# Rodopi Ensemble: Traditional Music of Thrace

Rodopi Ensemble has been presenting the sounds, rhythms and melodies of Thrace for almost three decades. The group started its musical journey in the 1990s, and took the name Rodopi Ensemble to indicate its border-crossing musical style. The mountains of Rodopi, the largest mountains in Thrace, act as a musical unifying link that connects people living in the three countries crossed by the mountains: Greece, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria. "The idioms and nuances of Thracian music derive from the harmonious coexistence of people from different cultures.. people who use music and singing to come together as one," says vocalist and lute-player Drosos Koutsokostas. Rodopi Ensemble is composed of Koutsokostas on lute and vocals, Kyriakos Petras on violin, Nikos Angousis on clarinet, Alkis Zopoglou on kanun, and Yorgos Pagozidis on percussion. These instruments comprise the classic lineup known as the café-aman orchestra, the rural precursor of the more urban and better known rebetiko style. Rodopi Ensemble plays romantic love songs and lively dances native to the region, such as the chasapiko, tsifteteli, karsilamas, and zeibekiko.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2022
- By: American Folklife Center
- Genres: Music
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2024698064/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2024698064?play=1)