Four Dances from the Hellenic Islands for 2 woodwinds and string quartet or string orchestra

Folk music flourished throughout the history of the Hellenic world. People wanted to express their feelings, hopes, aspirations, and the pains of everyday life through singing. The various songs were influenced by rhythmic and melodic flavors depending on location. In continental Greece, rhythms based in 7/8, 5/8, or 3/4 and modal scales are predominant. In the islands, the music is mostly tonal with 2/4 as the basic rhythm.

The latter is the case in the present work, Four Dances from the Hellenic Islands. The tunes are very popular in Greece and the composer offers a version for two woodwinds (flutes, oboes, or clarinets) and string quartet or string orchestra. String bass doubles the cello part in the string orchestra rendition.