Greek Studies. Available here.
Bulgarian National Radio (2010). Sarakatsani in Bulgaria – Life. https://bnr.bg/en/post/100120238/
Audiovisual Material
MUSIC SOCIOLOGY AND DIGITAL ARTS
8. The image of Greece through the music of video games
Summary
A large-scale online study currently in progress has revealed that, between 1979 and 2023, more than one thousand video games released worldwide drew inspiration from Greek history, mythology and its characters. A documentation and analysis of the musical background of these games could reveal whether their creators chose ancient or archaic-sounding melodies to accompany them, recognisable themes referring to ancient or modern Greek culture, or more commercial rhythms and melodies from the global music scene.
Another interesting parameter is the examination of the genre and style of music selected for video games with an ancient Greek theme, as well as whether the mediation of technology plays a role in the choice of musical style.
Institutional Bodies
- Department of Primary Education, University of the Aegean
Research group
Research Supervisor
Giorgos Katsadoros, Professor of Folklore, Department of Primary Education, University of the Aegean
Research Collaborator
Evangelos Valasiadis, PhD in Folklore, University of the Aegean
Renata Dalianoudi, Associate Professor, Ionian University (scientific advisor on a voluntary basis)
For the treatise see here
ETHNOMUSICOLOGY AND PERFORMING ARTS
9. The folk song as a form of “spectacle”
Summary
Folk song acquires meaning through its performances; it cannot be viewed separately from the events in which it takes place. Through these events, it is understood as a “collective repository” from which non-urban, communal and agro-pastoral communities draw and define their cultural identity.
The “primary” material drawn from folk events is, on the one hand, embedded in its natural space and time and, on the other, inspires and structures musical-theatrical performances, as well as contemporary interpretations and performances. As a result, new “cultural frameworks” are created, in which folk song enters into dialogue with the performing arts.
Based on the theoretical data available so far, this research proposes the concept of “microtopio performance”, through which it examines the position and integration of folk song in contexts of “secondary” reading, teaching, interpretation and performance: from agro-pastoral communities to contemporary urban, multicultural and artistic environments.
As a programme of autoethnographic research, it combines applied ethnomusicology and cultural anthropology with the performing arts, through interdisciplinary research and embodied and vocal performance practices, where the self, the body and the voice function as performance tools within the artistic field under investigation. It also functions as an “umbrella” term in the Anthropology of Art and the Performing Arts for the writer’s educational and artistic actions that take the form of an on-stage “spectacle”.
Finally, with its present orientation and content, the research aims at a creative reflection on the relationship between theoretical and practice-based artistic research, as well as at defining a creative future for this ethnomusicological material within the field of the performing arts, in the context of its contemporary management, promotion and production as a cultural asset.
Institutional bodies
- Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Ionian University
Research group
Research Supervisor
Renata Dalianoudi, Associate Professor, Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Ionian University (on a voluntary basis)
Research Collaborator:
Panagiotis Sdoukos, PhD Candidate Department of Audio and Visual Arts, Ionian University, Teacher & Performer
Duration
May 2026 – October 2026
MUSIC AND CINEMA
10. Greek composers on the big screen: The history, present and prospects for promoting Greek film music
Summary
Greek cinema, from the beginning of its historical course to the present day, constitutes a timeless and deeply rooted cultural phenomenon, intertwined with key moments and prominent figures of Greek artistic production. Within this context, music, although a fundamental dimension of the cinematic experience and the audiovisual narrative, has often been regarded as an auxiliary or supporting element. This has led to a partial underestimation of its aesthetic, narrative and semiotic function. A systematic approach to the historical development of Greek film music is therefore scientifically necessary, both as an artistic practice and as evidence of the socio-cultural context within which it is produced and reproduced.
The present study seeks to map the field by highlighting, through the in-depth analysis of films and the use of primary material, the work of selected Greek composers who have been active in the field from the post-war years to the present day. At the same time, it explores aspects of music and film production that remain largely under-researched, such as the connection between film music, live performance and discography, the impact of technological innovations on composition and recording, interdisciplinary and intercultural exchanges between various musical idioms, as well as the reception of film music by audiences, both inside and outside cinemas.
In addition, the research draws on interviews with Greek film music creators, with the aim of highlighting the historical, artistic and cultural significance of their work.
Institutional bodies
- Laboratory of Ethnomusicology and Cultural Anthropology, Department of Music Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
- Athens Art Network
Research group
Research Supervisor
Nikos Poulakis, Ph.D. in Musicology, Laboratory Teaching Staff Member, Laboratory of Ethnomusicology and Cultural Anthropology, Department of Music Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Research Collaborator:
Zoe Tzamtzi, PhD Candidate, Laboratory of Ethnomusicology and Cultural Anthropology, Department of Music Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
For the treatise see here