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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 networks in which the Greek-speaking musics participate, constantly conversing with their co-tenants, are 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”.
Naturally, in the large urban centers of the Ottoman Empire around the Mediterranean Sea, the “conversations” of the Greek-speakers with their Turkish-speaking Muslim “co-tenants”, the Catholic Greek-speakers, the Armenians, the Sepharadi and Ashkenazi Jews, the Levantine Protestants, and the Europeans and the Americans, were more than intense. Very often, the scope of this network extends to the Balkans, to Eastern and even to a part of Central Europe. Especially regarding relations between Orthodox and Muslims, the relevant evidence demonstrates the musical exchanges between them and elucidate an ecumene where everyone contributed to the great musical “melting-pot”, and where everyone may draw from it, as well as redeposit it, in a new form, with a reformulated text and its meaning, with sometimes clear and sometimes blurred references to its pre-text, until someone else pulls it out again, through the “melting-pot”, so that it becomes clear that there is no end in this recreational and dynamic process where fluidity prevails. A case that comes from such repertoires is this recording.
“Limneiko” was recorded on August 14, 1928, in New York by Giorgos Deligiorgis, performing whistling, accompanied by an unidentified instrumental trio consisting of lute, bouzouki and castanets. The recording was also released under the label of RCA Victor (38-3074-A), as well as by His Master's Voice Australia (EB56).
Musical themes from the tune either in their original form or in multiple variations, edits, recompositions, reconstructions and assemblies of tunes, forms, and adaptations of these appear in other Greek-speaking recordings as well. Indicative examples include “Iroini kai mavraki” by Sotiris Gavalas, performed by Stellakis Perpiniadis (Athens, 1934, Columbia Records CG 1103 – DG 6126); the song “O thermastis” by Giorgos Batis (Athens, 1934, His Master's Voice ΟΤ 1669 – ΑΟ 2161); “O Markos polytechnitis” by Markos Vamvakaris and Spyros Peristeris, performed by Markos Vamvakaris and Sofia Karivali (Athens, 1936, Odeon Records GO 2638-1 – GA 7005 / 190876 b); and “Sou to eipa vre kakourga” with Virginia Magkidou and an instrumental trio featuring Nikos D. (Nick Doneff) on the violin (USA, 1943, Metropolitan 166 A).
The tune is also found in the Turkish repertoire. On June 25, 1925, the instrumental ensemble Smyrna Quartett recorded the piece in New York under the title “Zeibek havassi” (Victor B-32930 – 78194 B). A few years later, around 1929–1930, it was recorded in Istanbul for Columbia Records under the title “İzmir zeybeği” (Columbia GT 18595) by an instrumental ensemble identified as “Ince saz”.
(We would warmly thank Recep Altinay for the discographic documentation of the recording “İzmir zeybeği”)
Finally, various parts from the multiple expressions of this tune seem to communicate with other "puzzles" of motifs, such as for example, “Zeybek” by Tamburaci Osman Pehlivan (Istanbul, July 29, 1928, His Master's Voice BF 2129-1 – A.X. 853 – 7-219429), “To koutsavaki” an arrangement by Minos Matsas performed by Zacharias Kasimatis, and “Oi Manges” by Iakovos Montanaris, performed by Antonis Ntalgkas.
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 networks in which the Greek-speaking musics participate, constantly conversing with their co-tenants, are 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”.
Naturally, in the large urban centers of the Ottoman Empire around the Mediterranean Sea, the “conversations” of the Greek-speakers with their Turkish-speaking Muslim “co-tenants”, the Catholic Greek-speakers, the Armenians, the Sepharadi and Ashkenazi Jews, the Levantine Protestants, and the Europeans and the Americans, were more than intense. Very often, the scope of this network extends to the Balkans, to Eastern and even to a part of Central Europe. Especially regarding relations between Orthodox and Muslims, the relevant evidence demonstrates the musical exchanges between them and elucidate an ecumene where everyone contributed to the great musical “melting-pot”, and where everyone may draw from it, as well as redeposit it, in a new form, with a reformulated text and its meaning, with sometimes clear and sometimes blurred references to its pre-text, until someone else pulls it out again, through the “melting-pot”, so that it becomes clear that there is no end in this recreational and dynamic process where fluidity prevails. A case that comes from such repertoires is this recording.
“Limneiko” was recorded on August 14, 1928, in New York by Giorgos Deligiorgis, performing whistling, accompanied by an unidentified instrumental trio consisting of lute, bouzouki and castanets. The recording was also released under the label of RCA Victor (38-3074-A), as well as by His Master's Voice Australia (EB56).
Musical themes from the tune either in their original form or in multiple variations, edits, recompositions, reconstructions and assemblies of tunes, forms, and adaptations of these appear in other Greek-speaking recordings as well. Indicative examples include “Iroini kai mavraki” by Sotiris Gavalas, performed by Stellakis Perpiniadis (Athens, 1934, Columbia Records CG 1103 – DG 6126); the song “O thermastis” by Giorgos Batis (Athens, 1934, His Master's Voice ΟΤ 1669 – ΑΟ 2161); “O Markos polytechnitis” by Markos Vamvakaris and Spyros Peristeris, performed by Markos Vamvakaris and Sofia Karivali (Athens, 1936, Odeon Records GO 2638-1 – GA 7005 / 190876 b); and “Sou to eipa vre kakourga” with Virginia Magkidou and an instrumental trio featuring Nikos D. (Nick Doneff) on the violin (USA, 1943, Metropolitan 166 A).
The tune is also found in the Turkish repertoire. On June 25, 1925, the instrumental ensemble Smyrna Quartett recorded the piece in New York under the title “Zeibek havassi” (Victor B-32930 – 78194 B). A few years later, around 1929–1930, it was recorded in Istanbul for Columbia Records under the title “İzmir zeybeği” (Columbia GT 18595) by an instrumental ensemble identified as “Ince saz”.
(We would warmly thank Recep Altinay for the discographic documentation of the recording “İzmir zeybeği”)
Finally, various parts from the multiple expressions of this tune seem to communicate with other "puzzles" of motifs, such as for example, “Zeybek” by Tamburaci Osman Pehlivan (Istanbul, July 29, 1928, His Master's Voice BF 2129-1 – A.X. 853 – 7-219429), “To koutsavaki” an arrangement by Minos Matsas performed by Zacharias Kasimatis, and “Oi Manges” by Iakovos Montanaris, performed by Antonis Ntalgkas.
© 2019 KOUNADIS ARCHIVE
