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This CD is the proof of what an enthusiast Maecenas can achieve! Here Domna collected some of her most favourable songs: slow and tranquil songs, melodious and sad; songs of sorrow and of love, of parting and of loved ones far away. These songs are rarely, if ever, included in any commercial repertoire, but thanks to such friends/sponsors Greek discography gained some of its most valuable assets.
I remember us sitting happy and relaxed, my musicians and I, after a concert in Venice a few years back, playing and singing slow, soulful, melodious songs we love but almost never perform in concert. But while audiences may well prefer quick, danceable numbers or joyful songs of celebration, our companions that night were old friends who had journeyed far to hear us. So we played for ourselves, sang to fill our hearts with joy and hoped our guests’ hearts, too. And then, with the last note of Paros’ A fair maid did sing still hanging in the air, my friend Alexandros leant over and took me by surprise: ‘Record a disk with songs like these and I’ll gladly foot the bill’, he whispered in my ear.
And here you have it. Eleven songs dear to me chosen, as always, from every corner of Greece. Songs slow and tranquil, melodious and sad which move me when I sing them. Songs of sorrow and of love, of parting and of loved ones far away. And two instrumentals: Varí vrakádiko from Lesvos and an improvisation on the bowed tambouras.
And when it was time for the recording sessions, it must be said we all felt as though we were playing for the pleasure of it. I hope you can hear our joy as you listen. I hope my friend Alexandros feels the same.
And let it be said here that it was thanks to Alexandros that I found the courage to gather together on a single disk eleven songs I cherish.
Alexandros, I thank you with all my heart.
With all my love,
Domna (2008)
Translated by Michael Eleftheriou