Haig Effendi - Tzaine Dour Ov Zovak - 1911 Ottoman 78 rpm

[@misstoki]

Recorded in early 1911. Matrix number is actually "4415-t" (recorded by Wilhelm Winkel), this record is a reissue from Favorite Record 1-55485

[@harrykezelian8009]

This is a very interesting disc which I also have a copy of. The title, which is clearly a joke, is misleading. It suggests we are about to hear the Armenian patriotic song "Tzayn Door Ov Dzovag" (Give Voice Oh Lake). Instead we hear the singer give a drunken sounding rendition of the Turkish song "Sharab Ichdim" (I Drank Wine). I have seen a couple other instances of this mislabelling practice where the song was considered somehow inappropriate. Haig is an Armenian name but no idea if Haig Effendi was a real person or who he was...

[@CanberkDuman]

That's indeed very interesting, thanks for the info! His Turkish sounds quite drunken, as you said. It's definitiely Istanbul dialect, with a distinct accent. I would say that the singer was most probably Western Armenian. Searching his name as "Hayk Efendi" would help to find a trace, maybe. Greetings from Zürich!

[@harrykezelian8009]

@@CanberkDuman he is definitely Western Armenian