Pontic music again

In the course of introducing more of my vinyl collection to Theresa yesterday, I was delighted to discover that one of my records contains 5 examples of Pontic Greek music. The album is titled, Greek Island and Mountain Songs (long out of print, I assume, since a Google search brings nothing up), and it is performed by The Greek Royal Festival Company under the direction of Dora Stratou, and published by Olympic Records. When I first acquired this collection some two or three decades ago, I did not understand the significance of Greek music originating in the Pontos, where Greeks have not lived since 1923. It is quite distinctive and unlike other varieties of Greek music.

Pontic Greeks still live in the former Soviet republic of Georgia, but their numbers are diminishing through emigration.