On the record label, the song, whose title could be rendered as “My Carnation, my torment”, is characterized as "kanto". In other words, it is considered part of the repertoire of the kantolar, a term that seems to have been first used by Turkish-speaking Muslims mainly in large urban centers and especially in Constantinople (Istanbul) since the time when Italian troupes performed there. Although initially the kantolar were associated only with theatrical music, they soon became autonomous, when the term "kanto" (singular form of kantolar) came to describe any popular and light secular singing forms (see Pennanen, 2004: 9, O'Connel, 2006: 276, Beşiroğlu & Girgin, 2018: 49).

Another Turkish song that refers to important historical events is also based on the melody of “Caranfilim har bana”. Specifically, it concerns the reinstatement in 1908 by Sultan Abdul Hamid II of the 1876 Ottoman Constitution, following the Young Turks’ Revolution (for more information see here).

It was recorded under the title “Vatan Canto” by Nubar Effendi in Istanbul in 1908–1909 (Odeon Cx 1952; – 54584), and also by Gülistan Hanım, with Arap Mehmet on the zurna, on March 8, 1909 in Istanbul under the title “Hürriyet Şarkı - Gecemiz gündüz oldu” [Gramophone 12418 b – 6-12380 and reissued by Victor (63058-A)].

It should also be noted that other recordings possibly related to this song have been identified in discographical catalogues. However, no audio material has been located for any of them (for example):

– “Neva Hürriyet Şarkı – Kalkın ey vatandaşlar”, Ibrahim Effendi, Istanbul, February 26, 1909 (Gramophone 12261 b – 6-12224, Zonophone X-4-102073 and Victor 63062-A).
– “Hürriyet Kanto – Kalkın ey vatandaşlar”, Karakaş Efendi, March 8, 1909 (Gramophone 12395 b – 6-12359 and Zonophone X-6-102149).
– “Vatan Kanto – Kalkın ey vatandaşlar”, Naki Efendi, Thessaloniki, March 1909 (Gramophone 12722 b – 6-12586).

As noted by Rivka Havassy and Edwin Seroussi in the music publication "Eastern Mediterranean Judeo-Spanish Songs from the EMI Archive Trust (1907-1912)", a song with a similar theme— the reinstatement in 1908 of the 1876 Ottoman Constitution— based on the same melodic material, is also found in the Sephardic repertoire. According to this source, it is an abridged version of “Cante nuevo por la constitución, compuesto por se[ñor] Joseph Pinto, cantado a la misma voz del cante en turko Yaşasın Hürriyet adalet…”, that is, “New song for the constitution, composed by the elder Joseph Pinto, sung to the same melody as the Turkish song Yaşasın Hürriyet adalet” [Long live freedom, justice], which was published in the Judeo-Spanish periodical El Djugueton (Istanbul) on November 10, 1908. It was recorded by Jacob Algava in Thessaloniki in March 1909 under the title “Hermanos mis queridos” (Gramophone 12750 b – 2-12650).

A song with similar subject matter and the title “Marche de Niyazi et Enver Bey – Hürriyet Marşı” was also composed by Vasileios Sideris, with Turkish lyrics by Anastasios Tokatloglou.

The Gramophone Company was founded in London in 1897 by William Barry Owen as the European branch of Emile Berliner’s enterprise, the inventor of the disc and the gramophone. It soon became a key player in the emerging recording industry, investing in international subsidiaries and technology. Its first emblem was the “Recording Angel”, and from the early 20th century it also adopted “His Master’s Voice”, which by around 1909 became the company’s iconic trademark. In 1903, it acquired Zonophone (est. 1899, USA), which was incorporated into the group. In 1917, the Columbia Graphophone Company Ltd. was founded in the UK as a subsidiary of the American Columbia Phonograph Company. In 1922, Columbia UK became fully independent, and in 1926 it acquired the multinational group Carl Lindström A.G., which included the labels Parlophone, Odeon, and Beka. In 1931, Columbia (UK) merged with the Gramophone Company, giving rise to EMI.

Τhe Gramophone Company engaged early with Greek-language repertoires. As early as 1903, recordings of Greek interest were made in Constantinople, followed by sessions in Athens (1907), Thessaloniki (1909–1911), Smyrna (1911), as well as in studios in Vienna and London. These recordings were produced either by mobile units or in facilities abroad, while most records were pressed in London; there was also a production unit in Hanover operating even before the First World War. Releases were distributed internationally, either through subsidiaries or partner companies.

In the Greek context, distribution was organised through local agencies. From 1909, the firm of Abravanel, Capouano & Benveniste in Thessaloniki coordinated repertoire management in Macedonia and Epirus. In the 1920s, Karl Friedrich Vogel, general agent of the Gramophone Company for the Eastern Mediterranean, played a central role from Alexandria. After his death in 1929, the company assigned exclusive representation for Athens to Dimitrios Kissopoulos. In 1935, the task was taken over by the Lambropoulos Brothers, who managed the Columbia factory in Rizoupoli—a facility completed in 1930 and equipped with a recording studio in 1935. Their collaboration with EMI continued until the late 1970s, when operations were transferred to EMIAL, a subsidiary founded in 1961. In 1991, EMIAL merged with Minos, the company of Minos Matsas, forming Minos-EMI.

The historical trajectory of the Gramophone Company in the Greek-speaking world reveals how local recordings became embedded within transnational networks of production and circulation—networks that not only transcended the local, but also redefined it. In this context, the Gramophone Company was not merely a channel of distribution, but a catalyst in the shaping of the “Greek sound” of the 20th century.

Research and text: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis