A Song for the September Events

The memory of forced displacement runs through the songwriter’s work, rooted in stories told by his grandmother, who experienced the persecution of Greeks from Alatsata in Asia Minor.

Alongside his research and writing on Greek music, he has written more than 250 recorded songs. In 2013, he and composer Christos Papadopoulos presented “Uprooting: 91 Years Later,” a cycle featuring several prominent singers. In 2022, he released “My Home in Ayvalık,” with music by Manolis Karpathios and vocals by Marina Manolakou.

He later worked with Karpathios on “I’m Sorry, My City,” a cycle centered on Constantinople and the Bosphorus. Manolis Mitsias sang the main vocal part, joined by protopsaltis and choirmaster Grigoris Daravanoglou, narrator Ieroklis Michaelidis and Manolakou. The family connection was personal: relatives on his mother’s side lived in Galata and were forced to flee in 1955.

That history gave “September,” set to music by Karpathios, its place on the album “Don’t Be Afraid.” The album features Maria Farantouri, Manolis Mitsias, Vassilis Lekkas, Christiana Galiatsou and Eleni Tornesaki. “September” is performed by Sakis Agorogiannis, Mykonos’s deputy mayor for culture, described in the article as a devoted and knowledgeable singer.

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Songs with deep roots, in the mind and in the heart. Written with genuine passion for what has forever shaped our lives. ‘Honor’ for the past, ‘duty’ for the present, ‘seed’ for those who come next. Memory is our only property.