The song “Leaves of the Olive Tree” is a remix of a traditional Greek song from Skyros. One may say that this is a typical love song about unrequited love. The Greek people adorned this hymn with a wonderful melody. The lyrics describe a person who want to adorn themselves with the hypnotic leaves of the olive tree (one of the most precious trees in Greece) in order to be noticed by their beloved and drive them insane with their beauty. After this enticing image has been created in our thoughts, the song continues to speak to the loved one, informing them that God would finally intervene for the anguish they have given the singer. In the final stanza, it becomes clear that the singer is a man who stands day and night in front of his loved one’s door, suffering as if bitten by a black snake. However, having the patience to await a response.
Two Greek female singers, Evangelia Chaldaeaki and Vasiliki Palla, interpret the song. Within the confines of a project titled “Hanm Palet Project,” the recording consists of solely these two female voices. “Hanm” is the Turkish term for “woman” and refers to an ongoing endeavor to record Greek folk melodies featuring only female voices. The accompanying movie incorporates photos of an actual olive tree in an effort to match the straightforward nature of this just-voices piece.
This video provides a new perspective on the diverse Greek folk music. Greek folk music consists of numerous styles, each of which is rather distinct. This is simply a glimpse of the traditional music culture of the Greek islands. Secondly, it is an effort by two young girls to have their performance heard and have an impact on the world. It is a specific rendition of a song that has been passed down through generations. This release is, ideally, a charming recording and video that attracts attention. Check out thw song and the exclusive interview with Evangelia Chaldaeaki and Vasiliki Palla below:
1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?
EVANGELIA CHALDÆAKI: I originate from a small Greek island, called Aegina. However, my family moved from there when I was 12 years old. Thankfully, since, unlike most of the Greek islands, Aegina doesn’t have a unique folk musical culture that continues until this day… So, if I had stayed there I wouldn’t have had a big musical influence, and more importantly music education. Generally, the Greek musical culture (Byzantine and folk) was listened a lot around our family house. So, this was my first impact on it. Otherwise, I remember myself from a very young age looking around the CDs that my parents would have in their library, listening to the ones with Greek folk music and learning the lyrics by heart, as well as the origins of every song. After moving to Athens my high school years were spent in a music school, but I ended up studying Turkish Studies in the University, because I wanted to have a spherical view on the Ottoman and Turkish culture in order to study the common musical influences. This also gave me the opportunity to travel to Istanbul and get a lot of music impact from my time spent there. Sometime during my last undergraduate years, I got my Diploma on Byzantine music and started working as a teacher of Greek folk singing in group lessons, forming a choir. From that time on I started combing all of my interests -in Greek and Turkish culture and the respected musical genres and their effects on society and intercommunal relations- into my studies (MA and PhD), teaching and creative opportunities.
VASILIKI PALLA: I was born in 1994 in Athens and studied Civil Engineer in the National Technical University of Athens. My mother originates from Crete and my father from a small village in Peloponnese. From an early age, I remember my father or his mother singing Greek traditional songs deriving from their birthplace. In addition, I learned a lot about this music through the traditional Greek dance lessons I took from a very young age. So, I realized that I would like to approach music deeper and thus, I started guitar and some vocal lessons. Along the way I realized that I wanted to take up the oud, a traditional musical instrument that is used in Greek folk musical culture, as I was mesmerized by its sound. And so, for about four years now, I’m being taught oud, trying also to participate in concerts or musical performances. At the same time, I participated in a traditional singing choir with my teacher Evangelia. From there, beyond our friendship, our musical collaboration began.
2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?
EVANGELIA CHALDÆAKI: You should know that the term “formal training” is a little bit unsuitable to Greek folk music! This is a music genre that is generally being taught orally, from teacher to student. Meaning that you have to choose your teacher, or teachers, who are mostly professional musicians, and spend some time with them to learn by them. Better said, to first imitate them and later on insert your personal style to the musical interpretation! Of course, Greek folk music is also being taught in conservatories, music schools and in the Greek universities. And must I say, this instruction has grown up and become better organized in the last years. Personally, I have tried to merge all of these different training methods. I have apprenticed with teachers and I have also combined my academic interests with Greek folk music. Also, I have studied a lot on my own, and this is where I put most of my effort. And that by listening to old recordings and new performers (in recordings and lively), which is another way of training yourself into this music genre, recording myself to try new things and trying to get better when I hear something I don’t like.
VASILIKI PALLA: Not particularly. I was taught a few lessons, while I was a student in the university, but later I learned a lot through the choir. I have studied a lot on my own and oud helped me very much in this process.
3. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards the style that you represent, which is known as FOLK/TRADITIONAL FOLK?
EVANGELIA CHALDÆAKI: This is exactly what I tried to showcase in my answer to your previous question! The learning and emulation process stand strong in Greek folk musical culture. Sometimes, some of the students just progress as perfect duplicates of their teacher or teachers. But this is not a blamable situation in the specific case. It is actually a way to maintain this musical tradition alive. And thankfully, we have many musicians in Greece nowadays, some of them being replicas, others with their own style. Meaning that there is a listening experience for everyone out there! As for me, I don’t know if I could say that I have a particular singing style. Of course, I have learned from former artists and emulated them, but I tend to believe that I have developed a blend of all of these while adding a personal touch. But I also have to state here that I don’t see myself as an artist, but more as a representative of this unique musical culture. The folk music of Greece is a music genre that I have always lived with and comprehend, and my occupation with that has been a one-way street, in terms of music teaching and making, or research interests.
VASILIKI PALLA: My personal development as an artist derives from the influence that other musicians have made on me through the years. Thus, studying the oud and singing, formed an integral part of my daily life. Participating in music concerts and seminars played also a significant role in my musical progression. As Evangelia mentioned as well for herself, I don’t have a particular singing style. However folk music of Greece inspired me from an early age, especially because of my family roots.
4. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and how the ‘HANIM PALET PROJECT’ started?
EVANGELIA CHALDÆAKI: My first musical influences were the CDs and audio tapes of Domna Samiou. She was a significant researcher and performer of Greek folk music, who worked extremely for the rescue and dissemination of this music genre. Since I was a child I admired her work and considered her as a role model! Growing up I was affected, and being affected up to this date, by current musicians, individuals and groups, of Greek folk music who also put a modern or personal touch on this music, or use elements of it in their own musical compositions. These are Martha Mavroidi, Yiasemi Quartet, Katerina Papadopoulou, Sokratis Sinopoulos, Antonis Apergis, Nikos Paraoulakis, Alexandros Kapsokavadis, Polis Ensemble, Nikos Andrikos, Gerasimos Papadopoulos, Tasos Poulios, Alexandros Rizopoulos, Alenti, Kadinelia, and many others. Also, I was influenced by older performers of this music, like Roza Eskenazi, Rita Abatzi, Irini Konitopoulou, Kleoniki Tzouanaki, and of course many more.
Now for the second part of this question, I have to say that the “Hanım Palet Project” started when we wanted to create something together with Vasiliki! Vasiliki is actually a former student of my choir lessons, the Greek folk music choir that I teach for 9 years now. Along the way we became really good friends and realized that we can combine our voices, musical ideas and the need to express ourselves through music. This was accomplished under the umbrella of interpreting Greek folk music acapella, with only female voices. That is actually the meaning behind the Turkish words “hanım palet” that entitle our project, that is a musical pallet of women. So, the first song that we experimented on by remixing it and customizing it to our voices is the “Leaves of the olive tree”. We hope that in the near future we will have the opportunity to create more content for this project…
VASILIKI PALLA: Domna Samiou, Chronis Aidonidis, musicians and individuals from Epirus and North Greece have had a great effect on me and this is mainly due to my involvement with the traditional dances of Greece. As for my singing growth, the strongest influences were Martha Mavroidi, Katerina Papadopolou, Sokratis Sinopoulos, Kostas Tsarouchis. Older performers of this music Roza Eskenazi, Rita Abatzi, Irini Konitopoulou, played also a significant role.
Our friendship with Evangelia and our common love for music and tradition led us to create a group, that we will share our knowledge, creativity and vision! Our voices blend together beautifully and therefore Evangelia proposed to start our experiments only using our voices, with no instruments. So, I was excited that we found the name “Hanim Palet”, which expresses exactly what we were trying to do! Only female voices. And so, we started improvising the song “Leaves of the olive tree” an old traditional Greek song from Skyros that we both knew.
5. What do you feel are the key elements in ‘HANIM PALET PROJECT’ ‘s music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
EVANGELIA CHALDÆAKI: One of the key elements of the “Hanım Palet Project” is the fact that we try to present Greek folk music in a row way, without musical instruments, which is a way that was originally transmitted and performed. Namely for the song “Leaves of the olive tree”, there is a recording of a lady from the island of Skyros who sings it only with her voice, without any accompaniment from musical instruments. This is what we heard and got inspired from for the specific song. With that being said, the next songs of the project (hopefully there will be more!) can be of different style, and even interpreted by different female voices! This means that the sound could also change. But the general idea, that should resonate with listeners, is to demonstrate that just the voices, female voices in particular, can generate an integrated and versatile listening experience. Moreover, that the same voices can create a unique sound with lots of harmonies, and an outcome that can sound different each time that you listen to it.
VASILIKI PALLA: I believe simplicity is one of the key elements portraying the “Hanım Palet” project. Using only our voices along with other intonations of the voice we want to achieve purity…
6. Could you describe your creative process? How did you start, and went about shaping ideas into the completed song result? And how did you both collaborate in this process?
EVANGELIA CHALDÆAKI: As already being said, the whole idea was developed during the quarantine of the coronavirus pandemic. Vasiliki and I already knew that we wanted to make a musical collaboration, without yet having decided what exactly this would be. Then the choice was made, for the song “Leaves of the olive tree”. There were some initial ideas on how to remix it with just voices, which I recorded and sent to Vasiliki. Then Vasiliki recorded her own ideas on top and so forth, with both of us developing a musical dialog for the song! When the quarantine ended and the world starting operating normally again, we suggested to go to a studio and professionally record our ideas. We met some times to finally rehearse it face to face, and boom!
VASILIKI PALLA: Both Evangelia and me have had the appetite to express ourselves and create something that it would reflect us. Thus, we agreed to the song we both already knew and made some thoughts firstly. Then, we discussed a lot about our ideas and how we could shape the song and we did some recordings each separately, then together, until we came up with how we would record it! We agreed to record the song, in order to have a professional result. So, after some final rehearsals we finished it!
7. Do you think is it important for listeners of your music to understand the real story and message behind the song “Leaves of the olive tree”, or do you think everyone should be free to interpret the song in their own personal way?
EVANGELIA CHALDÆAKI: The lyrics in Greek folk music cannot always be interpreted with a sufficient meaning. Sometimes the songs consist of many distiches, combined to create one song, but not necessarily having a conceptional connection among them. So, in almost every case these songs are indeed perceived with the personal way of listeners. The song “Leaves of the olive tree” can be seen like this as well. But for others it can be understood as a love story being told. Specifically, an unfulfilled love! The lyrics speak from a person who wants to dress up with the mesmerizing leaves of the olive tree (one of Greece’s most valuable trees), in order to be seen by her/his loved one and drive them crazy with their beauty. After this appealing image been drawn in our minds, the song continues addressing to the loved person, and informs them that God will eventually interfere for the suffering that they caused to the singing person. In the last verses we understand that the singing person is a guy, who is standing day and night in front of his loved one’s door, suffering so much, as if he was bitten from a black snake. But yet, having the patience to wait for a reception…
8. Do you feel that music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?
EVANGELIA CHALDÆAKI: There were actually no great expectations behind this project! It was just something that we wanted to try and publicly share it, and that’s what we did! As for the future, I would say for both of us that it would be nice to just know that our effort has been heard.
VASILIKI PALLA: The involvement and the effort we make, gives me great fulfillment even if we didn’t have huge expectations! I hope we will keep experimenting ourselves with new songs and recordings, doing what we love and expresses us!
9. What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
EVANGELIA CHALDÆAKI: I would have to say the coronavirus pandemic. Because that was a long time when musical culture lost directness with its audience.
VASILIKI PALLA: I faced the same difficulty with Evangelia. Coronavirus pandemic froze my oud and choir lessons and remote method didn’t work well for me.
10. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
EVANGELIA CHALDÆAKI: Again, the coronavirus pandemic, in particular the quarantine during that! Because despite the fact that we were locked in our houses and we could communicate only through the internet, we managed to continue the classes of our Greek folk choir digitally. Moreover, to maintain the interest on this music, produce material, and, when the circumstances would finally allow it, meet up again in person with the same enthusiasm as before!
VASILIKI PALLA: Although the difficulties we faced in the last years, I insisted in what I love, continued oud lessons and practiced in singing, while trying not to lose any chance of exposing musically myself through concerts and music events!
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Photo credits: Evangelia Chaldæaki