Elenitsa (Michalakis), Constantinople, 1908

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1

The (Elenitsa) recorded in Constantinople in 1908 by an unidentified (Michalaki) is considered the first performance of the melody of (Alatsatiani)!.
The record is by the (ODEON) company, with catalogue number (No. 58506.) and matrix number (CX-1727).

From the book by the researcher (Elias Barounis) entitled “Memories of Asia Minor Music”.

Lyrics:

My wounded breast x2
Beat and do not pity me, my Elenitsa; beat and do not pity me, my little darling
If you have more troubles x2
Take flight and do not be afraid, my Elenitsa; take flight and do not be afraid, my little darling
Come on, come on, let’s go to our room; I’ll kidnap you and leave, by the Virgin Mary x2

On my wounded breast x2
Doctors will not lay a hand on it, my Elenitsa; doctors will not lay a hand on it, my little darling
And medicines, ah!, are of no use x2
Unless I make you my partner, my Elenitsa; unless I make you my partner, my little darling
Come on, come on, let’s go to our room; I’ll kidnap you and leave, by the Virgin Mary x2

Eeeeeh! Eeeeeh!
Is it not a shame and an injustice x2
Is it not also a sin, my Elenitsa; is it not also a sin, my little darling
For two souls to suffer x2
Without any reason, my Elenitsa; without any reason, my little darling
Come on, come on, let’s go to our room; I’ll kidnap you and leave, by the Virgin Mary x2.

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2

I didn’t know her, thank you.

Let me add my favourite too, 1928.

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3

This is a very beautiful rendition with different lyrics!.

4

Certainly! An unattached Asia Minor melody to which lyrics are adapted or even improvised

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5

Instead of

Throw them and don’t be afraid, my little Helen

it would be better to have

΄tell them and don’t be afraid, my little Helen
(that is, say them, tell them).

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6

Μούργο, are you sure that’s what it says?

In the past, we spent a great deal of time trying to work out all the lyrics of this performance, and, starting from some completely implausible transcriptions we’d found, we managed to arrive at something that made sense. But there was still some doubt, especially about this part.

The truth is that the sound on your upload is quite clear, and it does indeed seem to say that. But the meaning isn’t clear.

In the old thread, the discussion about Elenitsa’s lyrics starts here (#8)…

…and continues to the end, with a few digressions on other topics. But even if you start from the beginning of the thread, I think you’ll find it interesting, regardless of the question of the lyrics.

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7

Your observation is correct, Mr Politis! I wrote the lyrics just as they appear in Mr Barounis’s book, with a few minor corrections!.

8

Dear Mr Pepe, I have answered this question for Mr Politis!

9

Here

it says very clearly

if you have any other troubles, tell them and don’t be afraid (0.32)

A little further on, however (3.40), Konstantopoulos incorrectly gives the lyric as

Come on, come on, what will become of you in Botzalia

whereas the correct version is

Come on, come on, my beauty, my room, let’s go

which means approximately*

come on, my beauty, let’s go to my room.

( * )
I’m still looking into bisim; once I’m sure, the “approximately” will be removed as well.

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10

Everyone has their own opinion and point of view!.

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However many opinions there may be about what the record says, there is only one correct answer.

So far, it is certain that Z. Barounis heard it more accurately than A. Kalyviotis and some YouTubers. Personally, for the reasons mentioned in the other thread, I am not sure that he heard it absolutely correctly.

However, I cannot come up with a better alternative proposal.

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12

Pericles, what are you referring to? What did Kalyviotis hear, and what did Barounis hear?

13

For Kalyviotis and the YouTubers, I’m referring to the thread I link to in #6. For Barounis, I’m referring to Mourgos’s #7.

14

Here, alternating with “Alatsatianí”, it also says “Karagatsianí”, but only the first time.

If I remember correctly, in other performances it also has Reisderianí, Kalamatianí and Frangosyrianí (indeed, Frangosyriania!).

15

let’s go to our room: let’s go to our room

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16

So, the “approximately” in # 9 above goes away too.