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Μάης
May's come,
May's come and spring,
summer’s come
when the perfumed roses bloom.
I’ve a white rose I want to dye
and if I get the shade just right,
many a heart will I smite.
Translated by Michael Eleftheriou
Λεν ήρθι Μάης, αμάν γκελ αμάν
ήρθι Μάης κι Άνοιξη
ήρθι το καλουκαίρι
π' ανθίζουν τα τριαντάφυλλα τα μοσχομυρισμένα.
Άσπρο τριαντάφυλλο φουρώ κι θέλου να του βάψου
κι αν θα του πιτύχου στη βαφή πουλλές καρδιές θα κάψου.
A love song from Soufli, Evros, in a 2/4 rhythm. Sung mainly by women in spring, it is danced as a light xisyrtos with a wrist hold.
In Soufli, a semi-urban centre of silk production whose population and wealth experienced an impressive growth in the early 20th century, we may observe the shift from the oral tradition and transmission of musical knowledge to school-based teaching with the founding of the town’s Philharmonic Orchestra and Mandolin Ensemble. This would have a decisive impact on the local musical idiom through cross-fertilization with imported elements. The influence of European choral practice is evident here.
Miranda Terzopoulou (2018)
See also They say that May and spring are here.
Studio recording, 1979.
Violin
Goblet drum
