Zitsa and Kalamas River: Lord Byron and Kitsos Harisiadis (Θεογέφυρο- Θεοκλαρίνο)

"The most beautiful Situation... I ever beheld" (Lord Byron)

Verses from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage

 Yiassou, Kitso!

Kalamas River, near Lithino

Kitsos Harisiadis, Skaros

See also, Theogefiro Bridge of God

YouTube, Theogefiro

Having once again been completely carried away by the traditional Epirot music of Zagori and Pogoni (and being somewhat out of sync with our diaries - or befuddled by the tsipouro?), Christopher King and I arrived at Ioannina airport a whole day early!

The next day we packed all over again, and decided to make an excursion to Zitsa and to the Kalamos River valley. As Chris is currently working on a Harisiadis project, he wanted to see the town and places where Kitsos Harisiadis had taught himself to play the klarino (probably with guidance from Thanasis Giannopoulos); Kitsos went to Zitsa as a young apprentice metal worker (mostly working with copper). He was born around 1885 near Lake Tzaravina in Pogoni.

We couldn't find any local informants in the short time we had available; we drew a blank in the main square. We went to the monastery where Lord Byron had stayed. There were plenty of posters for the Wine Festival and of klarino players, but no one to ask about Harisiadis. If we'd had time, we would have sought out some of the older musicians based in Zitsa. Most of the musicians and record collectors to whom we spoke in Epirus considered Harisiadis to be the greatest klarino player of all time.

Harisiadis must surely have been inspired by the views from the monastery and by the River Kalamas (Lithino, and the Theogefiro rock arch, a natural bridge "made by God"), as well as by the local Zitsa wines.

I hadn't counted on the narrow mountain road which wound all the way down to the river in the Zitsa-Kalamos Valley.

Having arrived at the airport one day early, this time we only just made it to the airport in time for Chris to catch his flight to Athens, then on to Amsterdam and the USA. Chris's field trip has been quite a roller-coaster full of adventures. I was happy to accompany him, and the team from the New York Times, to discuss the music, to  translate and to listen to some remarkable live performances and field recording sessions in remote locations. I can't wait to hear the results.

I'm writing this back in England, after an eight hour journey (plane and train). The flight was delayed by a few minutes because of stray dogs on the runway at Corfu airport. The train from Gatwick was a lot worse.

An Epirot pilgrimage indeed, not unlike Lord Byron's:

Monastic Zitza ! from thy shady brow, 

Thou small, but favour'd spot of holy ground ! 

Where'er we gaze, around, above, below, 

What rainbow tints, what magic charms are found 

Rock, river, forest, mountain, all abound.

And bluest skies that harmonise the whole : 

Beneath, the distant torrent's rushing sound 

Tells where the volumed cataract doth roll

Between those hanging rocks, that shock yet please the soul

Amidst the grove that crowns yon tufted hill,

Which, were it not for many a mountain nigh 

Rising in lofty ranks, and loftier still, 

Might well itself be deem'd of dignity,

The convent's white walls glisten fair on high :

Here dwells the caloyer, nor rude is he,

Nor niggard of his cheer ; the passer by

Is welcome still ; nor heedless will he flee

From hence, if he delight kind Nature's sheen to see.