Cigdem Aslan performs Songs Of Smyrna at the National Centre for Early Music, York, tomorrow at 7.30pm.
Cigdem, pronounced Cheedem, is a rising star in the revival of rebetiko, the bittersweet, devil-may-care songs of an exiled underclass, first sung in the hash dens and café-amans of Athens, Piraeus and Istanbul in the 1920s.
These blues of the Aegean have strong roots in the port of Smyrna/Izmir, emerging as a culture shared by Greeks and Turks that developed in mainland Greece following forced population exchanges.
Rebetiko was outlawed in both countries for its association with the underworld and for being too oriental in outlook. Now, however, it rises again through the voice of Cigdem Aslan and her musicians, guitarist Pavlos Melas, bouzouki player Pavlos Carvalho and violinist Cahit Bayla.
Tickets for tomorrow’s concert cost £13, concessions £11, students £5, on 01904 658338 or online at ncem.co.uk
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