Syrta are a form of music and dance from the island of Crete in Greece. These four consist of two old anonymous traditional melodies called Sfakianos and Gavalohorianos and two that I have composed. I have arranged them as a series for three recorders: treble, tenor and bass. I have kept the main melody in the treble. In the contexts I have heard and participated in this style of music in Crete these melodies are often very simple; the sections are repeated many times, often in groups of three and the instrumentalists and singer/s will improvise and embellish on the melodies within the style. A series of Syrta are often strung together and can last as long as is appropriate in the context of the performance and the musicians' preferences. In this arrangement each section is usually repeated three times, and there are sometimes small ornamental differences in each repetition. If you can find someone familiar with the style, or willing to learn, it would be nice to have a percussion instrument like a daf or bendir with these Syrta.

Syrta can be played purely instrumentally, but usually there will be words that go with them, as in the two traditional ones presented here. Sometimes, particularly in the style of music and dance called Kontilies, the words will be improvised at the time using existing poetic forms. This style of music can easily be adapted for many types of instruments. I was fortunate to play this type of music many times in Crete and around the rest of Greece, and the instruments that played with the ensemble were usually the lyra (an upright, bowed string instrument), laouto (a long necked, fretted, plucked string instrument with a round belly), bendir (a round frame drum), saz (another long necked, plucked string instrument), and the oud (a long necked, fretless, plucked string instrument). However you can also hear this music played with, for example, violins and guitar. Historically, Syrta have been performed on the sfirohabiolo, a traditional wind instrument similar to a recorder, and which can be heard in some recordings of Cretan music. This is a tradition that has almost disappeared by the twenty-first century.

In the notes accompanying this volume Racheal Cogan describes Syrta as "a form of music and dance from the island of Crete in Greece." Four pieces are presented in this new publication; the first and last are original compositions by Cogan, the central two, Gavalohorianos and Sfakianos, are her arrangements of anonymous, traditional melodies. We are told that Syrta "can be played purely instrumentally, but usually there will be words that go with them, as in the two traditional ones presented here." Although without a translation the Greek text would mean little to us, the absence of any words precludes a vocal performance of these attractive pieces.

These melodies, always presented in the alto, are quite simple, based upon small repeated fragments. Each of the parts features a variety of ornamentation, for which the arranger gives some performance direction. However, a fuller explanation of all the signs used would be appreciated by those without the breadth of experience necessary to interpret these pieces stylistically. The harmonies make extended use of octaves and 5ths giving an 'open' sound quality which, I'm sure, is quite in keeping with the 'folk' style of the melodies themselves. A well produced volume of some highly interesting and appealing music.