The Cretan lyra (Greek: Κρητική λύρα) is a musical instrument shaped like a pear and has three strings. It is a traditional instrument used in the music of Crete and other islands in the Dodecanese and Aegean Sea in Greece. The Cretan lyra is the most well-known version of the medieval Byzantine lyra, which influenced the development of many European bowed instruments.

Playing style

The lyra is held upright on the player's lap, similar to a small violin, not held under the chin like a regular violin. For right-handed players, the right hand holds the bow. The left hand stops the strings by pressing the fingernails against the side of the string, not by pressing the string against the fingerboard. This creates a different sound compared to a violin. Older lyras, called lyrakis, have one string that is not usually played with fingers. This string acts as a drone, producing a steady note while music is played on the other two strings.

Origins

The Cretan lyra is closely connected to the bowed Byzantine lyra, which is the ancestor of many European bowed instruments. In the 9th century, a Persian geographer named Ibn Khurradadhbih (who died in 911) wrote about musical instruments and listed the lyra as a common instrument used by the Byzantines. He also mentioned other instruments, such as the urghun (an organ), the shilyani (likely a harp or lyre), and the salandj (likely a bagpipe) (Margaret J. Kartomi, 1990).

The Byzantine lyra spread across Europe, though the exact changes it underwent are not clear. One example is the Italian lira da braccio, a bowed instrument from the 15th century that may have been the early version of the modern violin. Bowed instruments similar to the Cretan lyra and direct descendants of the Byzantine lyra have been played in many regions that were once part of the Byzantine Empire until today, with only small changes. These include the Gadulka in Bulgaria, the bowed Calabrian lira in Italy, and the Classical Kemenche (also called Armudî kemençe in Turkish and Πολίτικη λύρα in Greek) in Istanbul, Turkey.

There are four different ideas about when the bowed instrument was introduced to Crete:

• The Byzantine lyra was brought to Crete after 961 AD, when the island was taken back from the Arabs by the Byzantine Empire under Nikephoros Phokas. At that time, noble families from Constantinople were sent to Crete to help increase the Greek population and bring Byzantine traditions from Constantinople.
• The lyra was brought to Crete from the islands of the Dodecanese and entered the island through the eastern town of Sitia, which is near Kassos and Karpathos. This likely happened by the 12th century.
• The lyra was slowly introduced to Crete as part of Byzantine music and traditions, similar to how it was introduced in other areas, such as the lira da braccio and Calabrian lira in Italy and the Gadulka in Bulgaria.

Over time, especially during Crete’s Venetian period, the violin had a strong influence on Cretan music. This influence changed the lyra’s music, tuning, structure, musical style, and how it was played.

Types

There are three main types of Cretan lyras:

• The lyraki (Greek: λυράκι), a small lyra that closely resembles the Byzantine lyra. It is used only for playing dances (Anoyanakis, 1976).
• The vrontolyra (Greek: βροντόλυρα), which produces a very strong sound and is best suited for accompanying songs.
• The common lyra (Greek: λύρα κοινή), the most popular type today. It was created by combining features of the lyraki and the violin.

The violin influenced the Cretan lyra, leading to changes in the older lyraki. These changes included new ways of tuning the instrument, how it is played, and the types of songs performed. In 1920, local instrument makers created the viololyra to give the old Byzantine lyraki the sound and technical abilities of the violin. Twenty years later, a new mix of the lyraki and violin led to the development of the common lyra. Other types include the four-stringed lyra.

In 1990, Ross Daly designed a new kind of Cretan lyra. This instrument combined elements of the lyraki, the Byzantine lyra, and the Indian sarangi (a type of musical instrument from India). The result was a lyra with three main strings that are 29 cm long (the same as a standard Cretan lyra) and 18 sympathetic strings that vibrate along with the main strings on bridges styled after the Indian jawari. Later, the number of sympathetic strings was increased to 22.

Construction

The Lyra has a body (kafka, or kafki) with a pear-shaped soundboard (kapaki), or one that is oval in shape, with two small semi-circular soundholes. The body and neck are made from a single piece of aged wood (at least 10 years old). Traditionally, the wood came from trees in Crete, such as walnut, mulberry, and asfadamos, the local plane tree; now, it is mostly imported.

The soundboard is also carved with a shallower curve and is usually made of softwood with straight grain. Traditionally, it was made from old wooden beams of buildings (katrani), and ideally from 300-year-old beams from Venetian ruins. In the past, the strings were made of animal gut, and the bow (doxari) was made of horse-tail hair. The bow’s arc usually had a series of spherical bells, gerakokoudouna (hawk bells), to help keep the rhythm while the bow moved. Today, most lyras are played with violin bows.

In 2006, a method was reported to study how the top plates of the Cretan lyre vibrate and their characteristics.

Tuning

The old version of the Cretan lyra, also called the lyraki, is tuned to 5-1-4. This means the middle string has the lowest pitch, and the other two strings are tuned a fourth and a fifth higher than the middle string. The musician plays the melody on the first and third strings, while the second string is used as a drone, which is a continuous sound. This style is similar to Byzantine lyres from around 1190 AD discovered in Novgorod (Anthony Baines, 1992).

The modern lyra, based on Stagakis' design, is tuned in fifths (to G-d-a'), like the lowest three strings of a violin. It does not have a drone string. All strings can be used to play the melody. Some lyras have a fourth string at the top, tuned to "e" (E5), to extend the range of notes.

• Common lyra
• Lyraki

In use

The Cretan lyra is still used by many people in Crete, as described in the section about the Music of Crete. It is also played in some islands of the Dodecanese and the Aegean Sea area, as well as in some areas in northern Greece.

Artists

Well-known Cretan Lyra performers include Andreas Rodinos, Thanassis Skordalos, Kostas Mountakis, Kareklas, Nikos Xilouris, Leonidas Klados, Ross Daly, Michalis Kallergis, Nikos Gonianakis, Kelly Thoma, Zacharias Spyridakis, Paris Perysinakis, Dimitris Vakakis, Stelios Petrakis, Vassilis Skoulas, Yiorgos Kaloudis, and Psarantonis. Today in Rhodes, Yiannis Kladakis is known for bringing back to life this type of lyra on the island. Georgia Dagaki is known for playing the instrument at the current performances of rock singer Eric Burdon. Yiorgos Kaloudis has played Johan Sebastian Bach's music originally written for the cello on the Cretan Lyra.

Gallery

• Cretan Lyra – older version (lyraki).
• Cretan Lyra – common type after 1940.
• Bow with round bells (gerakokoudouna).
• Cretan Lyra with sympathetic strings, designed by Ross Daly.
• Kareklas (born 1893, died 1980).
• Psarantonis (born 1939).