Lament from Epirus: An Odyssey into Europe's Oldest Surviving Folk Music

A Grammy Award-winning producer traces his discovery of an evocative series of folk-music recordings in Istanbul with ties extending to the pre-Homeric era, music that he came to understand as a vibrant tradition reflecting the origins of songs, the role of music in spiritual healing and the stories of two long-lost virtuosos.
In a dark record shop in Istanbul, renowned collector Christopher King uncovered some of the strangest—and most hypnotic—sounds he had ever heard. The 78s were immensely moving, seeming to tap into a primal well of emotion inaccessible to contemporary music. The songs, King learned, were from Epirus, an area straddling southern Albania and northwestern Greece and boasting a folk tradition extending back to the pre-Homeric era. Lament from Epirus is an unforgettable journey into a musical obsession, which follows a unique genre back to the roots of song itself. As King hunts for traces of two long-lost virtuosos—one of whom may have committed a murder—he tells the story of the Roma people who pioneered Epirotic folk music and whose descendants continue the tradition today. His journey becomes an investigation into song and dance’s role as a means of spiritual healing—and what this may reveal about music’s original purpose.
In the tradition of Patrick Leigh Fermorand Geoff Dyer, a Grammy-winningproducer discovers a powerful andancient folk music tradition.