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”.

The inextricable relation between music and performing arts is more than vital. The theater (and later the cinema as well) traffics music on its own terms and plays a key role in diffusing it to places that are often far away. It also builds a special network that communicates with discography. Some of the songs written for the plays are often the tip of the spear as regards their popularity. What Thodoros Chatzipantazis notes (Chatzipantazis - Maraka, 1977, 1: 157-158) about the importance of music in the Athenian revue is indicative: "In the revue, music has at least the same rights as the script, and, in some cases, even more. [...] The avid spectators used to go again and again in order to see the same revue mostly for the songs; they used to protractedly applaud every night for the songs, and they used to persistently ask for repetitions for a third and fourth time."

The present recording, which was also released by Columbia (70493 – D.G.X. 49), documents a number from an unidentified revue, which includes, among other elements:

a) A tune that appears to have been recorded for the first time in Greek discography under the title "Gamilion emvatirion" (Wedding March, 3′ 06″ to 3′ 52″).
b) An excerpt from the "Marche funèbre", the third movement of the "Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35" by the Polish composer Frédéric Chopin (3′ 55″ to 4′ 14″).

The first tune, which in the Greek musical tradition has become associated with wedding ceremonies and bridal processions, is also known under other titles, including "Patinada tis Nyfis", "Tzivaeri Nyfiatiko", and "Tzizair". The melody is also encountered in other national repertoires, including those of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, Armenia, Bulgaria, Lebanon, and Syria (for further information, see the recording "Gamilion emvatirion").

Of particular interest is the juxtaposition of this wedding related melody with an excerpt from the "Marche funèbre".

Frédéric Chopin completed his Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 35, one of the most iconic works of the Romantic piano repertoire, in 1839, one year before its publication in musucal score (see here) in 1840. The sonata has been recorded by numerous pianists (see here) and continues to occupy a prominent place in concert programmes and piano competitions. Notable interpretations include those by Sergei Rachmaninoff (see here) and Maurizio Pollini (see here). The "Marche funèbre", one of Chopin's most celebrated compositions, has been arranged and recorded countless times for a variety of instrumental settings (see for example here and here). One of its earliest recordings was made in New York around 1901 by the Columbia Band under the title "Funeral March" (Columbia 253–253). For further information on Chopin and his work see here, here and here.

Petros Kyriakos made another recording of the number under discussion, with only negligible differences from the present performance. This recording was released in the United States by RCA Victor under the title "Souip Steik" (CS1169 – 38-3079-A) and by Orthophonic under the same title ("Souip Steik", CS1169 – S-704-A). It was probably one of the sixty recordings made in Athens between 5 and 10 May 1932 by a recording unit of The Gramophone Co. Ltd., which were issued exclusively for the American market on the Victor and Orthophonic labels. Among them were eleven recordings by Petros Kyriakos, made on 5, 6 and 7 May (see here).

According to the Discography of American Historical Recordings these releases derive from a dub of the original recording, produced on 17 March 1936 at Victor's Studio 3 in New York and assigned the number CS-99795. This dub was subsequently used to create matrix CS1169, from which the corresponding records were issued in the United States. According to the same source, they were released in July 1948.

It should also be noted that Petros Kyriakos is credited on the Pathé issue, George Kamvysis and Kyriakos Mavreas on the RCA Victor issue, and George Kamvysis on the Orthophonic issue.