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At the beginning of the 20th century, Europe is living in peace and prosperity. The “Belle Époque” is an outgrowth of previous important historical events and developments. The networks that are created and which evolve funnel both people and their products, tangible and intangible. It is within this multi-layered world that sound recording and sound reproduction is invented. Early record labels send mobile crews literally all over the world to record local musicians. The range of the repertoire is endless. Cosmopolitanism in large urban centers favors polystylisms and polymorphisms. Colonialism, revolutions, conflicts, refugee flows; the theater, cinema, radio, photography, orchestras’ tours, but also circulations in all kinds of commercial channels in a world that evolves dynamically and anisotropically, form a complex network of “centers” and “peripheries” in alternating roles setting musical idioms in motion, both literally and figuratively. The network in which the Greek-speaking urban popular song participates, constantly conversing with its co-tenants, is magnificent. Discography has already provided important tools in understanding the relationships that developed between “national” repertoires. The result of this ongoing research is “Cosmopolitanism in Greek Historical Discography”.
This is one of the most popular tunes in the Greek-speaking repertoire, which can still be heard even today during live performances of urban folk-popular song. The tune was originally recorded by Zonophone between August and September 1906 under the title "Chasapiko serviko" by the Compagnie Mitsos (harmonica, mandolin, guitar); the band remains to be researched and identified. According to the database that emerged from Alan Kelly’s research, the recording was also released under Gramophone’s label (18287 & 18366).
Then, in 1918, the instrumental tune was turned into a song and recorded by Orfeon by the Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina) under the title "Makedon" (Orfeon S 2835 – 12633). The lyrics refer to the military and political movement under the leadership of Eleftherios Venizelos which manifested itself in 1916 and formed the so-called "Provisional Government of National Defence".
The song is still popular today under the name "Tis Amynis ta paidia" due to its inclusion in the renowned film "Rembetiko" by Costas Ferris, with its score having been composed by Stavros Xarchakos (1983). In the album of the same title, the song is referred to as "traditional", adapted by the composer.
The instrumental tune was also recorded around 1948 in New York under the title "Peiraiotiko chasapiko" by Costas Gkantinis (clarinet), Giannis Giannaros (accordion), Thanasis Zervas (violin) and unknown performers on piano and drums (Kaliphon D- 765-A).
The tune, however, is also known in the klezmer/Yiddish repertoire of the Ashkenazim Jews. It seems to have been recorded at least since 1912 and is often combined with other klezmer/Yiddish tunes. The musicologist Joel Rubin has dealt in detail with the history of this tune, its various performances and its musical analysis (2001, 2006, 2020). The following are some examples from Jewish discography:
- "Der Arbaytsman", Rumynskii Orkestra Bel’fa, Sirena Grand 12422, Warsaw, July 1912
- "Der Nicolaiver Bulgar", Harry Kandel, Victor B 22105 – 72281, New Jersey, June 25, 1918
- "Nikolayever Bulgar", Mishka Ziganoff, Columbia 85580-1, 85581-1 – E 4865, October 1919
- "Moliver Bolgar", Israel Hochman, Clausophon 796 – E 403, New York, November 1922
- "Heiser Bulgar" (הייסער באלגאר), Naftule Brandwein, Victor B 27889-2 – Vi 73895 and Gramophone (France) K 3306, New York, May 10, 1923, August 1923 (release)
- "Chasene Niginim", Joseph Cherniavsky, Victor BVE 33873-2 – 78423, New York, November 16, 1925
Syncretism, which is observed in the musical actualizations of the areas where Greeks lived and recorded, mainly in the area of folk-popular traditions, is monumental. It only takes one to listen to historical discography, which begins in New York, Smyrna (Izmir), Constantinople (Istanbul), Athens and Thessaloniki since 1900. An essential part of this syncretism concerns the Jews, who constitute one of the main conduits in the uniquely diverse cultural heritage of the Greek-speaking world. They borrow and lend, but they also carry more distant traditions from the places where they have previously lived and the places they have traveled to. They are the central interlocutors in the Greek and Ottoman ecumene, together with Turkish-speaking Muslims, Orthodox but also Catholic Greek-speaking and Armenians, Levantine Protestants, Europeans and Americans, and compose a rich musical mosaic which consists of heterogeneous but co-existent palimpsests: a reservoir to which everyone contributes but from which also everyone receives.
The sources show the timeless existence of a Jewish element, at least since the Hellenistic period, in areas that millennia later formed the modern Greek state. After the “Edict of Milan” in 313 AD and the gradual Christianization of the Eastern Empire, the Jewish element found itself in a difficult position. The Jewish populations that have since been established in these lands became known as Romaniote Jews (or “Romaniotes”’ Rome – Romios). Their historical geographical center of reference was the city of Ioannina, and they speak Greek with various linguistic mixtures. After 1492 and the “Alhambra Decree” by the joint Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, those Jews who did not accept to embrace Christianity were expelled from the Iberian peninsula. They became known as the Sepharadi Jews (or “Sepharadim”), one of the largest Jewish ethno-cultural categorizations (Sepharad in Jewish texts is referred to as the region of present-day Spain). Thessaloniki was one of the main destination points of this displacement, as the ties with the city were older and already close. Apart from the role played by the Greek Jews in the musical developments on the Greek peninsula, there were also important mutual influences between the Greek-speaking Orthodox and the Jews in various other areas where the two communities lived together. As, for example, in Odessa, with the Eastern Ashkenazi Jews, who mainly speak Yiddish, a sui generis Semitic-Slavic language (in Jewish texts, the Kingdom of Ashkenaz, a descendant of Noah, is connected with north-eastern European territories). Their orchestral repertoire is often called klezmer. In other words, apart from the geographical limits of the modern Greek state, the cultural conversations between the Greek Orthodox and the Jews also concern other parts of the world, both in Europe and America, where they met as immigrants.
Research and text by: Nikos Ordoulidis
At the beginning of the 20th century, Europe is living in peace and prosperity. The “Belle Époque” is an outgrowth of previous important historical events and developments. The networks that are created and which evolve funnel both people and their products, tangible and intangible. It is within this multi-layered world that sound recording and sound reproduction is invented. Early record labels send mobile crews literally all over the world to record local musicians. The range of the repertoire is endless. Cosmopolitanism in large urban centers favors polystylisms and polymorphisms. Colonialism, revolutions, conflicts, refugee flows; the theater, cinema, radio, photography, orchestras’ tours, but also circulations in all kinds of commercial channels in a world that evolves dynamically and anisotropically, form a complex network of “centers” and “peripheries” in alternating roles setting musical idioms in motion, both literally and figuratively. The network in which the Greek-speaking urban popular song participates, constantly conversing with its co-tenants, is magnificent. Discography has already provided important tools in understanding the relationships that developed between “national” repertoires. The result of this ongoing research is “Cosmopolitanism in Greek Historical Discography”.
This is one of the most popular tunes in the Greek-speaking repertoire, which can still be heard even today during live performances of urban folk-popular song. The tune was originally recorded by Zonophone between August and September 1906 under the title "Chasapiko serviko" by the Compagnie Mitsos (harmonica, mandolin, guitar); the band remains to be researched and identified. According to the database that emerged from Alan Kelly’s research, the recording was also released under Gramophone’s label (18287 & 18366).
Then, in 1918, the instrumental tune was turned into a song and recorded by Orfeon by the Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina) under the title "Makedon" (Orfeon S 2835 – 12633). The lyrics refer to the military and political movement under the leadership of Eleftherios Venizelos which manifested itself in 1916 and formed the so-called "Provisional Government of National Defence".
The song is still popular today under the name "Tis Amynis ta paidia" due to its inclusion in the renowned film "Rembetiko" by Costas Ferris, with its score having been composed by Stavros Xarchakos (1983). In the album of the same title, the song is referred to as "traditional", adapted by the composer.
The instrumental tune was also recorded around 1948 in New York under the title "Peiraiotiko chasapiko" by Costas Gkantinis (clarinet), Giannis Giannaros (accordion), Thanasis Zervas (violin) and unknown performers on piano and drums (Kaliphon D- 765-A).
The tune, however, is also known in the klezmer/Yiddish repertoire of the Ashkenazim Jews. It seems to have been recorded at least since 1912 and is often combined with other klezmer/Yiddish tunes. The musicologist Joel Rubin has dealt in detail with the history of this tune, its various performances and its musical analysis (2001, 2006, 2020). The following are some examples from Jewish discography:
- "Der Arbaytsman", Rumynskii Orkestra Bel’fa, Sirena Grand 12422, Warsaw, July 1912
- "Der Nicolaiver Bulgar", Harry Kandel, Victor B 22105 – 72281, New Jersey, June 25, 1918
- "Nikolayever Bulgar", Mishka Ziganoff, Columbia 85580-1, 85581-1 – E 4865, October 1919
- "Moliver Bolgar", Israel Hochman, Clausophon 796 – E 403, New York, November 1922
- "Heiser Bulgar" (הייסער באלגאר), Naftule Brandwein, Victor B 27889-2 – Vi 73895 and Gramophone (France) K 3306, New York, May 10, 1923, August 1923 (release)
- "Chasene Niginim", Joseph Cherniavsky, Victor BVE 33873-2 – 78423, New York, November 16, 1925
Syncretism, which is observed in the musical actualizations of the areas where Greeks lived and recorded, mainly in the area of folk-popular traditions, is monumental. It only takes one to listen to historical discography, which begins in New York, Smyrna (Izmir), Constantinople (Istanbul), Athens and Thessaloniki since 1900. An essential part of this syncretism concerns the Jews, who constitute one of the main conduits in the uniquely diverse cultural heritage of the Greek-speaking world. They borrow and lend, but they also carry more distant traditions from the places where they have previously lived and the places they have traveled to. They are the central interlocutors in the Greek and Ottoman ecumene, together with Turkish-speaking Muslims, Orthodox but also Catholic Greek-speaking and Armenians, Levantine Protestants, Europeans and Americans, and compose a rich musical mosaic which consists of heterogeneous but co-existent palimpsests: a reservoir to which everyone contributes but from which also everyone receives.
The sources show the timeless existence of a Jewish element, at least since the Hellenistic period, in areas that millennia later formed the modern Greek state. After the “Edict of Milan” in 313 AD and the gradual Christianization of the Eastern Empire, the Jewish element found itself in a difficult position. The Jewish populations that have since been established in these lands became known as Romaniote Jews (or “Romaniotes”’ Rome – Romios). Their historical geographical center of reference was the city of Ioannina, and they speak Greek with various linguistic mixtures. After 1492 and the “Alhambra Decree” by the joint Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella, those Jews who did not accept to embrace Christianity were expelled from the Iberian peninsula. They became known as the Sepharadi Jews (or “Sepharadim”), one of the largest Jewish ethno-cultural categorizations (Sepharad in Jewish texts is referred to as the region of present-day Spain). Thessaloniki was one of the main destination points of this displacement, as the ties with the city were older and already close. Apart from the role played by the Greek Jews in the musical developments on the Greek peninsula, there were also important mutual influences between the Greek-speaking Orthodox and the Jews in various other areas where the two communities lived together. As, for example, in Odessa, with the Eastern Ashkenazi Jews, who mainly speak Yiddish, a sui generis Semitic-Slavic language (in Jewish texts, the Kingdom of Ashkenaz, a descendant of Noah, is connected with north-eastern European territories). Their orchestral repertoire is often called klezmer. In other words, apart from the geographical limits of the modern Greek state, the cultural conversations between the Greek Orthodox and the Jews also concern other parts of the world, both in Europe and America, where they met as immigrants.
Research and text by: Nikos Ordoulidis
© 2019 KOUNADIS ARCHIVE
