“She often used to see dreams that frightened her, as if she was a jasmine in the middle of a war” (lyrics: Kostas Fasoulas music: Marios Tokas). The interview to In-On magazine of the gifted Anogeian Cretan music composer and singer Vassilis Skoulas at the mountainous resort of “Delina” at Anogeia in Rethymnon, Crete, started with the above lyrics.
At the traditional kafeneio (coffee shop) of the resort, at the peaceful time of sunset, Vassilis Skoulas unfolded his life in front of Demetra Galonaki’s eyes in a soft voice respecting, the sounds of nature.” I was born on 3rd February, 1946 in Anogeia, Rethymnon, Crete . I was the eighth of the nine children of my family. My father kept a traditional kafeneio in Anogeia, a place where people used to meet, have fun and create. We are close relatives to Xilouris brothers.
“My father bought me my first lyre when I was seven, he continued, but it was my grandfather who initiated me into the delights of Cretan music. Very soon, even though a primary school pupil, I composed my first melodies. At the age of eleven, I played the lyre for the first time during school sports. In 1958, when I finished primary school, I performed for the first time with the help of live orchestra at a wedding. I used to perform as a lyre-player at Herakleion region and soon I became known all over Crete not only for the Cretan songs but also for the European ones. When I was discharged from the army I started playing Cretan music at Herakleion. However, I would like to mention that I love playing the mandolin, as well”. He described the years of his military service briefly since according to his words ‘’he had a rough time during his service at 22 EMA in Thessaloniki because his general was one of the most important people of the junta. Concerning the night of 21st April, he pointed out that’’ he was at Goudi on that dreadful night’’. Just the day before, on April 20th, Pattakos and Makarezos made a speech “about the ideals of the nation and how the communists and especially Andreas Papandreou put it in danger”. On 21st April they imprisoned old Georgios Papandreou, Panagiotis Kanelopoulos, Georgios Mavros along with other political leaders.
I n 1970, when Vassilis Skoulas finished his military service, he entered the music industry. In 1971 he got married to his first wife at Ohio, U.S.A. He was awarded a “gold record” in 1977 and he worked with Giannis Markopoulos in 1980. In 1981, he had two job offers; either to work for Smaroula Yiouli or to participate in the performance “Kafeneion Hellas”. He chose the latter and worked with Giannis Koutras, Lizeta Nikolaou, Mimis Fotopoulos and Aphrodite Manou. Concerning his cooperation with Mimis Fotopoulos he recalled that he was not only a talented actor but also a gifted painter. Actually, he said that Mimis Fotopoulos was called ‘’the painter with the stamp’’ because he was painting using pieces of stamps. He continued by showing to the reporter a portrait of his father painted by Mimis Fotopoulos.
Since 1982, Vassilis Skoulas focused on Cretan and folk music. His sensual voice travelled all over the world offering unforgettable moments to Greek and International audiences. A special concert was given this summer when he was invited to Switzerland to sing for the Swiss Philhellenic Association, an audience that appreciates Cretan music. Some of his best-known musical pieces are: “10 songs accompanied by mandolin” entitled “Dewdrops”, “Wild Birds” (lyrics: Kostas Fasoulas, music: Giannis Nikolaou), ‘’The Root of Fire’, in which Manolis Lidakis participates in a traditional song, “Aeolia” by Michalis Nikoloudis, lyrics: Paris Nitsos, “The Sad Hermit” (lyrics: Nikiforos Vrettakos, music: Panayiotis Konstantakopoulos) .In his last work, which is entitled “Wave a White Handkerchief”, he cooperated with Marios Tokas while Pantelis Thalassinos and Maria Alexiou participated.
A GIFTED LYRE AND MANDOLIN PLAYER
