During that amazing week in Crete, I was fortunate enough to see some of you literally stepping into your divine powers in front of my very eyes, and it was such a wonderful thing to be allowed to witness. Over these last few days, you have been joined by so many others here at the Pond, and to those of you who have been waiting – seemingly forever – for us to catch up with you: thank you for blazing a trail and holding the space so the journey could be a little bit easier for us all.
I just wanted to share a little bit more about the ceremony we did at the sacred spring close to the Church of the Five Virgins last Thursday, for there, we met a man who made such a huge impression on us all. The spring is in a beautiful place, and it is guarded over by a huge, ancient tree that is also considered as sacred, for it was at one time split in two by lightning, but both parts lived on and now they form what looks like a portal where the pathway enters the area in front of the spring.
It is a popular place to visit, but while our group was there and we performed our ceremony, it was quiet and peaceful. As I mentioned in my previous message, I had brought with me some water and a small piece of quartz from the area in the Norwegian mountains that my sister and I have been drawn back to again and again to doceremonies there, for I knew that all the work we had done previously was actually leading up to this moment.
I had also brought with me two prayers, one to open the sacred space and also the beautiful Maori Water Prayer that I have shared here earlier. My sister was standing in the middle holding the water bottle, and the others were sitting around in a large circle.
Just as I was about to begin reading the first prayer, I suddenly saw a man coming up towards us out from the forest on the path that led to the tree portal. He had long flowing, curly grey hair and a beard, he was dressed in green, and he carried what looked like a shepherd’s stick and he just looked like a god of the forest who had come to join our ceremony. The moment I laid eyes on him, I just knew that his presence at that ceremony was not by accident, and in this, I was proven right.
For he entered our circle and sat down and told us a little bit about himself. His name is Thomas I. Venakis, he has a PhD in Chemistry, he is retired now but for 17 years he had hiked this path every day on his way to his job as a teacher in a small village nearby.
His ancestors had lived in this area for many, many generations, and he told us that his mother had given birth to him in one of the caves that was next to the spring. He was passionate about preserving the ancient culture of Crete, especially the traditional music, and his love for Mother Nature was so immense, it was literally like the soul of Crete and Father Earth in one single person had joined us in that circle.
After I had recited the two prayers, I could hear him humming softly, so I asked him if he would like to add his voice to the ceremony, and he did, by singing the most beautiful ancient hymn I think I have ever heard in his powerful voice. It was as if we could feel the very vibration of this ancient land in his voice, and I know I was not the only one crying with pure joy and love as we all listened to him singing for us, for Mother Nature and for the sacred spirits that surrounded us.
When I had finished the ceremony by pouring the water I had brought with me into the source and by placing the white quartz inside it too, we all stood in a circle holding hands. Thomas poured some of his herb tea in a small cup, it was made with wild herbs he had picked himself, and this cup was passed from person to person in the circle, each taking one small sip.
When the circle was completed, Thomas filled the cup again and we sent it one more time around the circle in the opposite direction. I suddenly realised that we were all literally drinking in the very essence of this land, suspended in water that had been blessed during this ceremony, and it made it all come together in such a simple and yet profound way.
As we stood there, a young French family came down to the spring, and their oldest son came straight over to our circle. He peered at us from behind the legs on one of us, and soon, he entered confidently into the very center of the circle with this huge smile on his face.
His eyes were lit up frown within by such an amazing light, and as one of the others said “look, that is the New World standing here amongst us.” Soon, his mother joined him in the circle, carrying an infant in her arms, while her husband walked around that sacred tree.
I looked at this joy-filled family and I looked at Thomas and I just knew that they were all the true embodiment of the New World. This little family just WAS the light, while Thomas was the representative of all of the ancient cultures and knowledge that this land has accumulated over the centuries, the “hidden treasures” TheCCs have talked about that now will come out into the open again.
After we had finished, Thomas invited us all back to his house, and there, he gave us a taste of the bounty of the land. For he had everything there from his own garden, fruits, vegetables, flowers and seeds, herbs for tea and home made raki with honey and thyme, and his generosity knew no bounds.
He WAS the New World, one that has been waiting for this very moment to arrive, for in us, he has found others who can help his message to come out into the world. Both the treasure trove of Cretan music that he has kept alive, but also his knowledge about old varieties of different vegetables and fruits that others have forgotten about.
In addition, he is also a trained scientist that has such a deep connection to Mother Earth, I am certain that he will in one way or the other play an important part in bringing together the old and the new, the science and the spirituality, across borders and across age groups.
And he is just one of the many, many enlightened souls out there, all of them getting ready to do what we all will be called to do: to step fully into our powers and start to come together to share our knowledge and our passions, so that we together can build the New World.
And as my sister pointed out, his name was just perfect, for he was not the “doubting Thomas” in the Bible, he was the Thomas that cleared away any doubt any of us might have had about the sacred importance of this ceremony. For he told us that he had been alone home that day with no plans when he just felt the urge to walk up to that sacred spot, and his arrival in our circle could not have been more divinely timed.
It was the perfect ending to what had been a week of countless group meditations and ceremonies, all building upon the next, culminating in this blessing and activation of the waters in that sacred spring.
And when the rain and the wind and the lightning started in full the next day and lasted for hours and hours, we could all feel the powerful purification and activation that was taking place, and I had a vision of the water pouring out from that sacred spring ever faster, ever stronger, flowing over the land and down into the sea, carrying with it this message of renewal and rebirth, just like in the wonderful little song Ingrid had us all sing at the end of the ceremony.
Thank you to everyone present there for helping to make that into such a magical experience, and thank you to everyone else for “entraining” your energies with us in such a way, it did literally feel as if you were all present as well.
After a long interval on Vinylmine, two albums of songs in Greek, from a company (Metronomos) which insists on ... Helleno-Hellenic.
............................................
THOMAS JOSEPH VENAKIS: My Precious Ruby and Sapphire / Asia Minor songs [Metronomos, 2014]
With a doctorate in Chemistry, the Cretan Thomas Joseph Venakis is a singer in a tradition - an exceptional singer (tenor) in a tradition, who, having served his apprenticeship with the husband and wife Simon and Angeliki Karas (he was a member of the Demotic Song Choir of Simon Karas), now comes, many years later - today, that is - to give his own personal 'take' on a body of songs which, though generally described as being from 'Asia Minor', in reality (also) hail from the Dodecanese, the north-eastern Aegean, Pontus, and the Propontis. Venakis's interpretative approach involves, basically, knowledge, character, and virtue; features, that is, which go together and complement one another. His engagement, for years now, with this subject allows him to be as 'personal' as is necessary, so that he interprets these marvellous songs in such a way that they retain, always, their greatness. Because this is the most important thing that I can write about 'My Precious Ruby and Sapphire' ... the fact that we hear 'At the High Windows', 'From Your Sweet Eyes', 'I've Told You and I Tell You Again', and all the rest, purged of the fripperies of certain singers with 'a name but no village', (such-and-such singers), who sing 'whatever', tossing one or two traditional items into their programmes (because that's what they grew up with ... ).
I have no more to say about this wonderful CD (in any case, all the information is available in the 56-page booklet), which makes the most natural, and unexpected, listening. I should note, only, the names of the musicians who accompany Thomas Joseph Venakis on this unique journey into the past of our song. Manolis Karpathios, kanun, Stratis Psaradelis, Constantinople lyre, Periklis Papapetropoulos, Constantinople lute, and Yorghis Tzanetos, percussion.
Thomas Venakis: The Cretan who after gaining a doctorate in Chemistry and 34 years in teaching, sings the songs of Asia Minor
by Maria Kallerghi
A figure straight out of the Bible, a Cretan through and through, Thomas Venakis surprises you first of all by his appearance. You are mesmerised by the directness of his gaze, and then comes the stentorian voice to complete the impression. When he sings the songs of Asia Minor, as in the case of the first on his CD 'My Precious Ruby and Sapphire', or rizitika, he awakens emotions and speaks to human hearts. No, Thomas Venakis is not some young man who is trying to take his first steps in song and music. He is a man with a long and distinguished career in education and music.
He has had two great loves in his life - chemistry and music. And in both he has scaled the heights. In chemistry he earned his doctorate in Zurich and became involved in secondary education, where he served for 34 years, for 27 of which he was Principal at Arghyroupoli and Anogheia. The other great love of Thomas Venakis started out, as he told irakliolive, together with his earliest childhood memories, with the source of his inspiration being his father, Venosifis, whom he describes as a '“distinguished personality”. From him he learnt and made a record of rare rizitika songs when as a young boy he wandered with him among the mountains and valleys of Crete. Thomas Venakis's father sang until the very last moment of his life - at the age of 96 - but for the two last years he sang only laments, as he had lost his life's partner two years earlier.
Rare unpublished material
As Mr Venakis explains: "Music has always been in my life. So now that I'm retired, I decided to take a step beyond and publish the valuable material that I've been collecting for so many years so that it isn't lost. So the first CD with 12 Asia Minor songs, of which four are being heard for the first time, has already been published."
However, Thomas Venakis is clearly not concluding his career in music with this CD. He is in possession of rare hitherto unpublished material, consisting chiefly of rizitika songs, which he hopes to be able to publish next. Up to now, Thomas Venakis has sung frequently at events together with important artists. A memorable appearance of his greatly impressed the public of Irakleio at a concert for Mikis Theodorakis organised by Ergotelis. At the beginning of this, an unknown figure sang two rizitika songs: 'On a high mountain, on a deep-rooted rock' and 'When will the sky be clear?'
'My precious ruby and sapphire'
The CD includes 12 songs and one instrumental piece. Of these, most are from the collection of the great teacher of our national music, the late lamented Simon Karas. Four of these have appeared on a CD for the first time; in the case of one of them, the words have been written by Mr Thomas Venakis himself, and he interprets them in the appropriate manner, to a well-known Asia Minor tune.
Mr Venakis works with the following skilled musicians: Manolis Karpathios, kanun - he is also the music editor of the CD - Stratis Psaradelis, Constantinople lyre, Periklis Papapetropoulos, Constantinople lute, and Yorghis Tzanetos, percussion.
The musical pieces are an accompaniment to three outstanding texts. Two are those by two men with a profound knowledge of our Byzantine and traditional music and fine interpreters of it: (a) the Archpriest and General Episcopal Commissioner of the Metropolitan Bishopric of Kifissia, Marousi, and Oropos, Fr Christos Kyriakopoulos, and (b) the extremely prolific interpreter and professor of Greek national music Mr Constantinos Markos. The third is that of the composer and interpreter Mr Thomas Venakis.
Plans for the future
In giving advance notice of what is to follow, Mr Venakis tells us by means of the CD: "This work of music is a precursor of a volume on music which is to follow - I hope soon - entitled 'Selections from the Treasures of Greek Musical Tradition and the Songs of our People. Volume One'.
It will include three discs: the first with 12 songs, interpreted by my father, VENOSIFIS (1899 - 1995), a rare figure as a genuine Cretan with the voice of an archangel. Of the innumerable songs which he knew, some recordings of 1966 have been chosen. The second will include one of the finest frontierland songs and an outstanding variation with music and interpretation by myself. On the third disc I shall sing songs from Crete (rizitika, etc.)."
Thomas Venakis: a remarkable man, a Cretan through and through ...
by Yorghis Sifakis
There are certain people who stand out as soon as you meet them. They mesmerise you as soon as you hear them talking or singing to you. Such a man is Thomas Venakis, son of Joseph, whose forebears originated in the village of Asfendou, in the Sfakia region, and then went on to grow up and achieve wonders in what is now the deserted village of Nisi, which was where Venosifis was born and bred, before creating his own family in Zouridi.
Nisi (= 'island'), which in the 1951 census numbered 27 inhabitants, was a village surrounded by rivers (hence the name), in a natural landscape of unique beauty, near the villages of Zouridi, Kato Poros, and Moundros. It is the location of the 'kollita' gorges, which should be visited at the first opportunity. This mention of Nisi is not a matter of chance. It was in this environment that Thomas and his siblings grew up, in a family following the traditional ways. He grew to love the manners and customs of Crete, as he listened to rizitika and Erotokritos sung and recited by the fine voice of his father, Venosifis. He grew to love the Cretan diet, provided by his mother, Vasiliki. The experiences of his childhood became a way of life for him.
In studying Chemistry at the University of Patra, Thomas underwent many privations. He continued his studies with the help of scholarships and earned his doctorate at the University of Zurich. He remained abroad for six years; although he could have stayed and worked at a foreign university with a high income and the prospect of an internationally recognised career, he preferred to return to his birthplace. As he himself explains, 'the way of life of the Europeans was not what I wanted'. In Greece, he took lessons in Greek music (Byzantine and demotic) with the renowned teacher Simon Karas. In his profession, he was appointed a secondary school teacher, and served as Principal of the Anogheia Junior High School (1983 - 1996), and, for the last 17 years of his career as Principal of the Arghyroupoli Junior High School.
All these years he has lived in his peaceful and beautiful village, Zouridi, trying to keep close to nature, which he adores. He cultivates his vegetable garden, bakes his own bread, and enjoys his walks, on which he gathers herbs from the flora in which the region abounds. It is typical of him that for 17 years he went on foot - a 50-minute journey - to the school at Arghyroupoli, following the ancient footpath leading to the 'Five Maidens', and from there to the school. He seeks to live as his forebears did, maintaining mens sana in corpore sano - a sound mind in a sound body.
During the 35 years of his career in education, Thomas was the Teacher, the Minister, of former times. Now, in his retirement, he has dedicated the poem below to young people. It speaks of the moment of parting of teacher and pupil:
"Here at the parting of the ways, at this moment,
tell me, Teacher - God bless you - what you advise me.
My dear young man, take great care of your youth,
and best to take the uphill road as you pass through.
It takes much toil to reach the summit,
but when you get there, your mind will rejoice and be filled with delight.
In FREEDOM and HONOUR live your life."
Thomas Venakis is endowed with a remarkable voice; when you hear it, it awakens emotions and experiences. His interpretation brings to life the meaning of the words, it transports you as if by magic to other times, it moves you deeply. This gift has been enriched by his great love for the songs in the language of Crete. He learnt rare rizitika songs from his father, Venosifis; others he learnt in his wanderings among the villages, mountains, and gorges of western Crete. He has made a record of them in his mind and heart. This is precious material which, as he confided in me, he wishes to publish, so that it is not lost. He has, in addition, a unique skill in telling stories, which he is also thinking of publishing, in the genuine Cretan dialect.
His 'biblical' figure, with his full beard and long curling hair, lends him a special, primitive appearance, which perhaps gives rise to reservations when you first meet him. But his inner beauty and goodness surprise those who get to know him better. Civility, hospitableness, and courtesy such as his are not often met with today. I visited him in his solid old-style, stone-built house at Zouridi together with a friend we have in common - the President of the dance company Cretans' 'Draseis', Marinos Tsouknakis. We were impressed by the natural goodness of the food, his home-baked bread, and the good wine, and he captivated us with his hospitality.
On a number of occasions, Thomas Venakis has shared his talent by taking part in various performances. It will be recalled that in the concert in honour of Mikis Theodorakis last year in the Pan-Cretan Stadium, Thomas was the pleasant surprise among established artists. He stole the performance when he gave his interpretation of two rizitika songs and won the whole-hearted applause of the audience. Also, in September, at the Erophile Theatre in the Fortezza, Thomas played a leading role in the 'Aegean Tastes and Musics' event, organised by the Cretans' 'Draseis' association, the Municipality, and the Koufi Cultural Association. As a perfect host, he welcomed with his song the island associations who were the guests, but also presented songs from Crete, the islands, and Asia Minor. If you type his name into the Internet, you can admire his on-stage presence and enjoy his style.
People like Thomas Venakis are becoming rare in the present age of globalisation and consumerism. My personal view is that the state should make use of him, so that he can hand on his valuable knowledge and experience to our young people, who, unfortunately, are being led astray by the disastrous Western way of life.
In conclusion, I would like to quote the mantinada dedicated to him by the well-known lyrics-writer Stella Alexaki on the broadcast by Yorgos Vitoros with Thomas as its guest in March 2007:
"I kneel and do not raise my eyes from the ground
with religious devotion I pay homage to him.
On the same broadcast, an anonymous Chania resident commented:
"The guest's figure is like that of Zeus,
recalling antiquity and times of glory.
This is how I imagined him when a small child at school:
mild, wise, gentle, with a divine greatness."
An astonishing surprise, well done!
And what I will say is:
«Thomas can awake in us with his voice,
legends and memories of old,
every time he sings.»
* Yorghis Sifakis (Simisakoyorghis) is a lyrics-writer and producer for radio
With the voice of an archangel, his interpretation was the equivalent of a whole orchestra, and filled with primeval music the hearts of those who attended and the whole of the Pan-Cretan Stadium.
Last Monday, 19 September, we attended in our city the concert given in honour of Mikis Theodorakis organised by Ergotelis. Taking part in this concert and singing his songs were the outstanding artists Glykeria, Dimitris Basis, Sophia Papazoglou, Katerina Papoutsaki, and Panaghiotis Petrakis.
But those who attended the concert were in for a unique surprise. At the beginning, two rizitika songs - 'On a high mountain, on a deep-rooted rock' and 'When will be sky be clear?' - were sung by a hitherto unknown singer. With the voice of an archangel, his interpretation was the equivalent of a whole orchestra, and filled with primeval music the hearts of those who attended and the whole of the Pan-Cretan Stadium. His face brought to mind a figure from ancient Greece. The emotional response of the public to his performance was unprecedented in its enthusiasm. "Who is this who has enchanted people with his singing?"
The unknown singer, we discovered, is a teacher called Thomas Venakis, from the village of Zouridi, in the Rethymna area.
We would like to offer him our warmest congratulations. And we would like to congratulate those who had the idea that he should take part in the concert. Let us hope that we have more often such rare surprises from Thomas Venakis.
The unknown singer - Dr Thomas Venakis who taught at the Anogheia High School in the 1980s - who caused a sensation with the rizitika at the concert for Mikis Theodorakis
With the voice of an archangel, his interpretation was the equivalent of a whole orchestra, and filled with primeval music the hearts of those who attended and the whole of the Pan-Cretan Stadium.
Last Monday, 19 September, we attended in our city the concert given in honour of Mikis Theodorakis organised by Ergotelis. Taking part in this concert and singing his songs were the outstanding artists Glykeria, Dimitris Basis, Sophia Papazoglou, Katerina Papoutsaki, and Panaghiotis Petrakis.
But those who attended the concert were in for a unique surprise. At the beginning, two rizitika songs - 'On a high mountain, on a deep-rooted rock' and 'When will be sky be clear?' - were sung by a hitherto unknown singer. With the voice of an archangel, his interpretation was the equivalent of a whole orchestra, and filled with primeval music the hearts of those who attended and the whole of the Pan-Cretan Stadium. His face brought to mind a figure from ancient Greece. The
emotional response of the public to his performance was unprecedented in its enthusiasm.
"Who is this who has enchanted people with his singing?"
The unknown singer, we discovered, is a teacher called Thomas Venakis, from the village of Zouridi, in the Rethymna area.
We would like to offer him our warmest congratulations. And we would like to congratulate those who had the idea that he should take part in the concert. Let us hope that we have more often such rare surprises from Thomas Venakis.
PATRIS - IRAKLEIO
** NOTE: The talent of Thomas Venakis has been known for many years to the people of Anogheia. I can remember that as teacher of Chemistry to the Second Class of High School, he would devote half the time of the lesson to traditional song and the leaping dance of Anogheia. The truth is that, as we look back today, we remember more of the lesson about the tradition of our birthplace than about ... chemical formulae.
Well done, Thomas, Anogheia will always remember you and always honour you.
please contact me via e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Why do I sing Asia Minor songs when I've been born and raised in Crete? An explanation, excerpt from my CD "My Precious Ruby and Sapphire: Songs and Tunes of Asia Minor."
“From all that’s good in humankind, words alone enthrall
uplifting each and every heart, solace bringing to all
and he who knows to craft with words is someone truly blessed
‘cause tears or smiles to eyes he’ll bring, forgetting all the rest.”
Erotokritos
A few words from me to you…
Whether you know me as friends or know me not at all,
you’re all probably wondering how someone born and raised in Crete (the village of Zouridi, Rethymnon, is where I hail from)
has come to sing Asia Minor songs. If those songs were the traditional Rizitika songs of Crete, there would be no reason for you to wonder. From time to time, I have wondered myself on that issue.
My curiosity was quenched some months ago when I accidentally ran into a wise witch (she must have been a sprite, no question about it) at one of Crete’s enchanting areas.
And after inadvertently putting a spell on her through my songs in the “beauteous garden” we were sitting, in the wee hours, I asked her to talk to me about:
“my errant fate that never heard of respite or of rest
and runs amok high up above putting me to the test.”
I asked her to explain to me why my fate
“hurls me up high yet seeks below,
shows me what’s sweet, poisons me though.”
And this is what the bewitched witch told me:
“In times of yore, in glorious times,
one of Byzantium’s young nobles you were
who came and settled in celebrated Crete.
That’s where your fate and noble face come from,
therefrom your songs and your angelic voice”.
I thanked the witch whose face, mien,
and words so wise had cast a spell on me,
and right at dawn, I turned and frankly said:
Do let me go, temptress and witch of love,
do let me go, exile myself back to my own homeland.
Ibidadieu, beforeIgo, akissIgive to her,
a song I sing, worthy of such beauty
and that’s when both she and I our minds we lost…
Today, as times are changingrighthereinCrete,
I often sing songs of olden days.
And just as they came to me, I hand them down
to those whose nobleness of heart is rivaled
only by their word and actions, bidding them
to remember and honor too “the land of toil and blood”.
===========================================
MY PRECIOUS RUBY AND SAPPHIRE
Lyrics: Thomas Venakis
Date of publication: 20/12/2013
REVIEW of the MUSIC WORK from the VINYLMINE web site
two CDs with Greek songs
After a long interval on Vinylmine, two albums of songs in Greek, from a company (Metronomos) which insists on ... Helleno-Hellenic.
............................................
THOMAS JOSEPH VENAKIS: My Precious Ruby and Sapphire / Asia Minor songs [Metronomos, 2014]
With a doctorate in Chemistry, the Cretan Thomas Joseph Venakis is a singer in a tradition - an exceptional singer (tenor) in a tradition, who, having served his apprenticeship with the husband and wife Simon and Angeliki Karas (he was a member of the Demotic Song Choir of Simon Karas), now comes, many years later - today, that is - to give his own personal 'take' on a body of songs which, though generally described as being from 'Asia Minor', in reality (also) hail from the Dodecanese, the north-eastern Aegean, Pontus, and the Propontis. Venakis's interpretative approach involves, basically, knowledge, character, and virtue; features, that is, which go together and complement one another. His engagement, for years now, with this subject allows him to be as 'personal' as is necessary, so that he interprets these marvellous songs in such a way that they retain, always, their greatness. Because this is the most important thing that I can write about 'My Precious Ruby and Sapphire' ... the fact that we hear 'At the High Windows', 'From Your Sweet Eyes', 'I've Told You and I Tell You Again', and all the rest, purged of the fripperies of certain singers with 'a name but no village', (such-and-such singers), who sing 'whatever', tossing one or two traditional items into their programmes (because that's what they grew up with ... ).
I have no more to say about this wonderful CD (in any case, all the information is available in the 56-page booklet), which makes the most natural, and unexpected, listening. I should note, only, the names of the musicians who accompany Thomas Joseph Venakis on this unique journey into the past of our song. Manolis Karpathios, kanun, Stratis Psaradelis, Constantinople lyre, Periklis Papapetropoulos, Constantinople lute, and Yorghis Tzanetos, percussion.
son of Joseph, whose forebears originated in the village of Asfendou, in the Sfakia region, and then went on to grow up and achieve wonders in what is now the deserted village of Nisi, which was where Venosifis was born and bred, before creating his own family in Zouridi.
others he learnt in his wanderings among the villages, mountains, and gorges of western Crete. He has made a record of them in his mind and heart. This is precious material which, as he confided in me, he wishes to publish, so that it is not lost. He has, in addition, a unique skill in telling stories, which he is also thinking of publishing, in the genuine Cretan dialect.
