In the selection of songs for the Third Volume, which includes the so-called Traditional songs of the Minor Asian Coasts, we faced another problem to resolve: What does "Traditional Song" mean? Is it a song whose origin is lost in the depths of centuries, slightly or significantly altered by the interventions of the anonymous people and likely incorporated into the performance of various local customs (wedding, festival, Easter celebrations, etc.)?

Can this apply to the Minor Asian Songs? Certainly, it can, because, like every place of Hellenism, Minor Asia had to showcase a large number of frontier songs, ballads, historical songs, those of the diaspora, etc., that can only be characterized as "Traditional." However, from the 18th century onwards, the urbanization of society and especially the mingling of Greeks, Armenians, Jews, English, French, Kurds, and Turks created the conditions for the development of a new genre, the so-called "Urban" song.

This was also contributed to by the many professional musicians who gradually created permanent entertainment venues, which had to compete and refresh their repertoire.

[Excerpt from the introduction text of the edition]