Katsaros, in his interview at the Kounadis Archive (Part 8), sings a short excerpt from his song “O Belalis”. Does anyone know whether the song was ever recorded in full?
It’s not his; he’s simply mentioning it as an example of what he means by “heavy, heavy zeibekiko”. It’s by Tountas:
As I understand it, the interview—the conversation—takes place on the eve of the concert, and they also discuss ideas for the songs he’s going to sing. And Katsaros says: “I need to get it right, study it tomorrow, perform it, and have the film record it too.” If we assume that he did indeed say it, and that the film recorded the entire concert (there are some videos, at any rate), then it was recorded. But I don’t think it was ever released.
P.S. Does the interview recording play at a lower speed? What are those voices, as if they’re yawning?
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Edit: The man said “I need to study it”, and he was exactly one hundred years old at the time!!!
Thank you very much! I just thought it was his, since when Panagiotis asks him if he remembers all the lyrics, Katsaros replies, “Of course, since it’s mine.”
“Did he say that? I didn’t notice.
What a thief — the song is mine, after all!”
(Katsaros had a completely personal way of expressing himself. Whenever I’ve heard him speak, whether in interviews or in the videos from the concert, I get the feeling that I’m constantly missing some part of what he’s communicating. And quite apart from that, various researchers have referred to the different meanings that old musicians attach to the idea of “mine”. I mean, he may well have appropriated it, but then again, he may not have. Anyway, listen to the music: there’s no way Tountas didn’t write it — it practically screams it.)
I think Katsaros has that tendency — namely, to claim compositions by others as his own. For example, Katsaros claimed that he had written the song “Oi Saltadoroi” based on personal accounts his sister had given him about the Occupation when she visited him in the US. This is impossible, since Genitsaris had written “Saltadoros” five years earlier.