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”.

Historical sources underline the close relations between Italian-speaking and Greek-speaking music. The conversations that developed with specific places, such as the Ionian Islands, the Dodecanese and Patras, as well as their results, are enough to highlight the strong ties between the two ethno-cultural groups. Furthermore, relationships were forged in places where the two ethnicities lived together, such as, for example, in the case of cosmopolitan Smyrna (Izmir) in the Ottoman Empire, or that of New York, where Italians and Greeks immigrated. When researching the historical material, it seems that one particular city in the Italian peninsula developed special relations with the large urban centers where Greek-speaking musicians played a leading role: it was Naples, with its famous Canzone Napoletana, from which the Greek protagonists borrowed music and/or lyrics. In many cases, the appropriations concern not only Neapolitan-speaking songs but the Italian language as a whole, since, often, the original Neapolitan-speaking songs were translated into Italian, from which the loan arose. These songs arrived at the Greek-speaking world either directly or indirectly, through other repertoire networks. In any case, the circulation of musics is already a reality before the 20th century with theatrical and musical performances tours, but also with the networks of music publishing houses. Discography is not only embedded in this context, but plays a key role in its transformation. The appropriation by Greek musicians is twofold: on the one hand are the lyrics, which are now in Greek (often, in fact, they have nothing to do with the original ones), and, on the other hand, are the performance practices: different instrumentation, different singing style, often differences in melodic and rhythmic forms but also in the harmonies. Greek musicians adapt what they hear to their own condition, based on their own capabilities. After all, the mandolins, the guitars, the marches, polyphonic song and the bel canto singing style are characteristics that reveal the influences of the Canzone Napoletana on the Greek-speaking urban popular song. Greek-speaking urban popular song. It should also be noted that, in various cases, often due to the great international success of the songs, the network that is finally formed is extremely complex and doesn not only concern Greek-Italian relations. Neapolitan music, however, seems to have found other ways of communicating with the Greek-speaking music world. One such case is the song “Choris kardia”.

It is a composition by Giovanni Ingenito with lyrics by D. Vitalis, as documented by a musical score of the song in Thomas Tamvakos’ archive. The musical score was published by the Christidis publishing house in Constantinople (Istanbul) and by the Fexis publishing house in Athens (see here).

Giovanni Ingenito was born in Palma Campania, a small community outside Naples, and immigrated to America shortly before 1920. In the book Mousourgoi tis Thrakis (Composers of Thrace) (Konstantzos, Tamvakos, Trikoupis, 2014), some information about the composer Giovanni Ingenito is presented. It is mentioned that during "his short stay in Constantinople [Istanbul] (early 20th century) [...], he composed some works published by the Christidis and the Lehner music publishing houses in Constantinople [Istanbul]. Those were the following: "Choris kardia", "Sérenade d' amore" based on D. Vitalis’ poetry and "S’ ekeini" for voice and piano, and also 'Valse Constantinople' for piano or mandolin or violin."

In addition, Athanasios Trikoupis (2015: 31) mentions that Ingenito took over as conductor of the orchestra of the "Neos Filarmonikos Syllogos Zakynthou" ("Zakynthos’ New Philharmonic Association") in 1899.

The case of Ingenito is an extremely interesting chapter in the relations between Naples and the Greek-speaking world, as, from within the Greek network, we see him taking over posts and composing songs with Greek lyrics (here, in fact, through the Spanish-occupied path of the Afro-Cuban origins habanera) based on the aesthetics of the "Canzone Napoletana".

According to the database that emerged from Alan Kelly’s research and other sources, the Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina) also participated in the recording, which was also released by Gramophone on the record 3-14397, and the song seems to have been recorded earlier than this recording:

– "Choris cardhia", Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina), Constantinople, 1905 (Zonophone 123s – Z-0104500).
– "Choris kardia", Petros Zounarakis, Constantinople, 1906 (Zonophone 1637r – X-104051), current recording.
– "Choris kardia", Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina), Constantinople, 1906 (Zonophone 1468r – X-104549 και Gramophone 4-12582).
– "Choris kardia", Giagkos Psamathianos, Athens, October 1907 (Zonophone 10713b – X-2-102667 and Gramophone 14-12970).
– "Choris kardia", Ellinikon Melodrama Dionysiou Lavragka (Dionysios Lavragkas’ Greek Melodrama), Athens, 1907–1908 (Odeon GX 48 – No 65050).
– "Choris kardia", Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina), Constantinople, 1908 (Lyrophon No 301).
– "Choris cardia", Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina), Smyrna (Izmir), May 1909 (Gramophone 13411b – 3-14583).
– “Choris cardia den ilpiza gia na 'sai”, Georgios Chelmis, New York, 1918 (Columbia 84209 - E4024).

Several of the above recordings of the song were made by the "usual suspects", the Greek estudiantinas. These bands took on the role of a peculiar "radio" of the time, introducing into discography the hits, which came from a variety of repertoires, Greek and foreign, and were popular in the already cosmopolitan circles of the large urban centers of the Ottoman Empire in which Greek musicians played a leading role.

The final section of this recording is of particular interest. From 2′14″ to the end, it includes an instrumental part which also appears in the later recording "Ta koudounakia" (Columbia 38458-1 – E 1258), which was made on November 29, 1912, in New York by Marios Lymperopoulos. According to the musical score published by Georgios Fexis Editions under the title "Ellinikos Tetrachoros", which includes excerpts from eight songs—among them the one in this recording—the song is a composition by Nikolaos Kokkinos.

It is also noteworthy that among the four available performances of the song, this particular instrumental section is found only in the present recording.

Research and text: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis