Costas Tsicaderis
Encyclopedia
Costas Tsicaderis was a Greek-Australian singer-songwriter.
in the north of Greece
in 1945, and his family migrated to Australia
in 1954, when Costas was nine years old. In Greece his father ran a taverna, but in Australia he ended up at the General Motors
Holden
plant in Melbourne
.
Costas completed his schooling in Melbourne and became a draughtsman running his own business. Later he studied architecture at the RMIT and went on to teach the subject at Preston
TAFE.
At high school Costas began to play the guitar and developed an interest in folk music. He first presented some of his compositions to audiences in 1974. In the 1980s he formed the Costas Tsicaderis Ensemble.
He had a long association with the Melbourne cultural support group and “world music café” The Boite, where he was a regular performer.
For many years he presented a weekly programme of Greek music for the community radio station 3ZZZ (mid 1990s to 2000). He also presented a programme for 3XY (late 1990s to his death).
In 2001 he produced a compilation CD for 3ZZZ
funded by AMRAP. Of this he wrote: “One of the most exciting activities for me last year was my involvement as producer in 3ZZZ’s CD Routes of Rhythm, a compilation of six exciting and previously unrecorded Melbourne groups.” This was followed by a second CD Routes of Rhythm 2, which Costas also produced.
Costas Tsicaderis died suddenly on 23 December 2004 aged 59. “The Music of Costas Tsicaderis”, a feature that was produced for ABC
radio in 1985, was aired again on the ABC
National Radio programme Music Deli as a tribute. The Melbourne Greek newspaper Neos Kosmos named him 2004 Greek of the Year. Close friends and colleagues established The Costas Tsicaderis Memorial Foundation with the aim of providing financial assistance to promising young musicians.
A tribute concert and launch of the CD The Mighty and the Humble was presented by The Boite and the Costas Tsicaderis Memorial Foundation on 1 December 2006 at BMW Edge, Federation Square
, Melbourne.
, and other Greek composers who set Greek poetry to music”, and as characterised by “gentle melodies and orchestration with bitter-sweet and often nostalgic lyrics”. The song “The Pomegranate” was singled out for particular praise by critics: “His setting of Dimitris Tsaloumas
' poem “The Pomegranate”, is a consummate example of antipodean Greek art.” And: “The song as such is … superb—the lyrics and the melody are perfectly matched, and the melody has the simplicity and coherence of structure which go to make a classic.”
Also singled out was his setting to music of Nikos Ninolakis’ poem “Select a Day”. One critic described it as “an absolutely marvellous song," and added "I especially like the way the melody rises unexpectedly in the chorus on the word έκσταση so that in retrospect one feels that it has been killing time, waiting for that climactic, ecstatic moment.”
The Costas Tsicaderis discography includes a total of 24 songs composed by Tsicaderis himself. These are listed below, along with the name of the lyricist. In most cases, the lyrics are poems by Greek Australians which Tsicaderis set to music. The dates indicate which album(s) each song is on. Songs are in Greek unless otherwise stated.
Biography
Costas Tsicaderis was born in KateriniKaterini
Katerini is a town in Central Macedonia, Greece, the capital of Pieria regional unit. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mt. Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, at an altitude of 14 m. The town, which is one of the newest in Greece, has a population of 83,764...
in the north 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 1945, and his family migrated to 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...
in 1954, when Costas was nine years old. In Greece his father ran a taverna, but in Australia he ended up at the General Motors
General Motors
General Motors Company , commonly known as GM, formerly incorporated as General Motors Corporation, is an American multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Detroit, Michigan and the world's second-largest automaker in 2010...
Holden
Holden
GM Holden Ltd is an automaker that operates in Australia, based in Port Melbourne, Victoria. The company was founded in 1856 as a saddlery manufacturer. In 1908 it moved into the automotive field, before becoming a subsidiary of the U.S.-based General Motors in 1931...
plant in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
.
Costas completed his schooling in Melbourne and became a draughtsman running his own business. Later he studied architecture at the RMIT and went on to teach the subject at Preston
Preston, Victoria
Preston is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 9 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Darebin. At the 2006 Census, Preston had a population of 27,892.-Settlement:...
TAFE.
At high school Costas began to play the guitar and developed an interest in folk music. He first presented some of his compositions to audiences in 1974. In the 1980s he formed the Costas Tsicaderis Ensemble.
He had a long association with the Melbourne cultural support group and “world music café” The Boite, where he was a regular performer.
For many years he presented a weekly programme of Greek music for the community radio station 3ZZZ (mid 1990s to 2000). He also presented a programme for 3XY (late 1990s to his death).
In 2001 he produced a compilation CD for 3ZZZ
3ZZZ
3ZZZ is an ethnic community radio station in Melbourne, Australia broadcasting programs in over 70 languages on FM 92.3 MHz....
funded by AMRAP. Of this he wrote: “One of the most exciting activities for me last year was my involvement as producer in 3ZZZ’s CD Routes of Rhythm, a compilation of six exciting and previously unrecorded Melbourne groups.” This was followed by a second CD Routes of Rhythm 2, which Costas also produced.
Costas Tsicaderis died suddenly on 23 December 2004 aged 59. “The Music of Costas Tsicaderis”, a feature that was produced for ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
radio in 1985, was aired again on the ABC
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
National Radio programme Music Deli as a tribute. The Melbourne Greek newspaper Neos Kosmos named him 2004 Greek of the Year. Close friends and colleagues established The Costas Tsicaderis Memorial Foundation with the aim of providing financial assistance to promising young musicians.
A tribute concert and launch of the CD The Mighty and the Humble was presented by The Boite and the Costas Tsicaderis Memorial Foundation on 1 December 2006 at BMW Edge, Federation Square
Federation Square
Federation Square is a civic centre and cultural precinct in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, Melbourne.
Musical works
His music has been described as belonging “firmly in the popular tradition defined and developed by Hatzidakis, TheodorakisMikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis is one of the most renowned Greek songwriters and composers. Internationally, he is probably best known for his songs and for his scores for the films Zorba the Greek , Z , and Serpico .Politically, he identified with the left until the late 1980s; in 1989, he ran as an...
, and other Greek composers who set Greek poetry to music”, and as characterised by “gentle melodies and orchestration with bitter-sweet and often nostalgic lyrics”. The song “The Pomegranate” was singled out for particular praise by critics: “His setting of Dimitris Tsaloumas
Dimitris Tsaloumas
-Biography:Dimitris Tsaloumas was born in Greece on the island of Leros, one of the Dodecanese islands, which were then under Italian rule . Consequently his formal education was in Italian. His later schooling was on Rhodes where he also studied the violin...
' poem “The Pomegranate”, is a consummate example of antipodean Greek art.” And: “The song as such is … superb—the lyrics and the melody are perfectly matched, and the melody has the simplicity and coherence of structure which go to make a classic.”
Also singled out was his setting to music of Nikos Ninolakis’ poem “Select a Day”. One critic described it as “an absolutely marvellous song," and added "I especially like the way the melody rises unexpectedly in the chorus on the word έκσταση so that in retrospect one feels that it has been killing time, waiting for that climactic, ecstatic moment.”
The Costas Tsicaderis discography includes a total of 24 songs composed by Tsicaderis himself. These are listed below, along with the name of the lyricist. In most cases, the lyrics are poems by Greek Australians which Tsicaderis set to music. The dates indicate which album(s) each song is on. Songs are in Greek unless otherwise stated.
- “After Ephialtes” (1985, 2006), Stylianos Harkianakis
- “Beyond Mulamein” (Instrumental, 1985, 2006), inspired by Nikos Ninolakis’ poem of the same name
- “Butterfly” (1985, 2006), Nikos Ninolakis
- “Daddy, What will Santa Bring?” (2006), Costas Tsicaderis
- “Hey True Blue” (English, 2006), Costas Tsicaderis
- “I Took the Path to the Mountain” (2006), Dimitris TsaloumasDimitris Tsaloumas-Biography:Dimitris Tsaloumas was born in Greece on the island of Leros, one of the Dodecanese islands, which were then under Italian rule . Consequently his formal education was in Italian. His later schooling was on Rhodes where he also studied the violin...
- “In Foreign Lands” (2006), Andreas Triantafyllopoulos
- “In the Streets of St Kilda” (1992), Savvas Zoumis
- “Letters Bearing Bad Tidings” (1985), Dimitris Tsaloumas
- “Letters From Australia” (1992), Andreas Triantafyllopoulos
- “Love Amongst the Ruins” (Instrumental, 1985, 2006),
- “Prerecorded Message” (English, 1985, 2006), Costas Tsicaderis
- “Select a Day” (1985, 2006), Nikos Ninolakis
- “The Aegean” (2006), Nikos Ninolakis
- “The Foreigner” (1992), Dimitris Tsaloumas
- “The Lost Swallow” (1985, 2006), Andreas Triantafyllopoulos
- “The Marketplace of War” (1992), Andreas Triantafyllopoulos
- “The Mighty and the Humble” (1985, 1992, 2003, 2006), Olga Yiannopoulou-Best & Costas Tsicaderis
- “The Pomegranate” (1985, 2006, 2010), Dimitris Tsaloumas
- “The Refugee” (1992), Costas Tsicaderis
- “The Yearning” (1985, 2006), Andreas Triantafyllopoulos
- “They’ve Taken the Sun” (2010), Nikos Ninolakis
- “Tonight, Greece, I Think of You” (1992), D. Katsoulis
- “Uprooted Cyppress Tree” (1985, 2006), Costas Tsicaderis
Discography
- Costas Tsicaderis, Live at the Boite (Melbourne: The Boite, 1985) stereo cassette. Vocals: Rena Hatzilepou, Costas Tsicaderis.
- Irine Vela & Costas Tsicaderis, Greek 3CR (Melbourne: 3CR3CR3CR is a community radio station that broadcasts on the AM band in Melbourne, Australia. The Community Radio Federation had their broadcasting licence approved on 10 October 1975, by the Minister for the Media, Dr Moss Cass. Test broadcasting begun on 1 May 1976, full operation began 3 July 1976...
, 1992) stereo LP and cassette. Side 1 contains seven songs by Irine Vela, and side 2 contains seven songs by Costas Tsicaderis. - The Fig TreeThe Fig TreeThe Fig Tree and its fruit, the fig, are mentioned several times in the New Testament as well as the Old Testament. Biblical references to figs are often symbolic and refer to more than just the common Mediterranean fruit tree and the Common Fig...
CD: A Musical Companion to Arnold ZableArnold ZableArnold Zable is an award winning Australian writer, storyteller, educator and human rights advocate, particularly in the area of migrant education. His writings focus primarily on migrant experience.-Life:...
’s Book (Melbourne: The Boite, 2003). Winner of the National Folk Recording Award 2004. Costas Tsicaderis contributed four tracks: “I once Loved a Shepherdess” ( Μια βοσκοπούλα αγάπησα); “The Song of the Dawn” (Το μινόρε της αυγής); The Boat (Το πλοίο); and his own composition “The Mighty and the Humble” (Οι μικροί και οι μεγάλοι). - The Mighty and the Humble (Melbourne: The Boite, 2006). A posthumous compilation of Costas Tsicaderis recordings, many from the Music Deli programme of 1985.
- In a Strange Land / Επί Γης Αλλοτρίας: An Anthology of Greek-Australian Songs and Music (2010). This anthology includes two songs composed by Costas Tsicaderis, and performed by him for the Anthology: “They’ve Taken the Sun” and “The Pomegranate”.