Chronis Aidonidis
Encyclopedia
Karoti, Evros
Karoti is a village in the municipality of Didymoteicho in the northern part of the Evros Prefecture in Greece and is connected with the road connecting the GR-51/E87 and Metaxades...
, a village now belonging to Didymoteicho
Didymoteicho
Didymóteicho is a town located in the eastern part of the Evros peripheral unit of Thrace, Greece. It is the seat of the municipality of the same name. The town sits on a plain and located south east of Svilengrad, south of Edirne, Turkey and Orestiada, west of Uzunköprü, about 20 km north...
, in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. His parents were Christos and Chrysanthi Aidonidis. He learned his first songs in his hometown and was introduced into the word of traditional music by his mother and the musicians who used to play at the local fairs.
Biography
He was taught Byzantine musicByzantine music
Byzantine music is the music of the Byzantine Empire composed to Greek texts as ceremonial, festival, or church music. Greek and foreign historians agree that the ecclesiastical tones and in general the whole system of Byzantine music is closely related to the ancient Greek system...
first by his father and later by the professor Michalis Kefalokoptis. In 1950, he came to live in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
with his parents, where he completed his studies in Byzantine music at the Hellenic Conservatory
Hellenic Conservatory
The Hellenic Conservatory was founded in Athens in 1919 by the composer Manolis Kalomiris. Kalomoiris was the conservatoire's director until 1926, when he left to found the National Conservatoire. The conservatoire early on opened a number of branches throughout Athens, in a number of cities in...
with the famous teacher Theodoros Hadjitheodorou. In March of the same year, he was hired at the Sismanogleion Hospital, where he worked as an account. An important incident changed his life, when in 1953 the great folklore scientist Polydoros Papachristodoulou proposed him to participate in his radio show entitled Echoes from Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
, presenting for the first time the musical treasure of his fatherland.
Till now, Chronis Aidonidis has released many records with the most beautiful songs of northern, eastern and western Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
. He has participated in hundreds of musical events in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and abroad (America
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the former Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
). An important step of his artistic journey was his especially successful collaboration with the wella-known Greek singer George Dalaras
George Dalaras
George Dalaras , also possibly spelled as Yorgos or Giorgos Dalaras, is a Greek singer. He is of international fame and has recently been selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. He was born in Nea Kokinia, Piraeus. His father was Loukas Daralas, a singer of rebetiko.-Early...
for the release of the CD Nightingales from the Orient
Orient
The Orient means "the East." It is a traditional designation for anything that belongs to the Eastern world or the Far East, in relation to Europe. In English it is a metonym that means various parts of Asia.- Derivation :...
in March, 1990. The success would continue with one more release of the University of Crete
University of Crete
The University of Crete ' is the principal higher education institution on the island of Crete, Greece.The University of Crete, is a multi-disciplinary, research- oriented institution, located in the cities of Rethymno and Heraklion...
, in 1993: the double CD Songs and tunes from Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
.
Another important moment of his career is his collaboration with his student Nektaria Karantzi
Nektaria Karantzi
Nektaria Karantzi is a Byzantine and traditional singer from Greece.- Legal studies :Nektaria Karantzi studied law at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, and also obtained a postgraduate degree in criminal law from the University of Athens...
for the release of the double CD, When the Roads Meet, where he recorded Byzantine Ecclesiastical Hymns for the first time and the CD He was Grieved, where he recorded with his student Karantzi 40 Byzantine hymns of the Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
and a folk lament.
In 2001, he collaborated with Nikos Kypourgos for the release of a CD entitled Secrets from the Garden. During the Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
of Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
in 2004, Chronis Aidonidis addressed a warm welcome to all the guests of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, in a unique way, singing affectionately the song Welcome my friends. In 2005, he participated in the Easter television show
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
of the Helenic Television entitled "He was grieved", where he sung Byzantine hymns of the Holy Week
Holy Week
Holy Week in Christianity is the last week of Lent and the week before Easter...
and in 2006 he participated in the 6th Festival of Sacred Music in Patmos
Patmos
Patmos is a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. One of the northernmost islands of the Dodecanese complex, it has a population of 2,984 and an area of . The highest point is Profitis Ilias, 269 meters above sea level. The Municipality of Patmos, which includes the offshore islands of Arkoi ,...
, with his student and Byzantine singer Karantzi and the ecclesiastical Byzantine choir, Glorifier (led by Dimitris Verykios).
Nowadays he teaches traditional singing in Chalandri, at the Zisis Foundation and the Central Conservator in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. He is artistic director of the Center for the study of the Musical Tradition of Thrace, Asia Minor and Euxeinos Pontos and also the creator and inspirer of the Workshop for Traditional Music in Alexandroupoli
Alexandroupoli
Alexandroupoli , is a city of Greece and the capital of the Evros peripheral unit in Thrace. Named after King Alexander, it is an important port and commercial center of northeastern Greece.-Name:...
. He is also one of the founders of the Archive of Greek Music.