Polyphonic Caravan

Here you will find maps of the Stations of the Caravan

Alexandros Lampridis

Born in Athens. His origins, Polydroso village of Thesprotia. His parents being teachers, he spent his childhood in Epirus borderline villages, Vathis square and Aigaleo in Athens. He graduated from the 2^nd Athens Lyceum as flag bearer. He published the school newspaper “Anazitisi (Search)”. He graduates from the Faculty of Mineralogy of the National Technical University of Athens. He takes action within student cultural groups, he publishes the student newspaper “Epafes (Contacts)”. He participates in a filming team which produces a series of documentaries in labor places. In parallel, he studies cinema theory in a Workshop with Sotiris Dimitriou and direction at Chantzikou and Stavrakou Schools. He writes film reviews for newspapers and magazines. In 1989 he begins with his first radio emissions “Akrovates Lathraion Isorropion (Acrobats of Illegal Balances)”, “Kokkinoskoufitsa stis poleis (Red Riding Hood in the cities)” and “Contraste”. In 1990 he collaborates for the first time with Thodoros (Theo) Angelopoulos, as director assistant in his film “Meteoro Vima tou Pelargou (The Suspended Step of the Stork)”. He continues with master studies in cinema and perfection traineeships in direction in Paris, with the support of the French Government’s scholarship. During his military service, he directs for months the TV emission of the Ministry of National Defense “Me areti kai tolmi”. From 1994 to 1998 he collaborates again with Thodoros Angelopoulos in his films “To Vlemma tou Odyssea (Ulysses’ Gaze)” and “Mia aioniotita kai mia mera (Eternity and a day)”. During that period, he also collaborates with a series of other directors (Perrakis, Spyrou, Indares, Zafeiris and others). In 1996 he takes part in the foundation of “Chaonia” polyphonic group, in 1998 in the foundation of “Apiros” non-profit organization, being the President of its Board of Directors since then and until today. Since the same year, he publishes the cultural, environmental journal “Apiros”. In 1998 he directs the documentary “To telos mias aioniotitas (The end of an eternity)” which is internationally distributed. Since 1999 he takes on the artistic direction of the International Polyphonic Song Meetings which evolve into Polyphonic Caravans and he undertakes the role of their driver (kirantzis) until today. Since the same year until today, he teaches in a number of Polyphony Workshops. In 2000 he starts a new series of radio emissions, “Fotapsies tis Allis Ohthis (Lights of the other side)” for twelve years. In 2001-2003 he collaborates again with Thodoros Angelopoulos in his film “To livadi pou dakrizei (The weaping meadow)”. Since 2003, for ten years, he cooperates with Olympia International Film Festival for Children and Young People, directing the ceremonies and teaching in Direction Workshops. In 2004 he opens “Alli Ohthi (Other Side)” music stage, which he directs for ten years. In 2008 he begins with the direction of the TV emission “Fotapsies tis Allis Ohthis (Lights of the other side)” broadcasted for four years. In 2011 he collaborates for the fifth time with Thodoros Angelopoulos in his film “Alli Thalassa (The Other Sea)” until the end of the great creator. Since 2014 he mainly focuses on the direction of documentaries. Among them, in 2017, “Ta avrio tis polyphonias (The tomorrows of polyphony)”. Form 2006 to 2010 he is President of Polydrosites Filoproodos Association, from 2010 until today he is member of the Panepirotic Confederation of Greece Board of Directors. From 2010 to 2016 and from 2019 until today he is member of the Confederation’s Bureau as Curator for Culture. In 2016 he writes the documentation file for the inscription of the Epirotic Polyphonic Song on the National Inventory for Intangible Cultural Heritage. In 2018 he is proclaimed as honorary citizen of Deropoli for his offer at the Polyphonic Song and of Olympos of Karpathos for his offer at Olympos, and more widely, the living tradition. In 2019 he contributes to the completion of the proposal for the inscription of the Polyphonic Caravan on UNESCO’s Register of Good Safeguarding Practices in Intangible Cultural Heritage.

The caravans were always the way to immigration in Epirotes’ memory. Travels lasting for many weeks, having kirantzides as drivers, every day in a different region, bridging Epirus with distant places, such as Istanbul, Plovdiv, Vlachia and Vienne. Epirotes have an important longtime experience in immigration and the caravans have a special place in their history.

 It is somehow in this way that the Polyphonic Caravan also travels, every day at another place, the more and more far away, bridging not only regions but also countries. The big journey of the voices! A journey which started from the village of its pioneers, the borderline village Polydroso of Thesprotia, and gradually expanded all over borderline Epirus, Macedonia, Thessaly, Corfu, while it crossed the borders with Albania, Italy, Bulgaria.

A journey which, on the one hand, bridged all the regions of Epirus polyphony with one another, later bridged Epirus polyphony with all the other Greek and Greek-speaking genres of polyphony, crossing the more and more often the bridges with the other Balkan and Mediterranean polyphonies. A journey which started as a two-day long event, continued as a three-day long cycle of events, evolved into fifteen-days long travels every summer and, since years now, travels three and four times every year.

A multipurpose journey which contains events, meetings, celebrations, collective field-based recordings, presentations, seminars, projections, touring. A journey which, beyond the collective tracking at the natural and social places of folk polyphony, brings the polyphonic song in the cities as well, transmitting the genre to more and more young people, initiating the future “relay runners” of this oldest tradition, having already founded a promising future for a genre that was likely to get lost.

A journey which exapands with a great number of actions, with the Polyphony Workshops in different cities of Greece and abroad, with the Polyphonic Song Archive which is constantly enriched, with the publications, the productions, the online presentation, that promote and disseminate the polyphonic song widely, recognizing Polyphonic Caravan’s practice at an international level too. 

The big journey of the voices, the Polyphonic Caravan, travels according to the way “Apiros”, its driver, does. The organizer non-governmental organization “Apiros” took its name by the Doric name of Epirus, literally meaning “without end, infinite”. It is somehow in this way that the Polyphonic Caravan also realizes its journey. A journey which contantly expands, in new horizons, with new co-travelers. A journey which constantly re-starts. Without limits, without conditions...