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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 this type of repertoire is the song "To tagko tis maskas".
According to the score published by Kazazis Publications in Athens under the title "Le tango d' une masque" (Den me xevreis... den se xevro!...)", the music of the song is by A. M. and the lyrics by X. X. As can be seen from the handwritten score of the same title posted on the website ERT Archive the composer of the song is Angelos Martino. Regarding the lyricist, George Konstantzos, Thomas Tamvakos, Athanasios Trikoupis (2014: 150-151) note that X.X. was the pseudonym used by the composer Sotirios Gkrek.
In the Greek historical discography, apart from the present performance, the song was recorded twice by Marika Papagkika in New York ["Den me xereis, den se xero (To tagko tis maskas)", Columbia USA 87917-2 – E-7455, December 1921 and "Den me xevreis, den se xevro", Victor B-26972-2 – 73564-Β, October 18, 1922) and by Vivi Antonopoulou ["I maska (Den me xevreis, den se xevro, Panhellenion 326-A, New York, 1922 or 1923].
The song is also found in the Turkish repertoire. Around 1929 Afife Hanim (see here) made the recording "Gül Tango (Gülistanda gördüm seni)" in Istanbul (Odeon Co 482 – A 202025 a). Cemal Ünlü's website lists another recording titled "Gül Tango" (Sahibinin Sesi AX 1888) for which no audio material has been found. It was performed around 1936 in Istanbul by Birsen Şemsî.
It is noteworthy that the Turkish version of the song is also found in contemporary discography, in contrast to the Greek version which is recorded exclusively in the aforementioned recordings from the 1920s. In 2011 it was recorded by Dilek Türkan ("Gülistan Tango", CD "Aşk Mevsimi", Kalan Müzik 532) and in 2018 by Meral Azizoğlu ("Gülistan Tango", CD "Gülistanbul", Kalan Müzik 8691834012066). In both performances, as well as in the Turkish score (see here), the music of the song is attributed to Haydar Tatlıyay.
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 this type of repertoire is the song "To tagko tis maskas".
According to the score published by Kazazis Publications in Athens under the title "Le tango d' une masque" (Den me xevreis... den se xevro!...)", the music of the song is by A. M. and the lyrics by X. X. As can be seen from the handwritten score of the same title posted on the website ERT Archive the composer of the song is Angelos Martino. Regarding the lyricist, George Konstantzos, Thomas Tamvakos, Athanasios Trikoupis (2014: 150-151) note that X.X. was the pseudonym used by the composer Sotirios Gkrek.
In the Greek historical discography, apart from the present performance, the song was recorded twice by Marika Papagkika in New York ["Den me xereis, den se xero (To tagko tis maskas)", Columbia USA 87917-2 – E-7455, December 1921 and "Den me xevreis, den se xevro", Victor B-26972-2 – 73564-Β, October 18, 1922) and by Vivi Antonopoulou ["I maska (Den me xevreis, den se xevro, Panhellenion 326-A, New York, 1922 or 1923].
The song is also found in the Turkish repertoire. Around 1929 Afife Hanim (see here) made the recording "Gül Tango (Gülistanda gördüm seni)" in Istanbul (Odeon Co 482 – A 202025 a). Cemal Ünlü's website lists another recording titled "Gül Tango" (Sahibinin Sesi AX 1888) for which no audio material has been found. It was performed around 1936 in Istanbul by Birsen Şemsî.
It is noteworthy that the Turkish version of the song is also found in contemporary discography, in contrast to the Greek version which is recorded exclusively in the aforementioned recordings from the 1920s. In 2011 it was recorded by Dilek Türkan ("Gülistan Tango", CD "Aşk Mevsimi", Kalan Müzik 532) and in 2018 by Meral Azizoğlu ("Gülistan Tango", CD "Gülistanbul", Kalan Müzik 8691834012066). In both performances, as well as in the Turkish score (see here), the music of the song is attributed to Haydar Tatlıyay.
© 2019 KOUNADIS ARCHIVE
