This four-page musical score includes the song "Asma Zampettas" from the revue "Panathinaia tou 1911" in text - lyrics by Bampis Anninos and Giorgos Tsokopoulos and music by Theofrastos Sakellaridis. In particular, it comes from scene 5 of the first act, and was sung by Rozalia Nika, who played the servant Zampetta in the revue (see Chatzipantazis - Maraka, 1977, 3: 284). The revue premiered on June 23, 1911 at the "Nea Skini" theater by the Nikas - Fürst - Lepeniotis troupe.

The monochrome cover is inspired by a sketch by Antonis Vottis, which depicts a woman playing the piano. The title of the revue, the names of the writers, the musical arranger and the publishers are listed. Eight titles of the songs that come from this particular revue are also listed. The title "Asma Zampettas", pertaining to this musical score, is underlined. This tactic was common in similar cases. Creating a single cover for more than one song significantly reduced the cost of musical scores production.

This is a musical score with a system of three staffs (two for piano and one for singing). "A. [Angelos] Tantis" is written on the second page, under the last staff of the musical text.

The black and white back cover includes an advertisement of the K. Mystakidis - Th. Efstathiadis music publishing house, its logo and the lyrics of the second stanza of the song.

The song is an arrangement by Theofrastos Sakellaridis, with Greek lyrics by Bampis Anninos and Giorgos Tsokopoulos, of the Neapolitan song "La piú bella del Villaggio" with music by Rodolfo Falvo (Naples, July 7, 1873 – Naples, December 4, 1937) and lyrics by Adolfo Genise (Sarno , Campania, 1861 – Naples, 1934).

The Neapolitan musical score is included, along with six other songs by the composer Rodolfo Falvo, in the edition "La canzonetta: Piedigrotta Falvo" (see pages 19-20), published in Naples in 1910 by the Capolongo-Feola publications. It was published, also by the same publisher, in the same year, as a separate musical score (see here).

"Piedigrotta", which is written in the publication, refers to one of the most famous and oldest religious festivals that took place in Naples. During the festival, a music competition took place, which, in the 19th century, turned into a dynamic festival. This festival took the form of a commercial mechanism which played a key role in shaping and promoting Neapolitan song.

The following recordings have been found so far in Italian historical discography:

– "La piú bella del Villaggio", Maria Campi, Naples, 1910 (Favorite 10208-0 – 1-36164).
– "La piú bella del Villaggio", Line de Savigne, Milan, August 7, 1911 (Gramophone 1318ah – 253057 & R6719 and Gramophone 1319ah – 253050).
– "La piú bella del Villaggio", Lina Garavaglia, Milan, between 1910-1914 (Columbia 11320 – E 1566).
– "La piú bella del Villaggio", Anna Scarpa, Italy, probably between 1910-1914 (Lyrophon J. 458).

The song is also found in the French repertoire. In 1911, a musical score was published in Paris by L. Maurel, which includes an arrangement of the song with French lyrics by Fabrice Lémon – Louis Guéteville and the title "Aimons, ô ma jolie!" (see here). We should also note that the musical score contains a second version of the song with other lyrics by Paul Briollet - Louis Guéteville and the title "L'amour Brigand".

In Greek historical discography, the song "Asma Zampettas" was recorded under the title "I kamariera" around June 1919, in New York, by Kyria Koula and her daughter Kyria Paraskevoula, accompanied by Dionysis Poggis on the violin and Kyria Virginia on the piano (Panhellenion 4301 – 7000-B).

The song, in a more recent performance (see here from 12′ 52″ to 13′ 50″), was included in the episode “I anorthosi” (The recovery) of the dramatized documentary television series “Istoria grammeni me notes” (History written with notes), scripted by theater professor Theodoros Chatzipantazis, directed by Giorgos M. Dampasis and musically arranged by Takis Athinaios. The series, produced by the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (commonly shortened to ERT), was broadcast by the public television station ET-1 in 1983. The same episode includes one more song from the revue “Panathinaia” of 1911, the "Dyodia Zampettas & Piou-Piou" (see here from 13′ 52″ to 17′ 15″).

It should be noted that this is not the only case where Theofrastos Sakellaridis turned to Neapolitan music to borrow musical material or draw inspiration from. "Gyrise piso", "Asma dikaiosynis" (arrangement of the song "Nanninella", on which "Smyrniopoula" was also based), and "Asma Stratou" (arrangement of the song "O ritorno d' 'o cungedato", on which "Ach mi se filisa" was also based) from the revue "Panathinaia tou 1907", "Nea gynaika" from the revue "Panathinaia tou 1908", "Ta dendra" (arrangement of "Mbraccia a me!...", on which "Den se thelo pia" was also based) from the revue "Panathinaia tou 1909", "Dyodia Apallagentos-Elenitsas" (arrangement of the song "Il pesciolino" recorded under the title "O komitis") from the revue "Panathinaia tou 1910", "Eklogi-Apokria" (arrangement of the song "'A 'nnammurata d' 'o Bersagliere", on which "I dolia sou matia" was also based) from the revue "Panathinaia tou 1914" are just some of the songs that reveal his relationship with the genre.

Historical sources underline the close relations between Italian-speaking and Greek-speaking music. The conversations that developed with specific places, such as the Ionian Islands, the Dodecanese and Patras, as well as their results, are enough to highlight the strong ties between the two ethno-cultural groups. Furthermore, relationships were forged in places where the two ethnicities lived together, such as, for example, in the case of cosmopolitan Smyrna (Izmir) in the Ottoman Empire, or that of New York, where Italians and Greeks immigrated. When researching the historical material, it seems that one particular city in the Italian peninsula developed special relations with the large urban centers where Greek-speaking musicians played a leading role: it was Naples, with its famous Canzone Napoletana. “Apo ta polla”, which was also recorded under the title “Den se thelo pia”, belongs to a corpus of songs from which the Greek protagonists borrowed music and/or lyrics from pre-existing Neapolitan-speaking songs. In many cases, the appropriations concern not only Neapolitan-speaking songs but the Italian language as a whole, since, often, the original Neapolitan-speaking songs were translated into Italian, from which the loan arose. These songs arrived at the Greek-speaking world either directly or indirectly, through other repertoire networks. In any case, the circulation of musics is already a reality before the 20th century with theatrical and musical performances tours, but also with the networks of music publishing houses. Discography is not only embedded in this context, but plays a key role in its transformation. The appropriation by Greek musicians is twofold: on the one hand are the lyrics, which are now in Greek (often, in fact, they have nothing to do with the original ones), and, on the other hand, are the performance practices: different instrumentation, different singing style, often differences in melodic and rhythmic forms but also in the harmonies. Greek musicians adapt what they hear to their own condition, based on their own capabilities. After all, the mandolins, the guitars, the marches, polyphonic song and the bel canto singing style are characteristics that reveal the influences of the Canzone Napoletana on the Greek-speaking urban popular song. It should also be noted that, in various cases, often due to the great international success of the songs, the network that is finally formed is extremely complex and does not only concern Greek-Italian relations. Discography as well as the musical scores have 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”.

Research and text: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis