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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”.
The tune that uses the mimetic word "tounte" seems to be related to the region of Wallachia; the word comes from the Vlach dialect. In historical discography, the tune created an important tradition, coming mainly from Greek-speaking headliners, both from the popular and the scholar repertoires. These performances come from an even greater performative tradition, still alive even today, mainly in the folk repertoire. This performative reality has created powerful entities, that is, songs, which seem to communicate with that of "tounte". These are usually entitled "Tsompanopoulo", "Lagiarni", "Tsopanakos", "Skaros".
The theme was the focus of an excellent presentation by the famous collector Martin Schwartz, in the series of lectures "The Promiscuous World of Jewish Music Series" organized by Joshua Horowitz.
Some recordings from Greek discography are the following:
- "Tounte psychokori", Athinaiki Estudiantina (Athenian Estudiantina), Gramophone 2505h – 14644, Constantinople (Istanbul) October–November 1904. W. Sinkler Darby was in charge of the recording (this record)
- "Tounte tounte", Estudiantina Sideris, Odeon CX 691 – No 31330, Constantinople, 1906. Based on the data that emerged from the research in Greek historical discography, it seems that this recording is one of the first, if not the first, where a piano is heard
- "Tounte tounte", Kyriakoula Antonopoulou, Panhellenion Pan 447 – 4000, America, 1919
- "Tsopanakos imouna", Apostolos Predaris, Polydor 4688 ar – V 45104, Athens, 1927
- "I ntanta", Giorgos Papasideris, Columbia CG 1028 – DG 6031, Athens, 1934. It is one of the extremely interesting cases in Greek discography, where the lyrics can have multiple meanings, one of them being of a sexual nature.
The tune, however, seems to have been introduced into the kezmer/Yiddish repertoire of the Jews living en masse in regions of Wallachia, who brought it to the American reality. Some recordings:
- "Tunda tunda" (Тунда Тунда), Aaron Lebedeff (Лебедевъ), Syrena 12548, 1912–1913 (see first comment here)
- "Tunda tunda" (Тунда Тунда), Orkiestr Stella (Оркестр Стелла), Stella Concert Record (Стелла Концертъ Рекордъ) 13055, 1912–1913
- "Er fort avek" (эр форт авек), Evokans State Jewish Choir Capella – Yegoshua Sheinin (Государственная еврейская хоровая капелла УССР Евоканс), Noginsk Plant ГРК 512 – 3278, Moscow, 1935
The first Greek recording under the title "Tounte psychokori" was probably included in the dramatic romance in four acts "Psychokori" by the actor Ioannis Votsaris, "with the sweetest domestic songs", which was based on the German short story "Almenrausch und Edelweiss" by Hermann Schmid. The play, which in 1909 was published in a book by the Fexis publishing house, was presented by touring troupes in centers of Hellenism such as Thessaloniki, Alexandria, Odessa and Cyprus. It is also referred to by the titles "Psychokori i o listis Grikellas", "Psychokori i o archilistis Krinellas" and "O listarchos Krikelas i i Psychokori". According to the program of the play, it was presented in 1895 at the Odeion theater (formerly Verdis) in Constantinople by the "Alexiadis – Pantopoulou Panhellenic Drama Theater Troupe".
Panagiotis Kounadis also mentions the following (2000: 361): "It is a series of well-known and unknown folk, popular and light songs that are included in the dramatic romance 'Psychokori', which, according to information given to us by Christos Solomonidis in his book 'To theatro sti Smyrni 1657–1922', premiered in Smyrna (Izmir) in 1903 by the 'Bonasera troupe' at the 'Prokymaia (Quay) theater'. The play was staged again in 1907 by the Gennadis Greek troupe at the 'Parthenon' theater in Smyrna, as well as in 1915 by the Mertikas troupe".
If we take into account the fact that Aaron Lebedeff, the performer of the Jewish version of the song for Syrena, was one of the most famous headliners of the Yiddish theater (whether this was the music theater or not) and lived and wandered as a professional actor in various regions, mainly of the Russian Empire, before emigrating to America around 1920, then it is possible that he heard the tune, in this particular form, when attending one of the performances of the play "Psychokori".
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: Leonardos Kounadis and 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”.
The tune that uses the mimetic word "tounte" seems to be related to the region of Wallachia; the word comes from the Vlach dialect. In historical discography, the tune created an important tradition, coming mainly from Greek-speaking headliners, both from the popular and the scholar repertoires. These performances come from an even greater performative tradition, still alive even today, mainly in the folk repertoire. This performative reality has created powerful entities, that is, songs, which seem to communicate with that of "tounte". These are usually entitled "Tsompanopoulo", "Lagiarni", "Tsopanakos", "Skaros".
The theme was the focus of an excellent presentation by the famous collector Martin Schwartz, in the series of lectures "The Promiscuous World of Jewish Music Series" organized by Joshua Horowitz.
Some recordings from Greek discography are the following:
- "Tounte psychokori", Athinaiki Estudiantina (Athenian Estudiantina), Gramophone 2505h – 14644, Constantinople (Istanbul) October–November 1904. W. Sinkler Darby was in charge of the recording (this record)
- "Tounte tounte", Estudiantina Sideris, Odeon CX 691 – No 31330, Constantinople, 1906. Based on the data that emerged from the research in Greek historical discography, it seems that this recording is one of the first, if not the first, where a piano is heard
- "Tounte tounte", Kyriakoula Antonopoulou, Panhellenion Pan 447 – 4000, America, 1919
- "Tsopanakos imouna", Apostolos Predaris, Polydor 4688 ar – V 45104, Athens, 1927
- "I ntanta", Giorgos Papasideris, Columbia CG 1028 – DG 6031, Athens, 1934. It is one of the extremely interesting cases in Greek discography, where the lyrics can have multiple meanings, one of them being of a sexual nature.
The tune, however, seems to have been introduced into the kezmer/Yiddish repertoire of the Jews living en masse in regions of Wallachia, who brought it to the American reality. Some recordings:
- "Tunda tunda" (Тунда Тунда), Aaron Lebedeff (Лебедевъ), Syrena 12548, 1912–1913 (see first comment here)
- "Tunda tunda" (Тунда Тунда), Orkiestr Stella (Оркестр Стелла), Stella Concert Record (Стелла Концертъ Рекордъ) 13055, 1912–1913
- "Er fort avek" (эр форт авек), Evokans State Jewish Choir Capella – Yegoshua Sheinin (Государственная еврейская хоровая капелла УССР Евоканс), Noginsk Plant ГРК 512 – 3278, Moscow, 1935
The first Greek recording under the title "Tounte psychokori" was probably included in the dramatic romance in four acts "Psychokori" by the actor Ioannis Votsaris, "with the sweetest domestic songs", which was based on the German short story "Almenrausch und Edelweiss" by Hermann Schmid. The play, which in 1909 was published in a book by the Fexis publishing house, was presented by touring troupes in centers of Hellenism such as Thessaloniki, Alexandria, Odessa and Cyprus. It is also referred to by the titles "Psychokori i o listis Grikellas", "Psychokori i o archilistis Krinellas" and "O listarchos Krikelas i i Psychokori". According to the program of the play, it was presented in 1895 at the Odeion theater (formerly Verdis) in Constantinople by the "Alexiadis – Pantopoulou Panhellenic Drama Theater Troupe".
Panagiotis Kounadis also mentions the following (2000: 361): "It is a series of well-known and unknown folk, popular and light songs that are included in the dramatic romance 'Psychokori', which, according to information given to us by Christos Solomonidis in his book 'To theatro sti Smyrni 1657–1922', premiered in Smyrna (Izmir) in 1903 by the 'Bonasera troupe' at the 'Prokymaia (Quay) theater'. The play was staged again in 1907 by the Gennadis Greek troupe at the 'Parthenon' theater in Smyrna, as well as in 1915 by the Mertikas troupe".
If we take into account the fact that Aaron Lebedeff, the performer of the Jewish version of the song for Syrena, was one of the most famous headliners of the Yiddish theater (whether this was the music theater or not) and lived and wandered as a professional actor in various regions, mainly of the Russian Empire, before emigrating to America around 1920, then it is possible that he heard the tune, in this particular form, when attending one of the performances of the play "Psychokori".
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: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis
© 2019 KOUNADIS ARCHIVE
