Corfu culture – Corfu Philharmonics - bands!

The Corfiots are cultured people with a great heritage of music and arts. The island boasts no less than thirty-two philharmonic bands, three of which are established in the town, and give regular outdoor concerts during the summer months. Corfu Town is home to three famous, top-quality marching brass bands, the red-uniformed Old Philharmonic, the blue-uniformed Mantzaros Philharmonic and the white-uniformed Kapodistria Philharmonic.

The bands give regular weekend promenade concerts and partake in the yearly Holy Week celebrations. There is considerable rivalry among them, and their respective repertoires are rigorously adhered to. For example on Good Friday the Old Philharmonic will parade the streets playing Albinoni's Adagio, the Mantzaros plays Verdi's Marcia Funebre from Don Carlo, and the Capodistria plays Chopin's Funeral March and Mariani's Sventura. They make sure their paths never cross.

Opera became a favourite musical form of entertainment in Venetian times, and performances are greatly appreciated even today. As a proverb of the last century went, "to be applauded in Corfu is to be sure of international success”.

The many art galleries have permanent and changing exhibitions by artists of international as well as local fame. Today, the modern theatre and various romantic outdoor locations serve as venue for a great variety of events, from rock concerts to displays of contemporary dance, from performances by the island's symphony orchestra to theatrical works of tragedy and comedy.

In Corfu the past lives in the present. Events which have been celebrated for hundreds of years are still enjoyed, in the traditional way.

For centuries, the year has been defined by the passage of significant days and celebrations. The four annual processions of the island's patron Saint Spiridon, are well-loved occasions, and the two which occur at Easter are part of an extensive calendar of religious and cultural activities, including traditions such as the Easter Saturday morning (11 am.) “pot-throwing” ceremony. (Corfu Easter).
 

Corfu Music and Festivities

Corfiots are great lovers of music. Most people readily join in the singing of the kantadas, impromptu choral songs in two, three or four voices, usually accompanied by a guitar. The only time when the three bands coexist is Holy Saturday morning, when the Epitaphios of the St. Spiridon Cathedral is paraded, along with the Saint's relics. At this time the bands play Miccheli's Calde Lacrime, the Marcia Funebre from Faccio's opera Amleto, and the Funeral March from Beethoven's Eroica. The custom dates from 1574, when the Venetians banned the traditional Good Friday Epitaphios parade. The defiant Corfiots held the parade the following morning, and paraded the relics of St. Spiridon as well, so that the Venetians would not dare intervene.

The parade is followed by the most spectacular Corfiote celebration by far, the "Early Resurrection". Balconies in the old town are decked in bright red cloths, and Corfiοts throw large clay pots (the botides) full of water down, so that they smash on the street pavement. This is done in anticipation of the Resurrection of Jesus, which is to be celebrated that same night.

During Venetian rule, the Corfiots developed a fervent appreciation for Italian opera. The Corfu Opera House was a fixture in famous opera singers' itineraries, and those who were successful there were given the title "applaudito in Corfu".
 

Corfu culture – Corfu Philharmonics - bands!