O gero-Dimos

Part of the content is temporarily available only in Greek

It is a composition of Aristotelis Valaoritis' poem "O Dimos kai to kariofili tou" (from the collection "Mnimosyna", 1857), which, according to the "Apomnimonevmata" ("Memoirs") of the composer Pavlos Carrer, was completed in October 1859. It remains unknown when the composer incorporated the song as a first act aria in the four-act opera "Markos Votzaris" (Botsaris), which premiered in Patras on 30/4/1861.
The opera's libretto was written by the Italian poet Giovanni Caccialupi.

Probably the first  recording of the song was made in Milan in December 1902 by the Greek tenor Ioannis Apostolou (Athens, probably Menidi, 1860 or 1863 or 1866 - Naples, Italy, August 28, 1905) for The Gramophone & Typewriter Ltd. and Sister Companies ("Marco-Botsaris", 5514a R - 12123).

Giorgos Kokkonis (
2017: 177-185) mentions the following about the song: "In the first phase of institutional discography (and of the recordings in general, whose primary motive is not discographical dissemination) what is important is discovery and not research itself. For this reason, from the moment that a musical form-entity is acknowledged, such as 'Kleftiko' songs, it is considered immutable (Papasideris, Meintanas, etc.). This explains why scholar songs such as O Gerodimos or the urban Mia Voskopoula agapisa [see here and here] are considered folk songs and are intertwined with them. As we mentioned above, the absolute protagonist in this context is the charismatic performer who guarantees the authenticity and purity of an endogenous, self-sufficient and waterproof, in terms of external influences, musical culture. This, of course, had to do with a more general tendency that the field of social sciences of the time had: they saw peasants through idealistic glasses, as a picturesque postcard."


For more on the opera "Markos Votzaris" see
Avra Xepapadakou, «O Markos Botsaris tou Pavlou Karrer: mia "ethniki" opera» (Mousikos Logos 5, 2003)

Author (Composer):
Lyrics by:
Valaoritis Aristotelis (poetry)
Singer(s):
Lymperopoulos Marios
Recording date:
08/1917
Recording location:
New York
Language(s):
Greek
Publisher:
Columbia (USA)
Catalogue number:
E 5164
Matrix number:
59518
Duration:
5:12
Item location:
Kounadis Archive Record Library
Physical description:
12 in. (30 cm)
Source:
Kounadis Archive
ID:
Col_E5164_OGeroDimos
Licensing:
cc
Reference link:
Kounadis Archive, "O gero-Dimos", 2019, https://vmrebetiko.gr/en/item-en?id=4174

It is a composition of Aristotelis Valaoritis' poem "O Dimos kai to kariofili tou" (from the collection "Mnimosyna", 1857), which, according to the "Apomnimonevmata" ("Memoirs") of the composer Pavlos Carrer, was completed in October 1859. It remains unknown when the composer incorporated the song as a first act aria in the four-act opera "Markos Votzaris" (Botsaris), which premiered in Patras on 30/4/1861.
The opera's libretto was written by the Italian poet Giovanni Caccialupi.

Probably the first  recording of the song was made in Milan in December 1902 by the Greek tenor Ioannis Apostolou (Athens, probably Menidi, 1860 or 1863 or 1866 - Naples, Italy, August 28, 1905) for The Gramophone & Typewriter Ltd. and Sister Companies ("Marco-Botsaris", 5514a R - 12123).

Giorgos Kokkonis (
2017: 177-185) mentions the following about the song: "In the first phase of institutional discography (and of the recordings in general, whose primary motive is not discographical dissemination) what is important is discovery and not research itself. For this reason, from the moment that a musical form-entity is acknowledged, such as 'Kleftiko' songs, it is considered immutable (Papasideris, Meintanas, etc.). This explains why scholar songs such as O Gerodimos or the urban Mia Voskopoula agapisa [see here and here] are considered folk songs and are intertwined with them. As we mentioned above, the absolute protagonist in this context is the charismatic performer who guarantees the authenticity and purity of an endogenous, self-sufficient and waterproof, in terms of external influences, musical culture. This, of course, had to do with a more general tendency that the field of social sciences of the time had: they saw peasants through idealistic glasses, as a picturesque postcard."


For more on the opera "Markos Votzaris" see
Avra Xepapadakou, «O Markos Botsaris tou Pavlou Karrer: mia "ethniki" opera» (Mousikos Logos 5, 2003)

Author (Composer):
Lyrics by:
Valaoritis Aristotelis (poetry)
Singer(s):
Lymperopoulos Marios
Recording date:
08/1917
Recording location:
New York
Language(s):
Greek
Publisher:
Columbia (USA)
Catalogue number:
E 5164
Matrix number:
59518
Duration:
5:12
Item location:
Kounadis Archive Record Library
Physical description:
12 in. (30 cm)
Source:
Kounadis Archive
ID:
Col_E5164_OGeroDimos
Licensing:
cc
Reference link:
Kounadis Archive, "O gero-Dimos", 2019, https://vmrebetiko.gr/en/item-en?id=4174

Related items

See also