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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”.
Tango is one of the main musical elements of the national identity of modern Argentina. It is born in the marginalized environment of the port of Buenos Aires, but soon conquers Europe and the USA, where it is carried by traveling Argentine musicians and dancers during the first decade of the 20th century. Its acceptance by the upper and middle classes was due to its transformation from a multicultural musical expression of the underworld to a dance-music one for whites, as well as to its thematic cleansing of its overtly sensual origins. Primarily marginal types and their provocative liminality are replaced by quaint figures who are possessed by unquenchable, but stylized love passions. This is how a “tamed” musical genre emerges that recalls a more romantic Argentina. Tango takes Parisian cabarets by storm, and its initially targeted popularity soon develops into widespread appeal. Record companies, composers and orchestras manage it as an integral part of their business. At the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s, Greece succumbs too to this “tangomania”. During the interwar period, tango has a central place in the repertoire of elafro (light music) and enriches discography’s catalogs with hundreds of original compositions which complement the systematic arrangements of popular pieces, mainly of European origin, “dressed” with Greek lyrics.
This recording, a release of Columbia DG 5, is an adaptation with Greek lyrics of the tango-chanson "Crépusculo", set to music and lyrics by Eduardo Bianco.
The first recording of the song took place in Paris, in October 23, 1926 by Eduardo Bianco - Juan Raggi and Orchestre Argentin Bianco - Bachicha (Odeon KI 975 - 74.352).
The song was recorded several times in historical discography. For example:
- "Crépuscule", M. Marino - Orch. Jose Padilla, Paris, 1928 (Pathé N 8659-1 - X. 8544)
- "Twilight (Crépuscule)", Mark Weber and his Orchestra, Berlin, March 6, 1928 (Electrola BL3931 - EG-822 και Victor V-14)
- "Crepuscule", Orchestra Grigoraş Dinicu, Romania, 1929-1930 (Columbia H 2099 - D 30860)
- "Crepuscule", Einar Bjørneboe, Denmark, 1948 (Tono 3217 D - SP 4564-1)
- "Crepuscule", Malando and his rumba tango orchestra, probably Netherlands, 1951 (Philips AA 15362 2 H - P 15362 H)
In addition to the present recording, four other covers of the song have been released in Greel historical discography:
- «To souroupo», Antonis Delendas, Athens, 1929 (Pathé 80069 - STARR 70146)
- "Krepyskyl", Chavagies Dimitriou - Mpezou, Athens, 1930 (Columbia WG 40 - D.G. 68)
- "Krepyskyl", Dimitris Filippopoulos, Giorgos Savaris, Lousien Miliaris, Athens, 1930 (Columbia WG-79 - D.G. 94)
- "Krepouskoulo", Mina Kyriakou - Petros Epitropakis, Athens, 1930 (Odeon GZA 2801/Go 1508 - ZA 190817 a)
The Greek musical score, with lyrics by Jean Tsamados, was published in Athens around 1930 by the Konstantinidis - Starr publishing house.
The recording was most likely made in Milan, since, according to the extremely interesting report prepared by Edmund Michael Innes from his trip to Greece in April-May 1930 as an envoy of the English record label His Master's Voice in order to collect and record information on the situation of the label in Greece (also) in relation to the other record labels that were active in the industry, the record label Columbia sent almost every two months one of its tenors ([Michalis] Thomakos [Tomako]) to Milan in order to record its latest western hits.
Research and text: George Evangelou, 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 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”.
Tango is one of the main musical elements of the national identity of modern Argentina. It is born in the marginalized environment of the port of Buenos Aires, but soon conquers Europe and the USA, where it is carried by traveling Argentine musicians and dancers during the first decade of the 20th century. Its acceptance by the upper and middle classes was due to its transformation from a multicultural musical expression of the underworld to a dance-music one for whites, as well as to its thematic cleansing of its overtly sensual origins. Primarily marginal types and their provocative liminality are replaced by quaint figures who are possessed by unquenchable, but stylized love passions. This is how a “tamed” musical genre emerges that recalls a more romantic Argentina. Tango takes Parisian cabarets by storm, and its initially targeted popularity soon develops into widespread appeal. Record companies, composers and orchestras manage it as an integral part of their business. At the end of the 1920s and the beginning of the 1930s, Greece succumbs too to this “tangomania”. During the interwar period, tango has a central place in the repertoire of elafro (light music) and enriches discography’s catalogs with hundreds of original compositions which complement the systematic arrangements of popular pieces, mainly of European origin, “dressed” with Greek lyrics.
This recording, a release of Columbia DG 5, is an adaptation with Greek lyrics of the tango-chanson "Crépusculo", set to music and lyrics by Eduardo Bianco.
The first recording of the song took place in Paris, in October 23, 1926 by Eduardo Bianco - Juan Raggi and Orchestre Argentin Bianco - Bachicha (Odeon KI 975 - 74.352).
The song was recorded several times in historical discography. For example:
- "Crépuscule", M. Marino - Orch. Jose Padilla, Paris, 1928 (Pathé N 8659-1 - X. 8544)
- "Twilight (Crépuscule)", Mark Weber and his Orchestra, Berlin, March 6, 1928 (Electrola BL3931 - EG-822 και Victor V-14)
- "Crepuscule", Orchestra Grigoraş Dinicu, Romania, 1929-1930 (Columbia H 2099 - D 30860)
- "Crepuscule", Einar Bjørneboe, Denmark, 1948 (Tono 3217 D - SP 4564-1)
- "Crepuscule", Malando and his rumba tango orchestra, probably Netherlands, 1951 (Philips AA 15362 2 H - P 15362 H)
In addition to the present recording, four other covers of the song have been released in Greel historical discography:
- «To souroupo», Antonis Delendas, Athens, 1929 (Pathé 80069 - STARR 70146)
- "Krepyskyl", Chavagies Dimitriou - Mpezou, Athens, 1930 (Columbia WG 40 - D.G. 68)
- "Krepyskyl", Dimitris Filippopoulos, Giorgos Savaris, Lousien Miliaris, Athens, 1930 (Columbia WG-79 - D.G. 94)
- "Krepouskoulo", Mina Kyriakou - Petros Epitropakis, Athens, 1930 (Odeon GZA 2801/Go 1508 - ZA 190817 a)
The Greek musical score, with lyrics by Jean Tsamados, was published in Athens around 1930 by the Konstantinidis - Starr publishing house.
The recording was most likely made in Milan, since, according to the extremely interesting report prepared by Edmund Michael Innes from his trip to Greece in April-May 1930 as an envoy of the English record label His Master's Voice in order to collect and record information on the situation of the label in Greece (also) in relation to the other record labels that were active in the industry, the record label Columbia sent almost every two months one of its tenors ([Michalis] Thomakos [Tomako]) to Milan in order to record its latest western hits.
Research and text: George Evangelou, Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis
© 2019 KOUNADIS ARCHIVE
