Kalamatianó

Music of Greece
General topics
	Ancient music; Byzantine music; Opera; Greek musical system; Greek musical instruments; Greek dances; Worldwide;
Genres
	Church music (Byzantine); Classical music Ionian School; National School; ; Greek folk; Laïko; Rock; Hip Hop; Punk; Neo kyma; Éntekhno;
Specific forms
	Contemporary; Entehno; Nisiotika; Rebetiko; Skiladiko;
Media and performance
Music awards	Arion Awards; MAD Video Music Awards;
Music charts	Greek Albums Chart; Foreign Albums Chart; Singles Chart;
Music festivals	Athens Festival; Epidaurus Festival; Olympus Festival; Thessaloniki Song Festival;
Music media	MAD TV (MAD World); MTV Greece;
Nationalistic and patriotic songs
National anthem	"Hymn to Liberty"
Regional music
Related areas	Cyprus, Pontus, Constantinople, South Italy
Regional styles	Aegean Islands; Crete; Epirus (polyphonic song); Ionian Islands; Macedonia; Peloponnese; Thessaly; Thrace;

Kalamatianó (Greek: καλαματιανό) is a type of Greek folk music associated with a dance sharing its name. Originating in the southern Greek port city of Kalamata, its most recognizable feature is its asymmetrical time signature of ⁷
₈ time, meaning that there are seven beats per measure, generally subdivided into two groups of 3 and 4 beats respectively.

Although this rhythmic structure is unfamiliar to westerners, it is thoroughly at home in Greece, Cyprus and the surrounding countries. The kalamatiano is a traditional line dance admitting of varying speeds. Probably the best known folk song in this genre is Mandili Kalamatiano (Μαντήλι Καλαματιανό).

An especially haunting example of the kalamatiano, M'ekapses geitonissa (Μ'έκαψες γειτόνισσα), was recorded for the National Geographic Society's groundbreaking Music of Greece album, released in 1968.

Kalamatianó

See also