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The official history but also the short, human stories, personal events, as well as everything that moved or shocked the public opinion and had an impact and an influence on the psyche of the people and inspired the creators, were directly or indirectly part of the themes of Greek music.
In parallel with the developments and changes that take place in society, Greek music, as a social mirror but also as a field of symbolic recording and projection of the fierce controversies that express the deeper social demands of each era, records, and sometimes comments not only the important political, military and social events that have determined the course of Hellenism, but also almost all aspects of private life, hoarding the collective memory and capturing the paths of formation of national identity. A number of songs relate in various ways to people's professional activities. Such one case is the song "Marika i daskala".
The song (a repress from Columbia’s record DG 6234) is based on the melody of the song "Varvara".
Two more songs (four in total) with different lyrics were released based on the same melody): "Manolios kai Dimitroula" (Columbia DG 6414, Athens, 1938) and "Akou Duce mou ta nea".
The musical theme of Karots(i)eris, which was extremely popular in the Greek-speaking repertoire, appears as a small transient theme within the recording, as in other songs (see for example: "Fotia kai niata", "To kalokairi tora", "Tampachaniotikos manes" [shift], "Akou Duce mou ta nea", "Varvara", "Romaiiko glenti"). Apart from its Romanian origin and its strong ties with the local repertoire, the tune of "Karotsieris" also found in other repertoires, such as Jewish (for more see the recordings of "Karotseris" or "Karotsieri".
It seems that this tune is one of the most popular choices not only in the Greek-speaking urban folk-popular repertoire but also in others, something which highlights the cosmopolitanism and syncretism in which popular musicians lived and acted. Like other tunes, which eventually became what we would now call a “hit”, this one also puts emphasis on the interplay between the various repertoires which were discussants in a large geographical area. Thus arises an exciting network that includes repertoires from Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Mediterranean, which, on the one hand, came from three great empires: the Ottoman, the Austrian and the Russian. On the other hand, repertoires from Italy the Canzone Napoletana, the French chansons, the Spanish world and other sub-networks,were also very active, but also repertoires from two large worlds that were constantly on the move: the gypsy and the Jewish (mainly Yiddish) one. Discography is not only embedded in this context, but plays a key role in its transformation.
Commenting on the song, Alexandra Karina states the following (2018: 53-54):
"The teaching profession gathers large numbers of women, as it is one of the oldest female professions. It has peculiarities in relation to other women's professions and has played an important role in conquests – such as that of the equal pay of teachers since 1922 – for the rights of working women. 'The sector, since the 19th century, has a tradition of participating in movements to improve the position of women. Many of the pioneers of Feminism in Greece were teachers, and many of the members of feminist organizations during the interwar period are teachers too' (Avdela, 1988:46). In Efi Avdela’s study, through the pages of the Didaskaliko Vima (Teaching Tribune), the debate on the position of female teachers during the decade 1924-1934 and 1935-1936 is examined. The position of most of the female teachers participating in the debate is on the side of the Association for Women's Rights (AWR). Issues such as voting, equality, equal work are considered. However, they are attacked either for equal pay, since by law they are not the heads of the family, 'they want the salary for frills and twists' (Avdela, 1988:48) and with their salary they bruise males’ ego, or for the burning issue of the combination marriage and work'... from the moment they get married, they neglect school and are therefore responsible for its disorganization.' (Avdela, 1988:51). '...they are indifferent to the professional struggle and consider the profession a sideline and a transitional period before marriage.' (Avdela, 1988:49). Married teachers retire voluntarily after fifteen years of service, and there are also those who argue that they must be removed from the teaching profession. 'Because they often continue to work, they are bad housewives due to lack of time, and so they set a bad example for their female students. When they have children of their own, they absorb their time so much that they perform their duties poorly. Finally, their presence becomes more and more problematic when they become pregnant, because the view of a pregnant woman is immoral and harmful for young children.' (Avdela, 1988:51). Thus, one can observe a lot of stereotypes and social inequalities reflected in the teaching profession.
In the song I Marika i Daskala (Marika the Teacher) by Panos Tountas, and in relation to our study, we will initially dwell on two verses: the miser teacher, who has two big houses, likes everything soft but is afraid to spend. The characterization of the teacher as a miser may be allegorical and hide love implications, especially since it is completed by the verse 'likes everything soft but is afraid to spend'. This hypothesis is also supported by the fact that the song was recorded shortly after the banning of the song I Varvara, by the same composer (Kardaras, 2015:237), with a purely sexual content despite the extensive use of allegory. Although the two songs are different from each other, it is difficult to ignore their connection since they have the exact same musical composition. Marika, the teacher, when speaking in the first person in the third line of the song, seems to be capricious and condescending at the urging of Panagiotis, the fisherman: I have two fine sea basses that have just arrived from Rafina, take them, boil them and make a fish soup. She replies: Sea bass is not good enough for me, I want a fish to fry, and if I don’t find a bonito I buy a bogue or a picarel, and if I don’t find such fish I buy an oka of beetroots, I put a little oil and I eat at night. We argue, therefore, that in this particular rebetiko song the issue of loneliness of the working female teachers is also raised, since, as we have seen above, a potential marriage could lead to a general outcry or the loss of their work. After all, the last two verses (likes everything soft but is afraid to spend, and so from her stinginess her belly is left empty) contribute to the conclusion about loneliness and social deprivation. Finally, we wondered about the verse who has two big houses mentioned in the first and last line of the song, which may imply the issue of sharing the responsibilities of the working female teacher at home as well as at school."
Research and text by: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis
The official history but also the short, human stories, personal events, as well as everything that moved or shocked the public opinion and had an impact and an influence on the psyche of the people and inspired the creators, were directly or indirectly part of the themes of Greek music.
In parallel with the developments and changes that take place in society, Greek music, as a social mirror but also as a field of symbolic recording and projection of the fierce controversies that express the deeper social demands of each era, records, and sometimes comments not only the important political, military and social events that have determined the course of Hellenism, but also almost all aspects of private life, hoarding the collective memory and capturing the paths of formation of national identity. A number of songs relate in various ways to people's professional activities. Such one case is the song "Marika i daskala".
The song (a repress from Columbia’s record DG 6234) is based on the melody of the song "Varvara".
Two more songs (four in total) with different lyrics were released based on the same melody): "Manolios kai Dimitroula" (Columbia DG 6414, Athens, 1938) and "Akou Duce mou ta nea".
The musical theme of Karots(i)eris, which was extremely popular in the Greek-speaking repertoire, appears as a small transient theme within the recording, as in other songs (see for example: "Fotia kai niata", "To kalokairi tora", "Tampachaniotikos manes" [shift], "Akou Duce mou ta nea", "Varvara", "Romaiiko glenti"). Apart from its Romanian origin and its strong ties with the local repertoire, the tune of "Karotsieris" also found in other repertoires, such as Jewish (for more see the recordings of "Karotseris" or "Karotsieri".
It seems that this tune is one of the most popular choices not only in the Greek-speaking urban folk-popular repertoire but also in others, something which highlights the cosmopolitanism and syncretism in which popular musicians lived and acted. Like other tunes, which eventually became what we would now call a “hit”, this one also puts emphasis on the interplay between the various repertoires which were discussants in a large geographical area. Thus arises an exciting network that includes repertoires from Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Mediterranean, which, on the one hand, came from three great empires: the Ottoman, the Austrian and the Russian. On the other hand, repertoires from Italy the Canzone Napoletana, the French chansons, the Spanish world and other sub-networks,were also very active, but also repertoires from two large worlds that were constantly on the move: the gypsy and the Jewish (mainly Yiddish) one. Discography is not only embedded in this context, but plays a key role in its transformation.
Commenting on the song, Alexandra Karina states the following (2018: 53-54):
"The teaching profession gathers large numbers of women, as it is one of the oldest female professions. It has peculiarities in relation to other women's professions and has played an important role in conquests – such as that of the equal pay of teachers since 1922 – for the rights of working women. 'The sector, since the 19th century, has a tradition of participating in movements to improve the position of women. Many of the pioneers of Feminism in Greece were teachers, and many of the members of feminist organizations during the interwar period are teachers too' (Avdela, 1988:46). In Efi Avdela’s study, through the pages of the Didaskaliko Vima (Teaching Tribune), the debate on the position of female teachers during the decade 1924-1934 and 1935-1936 is examined. The position of most of the female teachers participating in the debate is on the side of the Association for Women's Rights (AWR). Issues such as voting, equality, equal work are considered. However, they are attacked either for equal pay, since by law they are not the heads of the family, 'they want the salary for frills and twists' (Avdela, 1988:48) and with their salary they bruise males’ ego, or for the burning issue of the combination marriage and work'... from the moment they get married, they neglect school and are therefore responsible for its disorganization.' (Avdela, 1988:51). '...they are indifferent to the professional struggle and consider the profession a sideline and a transitional period before marriage.' (Avdela, 1988:49). Married teachers retire voluntarily after fifteen years of service, and there are also those who argue that they must be removed from the teaching profession. 'Because they often continue to work, they are bad housewives due to lack of time, and so they set a bad example for their female students. When they have children of their own, they absorb their time so much that they perform their duties poorly. Finally, their presence becomes more and more problematic when they become pregnant, because the view of a pregnant woman is immoral and harmful for young children.' (Avdela, 1988:51). Thus, one can observe a lot of stereotypes and social inequalities reflected in the teaching profession.
In the song I Marika i Daskala (Marika the Teacher) by Panos Tountas, and in relation to our study, we will initially dwell on two verses: the miser teacher, who has two big houses, likes everything soft but is afraid to spend. The characterization of the teacher as a miser may be allegorical and hide love implications, especially since it is completed by the verse 'likes everything soft but is afraid to spend'. This hypothesis is also supported by the fact that the song was recorded shortly after the banning of the song I Varvara, by the same composer (Kardaras, 2015:237), with a purely sexual content despite the extensive use of allegory. Although the two songs are different from each other, it is difficult to ignore their connection since they have the exact same musical composition. Marika, the teacher, when speaking in the first person in the third line of the song, seems to be capricious and condescending at the urging of Panagiotis, the fisherman: I have two fine sea basses that have just arrived from Rafina, take them, boil them and make a fish soup. She replies: Sea bass is not good enough for me, I want a fish to fry, and if I don’t find a bonito I buy a bogue or a picarel, and if I don’t find such fish I buy an oka of beetroots, I put a little oil and I eat at night. We argue, therefore, that in this particular rebetiko song the issue of loneliness of the working female teachers is also raised, since, as we have seen above, a potential marriage could lead to a general outcry or the loss of their work. After all, the last two verses (likes everything soft but is afraid to spend, and so from her stinginess her belly is left empty) contribute to the conclusion about loneliness and social deprivation. Finally, we wondered about the verse who has two big houses mentioned in the first and last line of the song, which may imply the issue of sharing the responsibilities of the working female teacher at home as well as at school."
Research and text by: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis
© 2019 KOUNADIS ARCHIVE
