Γερο-Δήμος

It is a composition of Aristotelis Valaoritis' poem "O Dimos kai to kariofili tou" (from the collection "Mnimosyna", 1857), which, according to the "Apomnimonevmata" ("Memoirs") of the composer Pavlos Carrer, was completed in October 1859. It remains unknown when the composer incorporated the song as a first act aria in the four-act opera "Markos Votzaris" (Botsaris), which premiered in Patras on 30/4/1861.
The opera's libretto was written by the Italian poet Giovanni Caccialupi.

Probably the first  recording of the song was made in Milan in December 1902 by the Greek tenor Ioannis Apostolou (Athens, probably Menidi, 1860 or 1863 or 1866 - Naples, Italy, August 28, 1905) for Gramophone & Typewriter ("Marcos Botsaris: O Gero Demos", 5514a -12123).

Giorgos Kokkonis (2017: 177-185) mentions the following about the song: "In the first phase of institutional discography (and of the recordings in general, whose primary motive is not discographical dissemination) what is important is discovery and not research itself. For this reason, from the moment that a musical form-entity is acknowledged, such as 'Kleftiko' songs, it is considered immutable (Papasideris, Meintanas, etc.). This explains why scholar songs such as O Gerodimos or the urban Mia Voskopoula agapisa [see here and here] are considered folk songs and are intertwined with them. As we mentioned above, the absolute protagonist in this context is the charismatic performer who guarantees the authenticity and purity of an endogenous, self-sufficient and waterproof, in terms of external influences, musical culture. This, of course, had to do with a more general tendency that the field of social sciences of the time had: they saw peasants through idealistic glasses, as a picturesque postcard."

For more on the opera "Markos Votzaris" see Chapter ΙΙ. Pavlos Carrer, ΙΙ. 1 Marco Botzaris (page 70-148) in Stamatia Gerothanasi’s doctoral thesis "I mousiki dramatourgia tis ellinikis operas: analytikes kai ermineftikes prosengiseis tis dramatourgias kai ton technikon synthesis se epilegmenes operes ton syntheton Nikolaou Chalikiopoulou Mantzarou, Pavlou Karrer, Spyridonos Filiskou Samara kai Mariou Varvogli" (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Fine Arts, Department of Music Studies, Thessaloniki, June 2013)