On Sunday 9th April a concert was staged at the Archaeological Museum in Kissamos. The first of its kind, it featured violinist Maria Manousaki, playing on her own and accompanied only by an electronic rhythm section.

The concert was intended as a multi-cultural event, with the audience enjoying not only the music but also the exhibits, which range from Minoan finds from Nopigia, through objects following the development of Polyrrinia and Falassarna in the Hellenistic period, to finds in the Kissamos area, mostly from the Roman period. Housed in a Venetian-Turkish monument, the museum is arranged on two floors, with the early items (statuary, amphorae, etc) in a series of small rooms on the ground floor, and an open area on the first floor which is dominated by two large Roman mosaics.

The concert was an intimate affair, with an enthusiastic and quietly-behaved audience – an opportunity to appreciate the player’s emotion and purity of tone, which tend to be masked amid the hubbub of the club-like settings in which many of her performances take place. The meaning of the notice issued by the municipality of Kissamos, which had said “cushions are welcome”, became apparent on the night, as there were hardly any seats, so the audience had to either stand or sit on the floor, a few wooden benches being found later for the benefit of the old and infirm.

The first part of the concert took place in one of the small rooms on the ground floor. The artist welcomed her audience with characteristic informality, inviting them to wander along the exhibits, or sing along as they felt inclined. In the event everyone stayed with the music.

There were many familiar tunes: Greek popular songs, traditional Cretan rhythms and some songs from the international pop repertoire. In each, Maria Manousaki skillfully interwove her own improvisations with electronic rhythms, natural sounds such the sea and wind, sampled sounds and voice tracks. While people hummed many of the familiar tunes, it was her rendering of Mikis Theodorakis’s “An Thymitheis To Oneiro Mou” (“If you remember my dream”) that really had them singing along. With English words, the piece became popular as The Honeymoon Song and was once performed by the Beatles on BBC Radio in the 60s.

After a short interval, audience and performer moved to the first floor for the second half of the concert, the artist switching after some time to an electric violin and finishing up with a piece which she said was experimental, since she had only heard it for the first time that day.

Thanking her listeners for being a lovely audience, Maria Manousaki spoke of her future plans. Like many others, she said, she is keen to move Cretan tourism on from the simple “Zorba’s beach” clichés, and let visitors know of the breadth of cultural experience which is available on the island. Two events which she will be involved in this year are an International Women’s Festival in Chania on 15th-16th July, and the Vlatos Jazz festival, which takes place through the summer in a small church in the village of Vlatos some 20 km south of Kissamos. There she will be appearing in the Felix Shrak trio on 6th August.