MUSICS and MUSICIANS OF THE WORLD

GREECE, Vocal Monodies

English commentary inside and commentaires en Francais

Performed by Barba Mitsos

The songs on this record are sung unaccompanied by Dimitris Kukas, familiarly known as Barba Mitsos, “Uncle Mitsos”, who was born at the end XIX c. in the island of Syros, grew up in Mykonos, and, until his death in 1980, was one of the holbers of a particular Greek oral tradition.

These songs cover essential themes of popular repertory : songs of love and sorrow and songs dedicated to the Mother, xenitia, the songs of those who are far away from their own land, and miroloia, or funeral song

As regards both text and music, these songs may be divided into two distinct categories, which their interpreter calls tabakhaniotika (Byzantine) and vlachika. From the point of view of poetic form, the tabakhaniotika are composed of independent distich’s or couplets, whilst the vlachika are poems whose lines follow a strict order

English Commentary inside, Commentaires en Francais

Τραγουδάει ο Δημήτρης Κούκας, κοινώς γνωστός ως Μπάρμπα Μήτσος, ο οποίος γεννήθηκε στο νησί της Σύρου αλλά μεγάλωσε στη Μύκονο και ασχολήθηκε με την Ελληνική παράδοση

Τα τραγούδια καλύπτουν τα θέματα : για την αγάπη, την μητέρα, την ξενιτιά και για εκείνους που είναι πολύ μακριά από τη γη τους, μοιρολόγια και πένθιμα

Τα τραγούδια χωρίζονται σε δύο κατηγορίες : σ’ αυτά που λέγονται Ταμπαχανιώτικα (Βυζαντινά) και Βλάχικα