Part of the content is temporarily available only in Greek
Ever since antiquity, music transcription has been the intrinsic way of visual representation of sound, sometimes in detail and sometimes in the form of a guide. Throughout time, the visual capture of music has been the only way to store and preserve it over time, but also the exclusive means of reproducing it. In any case, visual transfer should be considered as an auxiliary tool, since oral dissemination and storage in the memory of artists have been the most timeless techniques for the diffusion of music through time and space. During Europe's so-called "classical" musical period, with its most powerful centers of production, such as today's Austria, Germany, France and Italy, and especially in its path towards Romanticism, music transcription, that is, the musical score, was considered by some composers as the very embodiment of their work.
Understandably, in the modern capitalist world, music transcription, as the primary tool for the substantialization of music, brought under its purview repertoires that were not connected, were not disseminated, and did not function on the basis of their transcription. This offered to the music product sales centers an additional tool to expand their action network: non-scholar musics acquired a convenient way of circulating them, enhancing their popularity, even in places very far from those of their original creation. At the end of the 19th century, however, the phenomenon of sound recording and reproduction rearranged relationships and disrupted the status quo of publishing houses, claiming a share of the market, offering a product that was extremely complete and immediate. The publishing houses tried to react with legal measures, but it became impossible to stop the dynamics of the new phenomenon: the prevalence of commercial discography was now a fact, for most of the 20th century.
As far as non-scholar music is concerned, commercial printed musical scores were publications of the musical texts of songs or instrumental pieces (for the publishing activity in Greece see Lerch-Kalavrytinos, 2003: 4-5). For the needs of musical scores, the songs were arranged mainly (but not only) for piano or for piano and voice, generally without complex performance requirements. Multi-instrumental or technically demanding orchestrations were systematically avoided. The lyrics were printed below the notes of the melodic development of the singing parts and, sometimes, their translations into other languages. For the most part, the musical scores were two or four pages long, and came with a themed front and back cover.
This two-page commercial musical score contains a trilingual version (Greek, French and English) of the American song "Rose-Marie", set to music by Rudolf Friml and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The Greek lyrics were written by Aimilios Dragatsis. It comes from the first act of the two-act operetta or musical "Rose-Marie", set to music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert P. Stothart and libretto – lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The play premiered on Broadway, in New York, at the Imperial Theater, on September 2, 1924.
The monochrome cover features the title of the song and of the play (Greek and English), "Operetta eis 2 praxeis" (Operetta in 2 acts), the composer and the publishers. It also bears the stamp "Drch. 15" (15 drachmas).
The title of the song and of the operetta, the composer and the names of the lyricists for the French and Greek versions of the song are written on the second page, before the musical text. It also bears the stamp of The Starr Piano Co. music publishing house and a transparent stamp stating "Editeur original Francis Salabert, E 1.699" (Original publisher Francis Salabert, E 1.699) from the publisher is affixed. "Riccardo Frezza" is written on the third page.
The musical text (pages 2-3) consists of a system of three staffs (two for piano and one for singing) and is accompanied by lyrics in three languages (Greek, French and English).
The black and white back cover includes the melody of the song in one staff and the lyrics of the second stanza in three languages (Greek, French and English).
The song "Rose-Marie" is also found in Greek-speaking discography, characteristically outlining the dialectical, multi-layered relationship between the various "national" repertoires, the subject of the ongoing research "Cosmopolitanism in Greek Historical Discography".
For more about the play, the song and its recordings in the Greek repertoire, see here.
Research and text: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis
Oh!Rose Marie, I love you!
I’m always dreaming of you.
No matter what I do, I can’t forget you;
Sometimes I wish that I had never met you!
And yet if I should lose you,
'Tuould mean my very life to me.
Of all the queens that ever lived I’d choose you
To rule me, my Rose Marie.
The song of the spring
Is heard when you sing.
And when you laugh the birds seem trilling;
But angry, og my! You’d think that the sky
With storms from the north is filling.
Then when smiles have chased away your frown,
Seems the sun itself is shining down.
(French lyrics)
De toutes les fleurs
Aux fraîches couleurs
C'est bien elle la plus jolie
Oui Rose Marie semble à nos yeux
Une rose au parfum merveilleux.
Et par ce charme adorable exquis
Chacun se sent aussitôt conquis.
Oh! Ma Rose Marie
Les fleurs de la prairie
Se penchent devant toi lorsque tu passes
Comme pour s'incliner devant ta grâce
L'oiseau qui se balance
Vient pour toi chanter sa romance
Et si le bois prend un air de fée, rie
C'est pour toi, Rose Marie
Oui, rie
Oui, par sa douceur
Elle a pris mon cœur
L'amour se tient dans son sillage
Et sa douce image que je revois
Paraît à chaque instant devant moi
Le lac bleu reflète en ses yeux
Le soleil se plait dans ses cheveux
Ever since antiquity, music transcription has been the intrinsic way of visual representation of sound, sometimes in detail and sometimes in the form of a guide. Throughout time, the visual capture of music has been the only way to store and preserve it over time, but also the exclusive means of reproducing it. In any case, visual transfer should be considered as an auxiliary tool, since oral dissemination and storage in the memory of artists have been the most timeless techniques for the diffusion of music through time and space. During Europe's so-called "classical" musical period, with its most powerful centers of production, such as today's Austria, Germany, France and Italy, and especially in its path towards Romanticism, music transcription, that is, the musical score, was considered by some composers as the very embodiment of their work.
Understandably, in the modern capitalist world, music transcription, as the primary tool for the substantialization of music, brought under its purview repertoires that were not connected, were not disseminated, and did not function on the basis of their transcription. This offered to the music product sales centers an additional tool to expand their action network: non-scholar musics acquired a convenient way of circulating them, enhancing their popularity, even in places very far from those of their original creation. At the end of the 19th century, however, the phenomenon of sound recording and reproduction rearranged relationships and disrupted the status quo of publishing houses, claiming a share of the market, offering a product that was extremely complete and immediate. The publishing houses tried to react with legal measures, but it became impossible to stop the dynamics of the new phenomenon: the prevalence of commercial discography was now a fact, for most of the 20th century.
As far as non-scholar music is concerned, commercial printed musical scores were publications of the musical texts of songs or instrumental pieces (for the publishing activity in Greece see Lerch-Kalavrytinos, 2003: 4-5). For the needs of musical scores, the songs were arranged mainly (but not only) for piano or for piano and voice, generally without complex performance requirements. Multi-instrumental or technically demanding orchestrations were systematically avoided. The lyrics were printed below the notes of the melodic development of the singing parts and, sometimes, their translations into other languages. For the most part, the musical scores were two or four pages long, and came with a themed front and back cover.
This two-page commercial musical score contains a trilingual version (Greek, French and English) of the American song "Rose-Marie", set to music by Rudolf Friml and lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The Greek lyrics were written by Aimilios Dragatsis. It comes from the first act of the two-act operetta or musical "Rose-Marie", set to music by Rudolf Friml and Herbert P. Stothart and libretto – lyrics by Otto Harbach and Oscar Hammerstein II. The play premiered on Broadway, in New York, at the Imperial Theater, on September 2, 1924.
The monochrome cover features the title of the song and of the play (Greek and English), "Operetta eis 2 praxeis" (Operetta in 2 acts), the composer and the publishers. It also bears the stamp "Drch. 15" (15 drachmas).
The title of the song and of the operetta, the composer and the names of the lyricists for the French and Greek versions of the song are written on the second page, before the musical text. It also bears the stamp of The Starr Piano Co. music publishing house and a transparent stamp stating "Editeur original Francis Salabert, E 1.699" (Original publisher Francis Salabert, E 1.699) from the publisher is affixed. "Riccardo Frezza" is written on the third page.
The musical text (pages 2-3) consists of a system of three staffs (two for piano and one for singing) and is accompanied by lyrics in three languages (Greek, French and English).
The black and white back cover includes the melody of the song in one staff and the lyrics of the second stanza in three languages (Greek, French and English).
The song "Rose-Marie" is also found in Greek-speaking discography, characteristically outlining the dialectical, multi-layered relationship between the various "national" repertoires, the subject of the ongoing research "Cosmopolitanism in Greek Historical Discography".
For more about the play, the song and its recordings in the Greek repertoire, see here.
Research and text: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis
Oh!Rose Marie, I love you!
I’m always dreaming of you.
No matter what I do, I can’t forget you;
Sometimes I wish that I had never met you!
And yet if I should lose you,
'Tuould mean my very life to me.
Of all the queens that ever lived I’d choose you
To rule me, my Rose Marie.
The song of the spring
Is heard when you sing.
And when you laugh the birds seem trilling;
But angry, og my! You’d think that the sky
With storms from the north is filling.
Then when smiles have chased away your frown,
Seems the sun itself is shining down.
(French lyrics)
De toutes les fleurs
Aux fraîches couleurs
C'est bien elle la plus jolie
Oui Rose Marie semble à nos yeux
Une rose au parfum merveilleux.
Et par ce charme adorable exquis
Chacun se sent aussitôt conquis.
Oh! Ma Rose Marie
Les fleurs de la prairie
Se penchent devant toi lorsque tu passes
Comme pour s'incliner devant ta grâce
L'oiseau qui se balance
Vient pour toi chanter sa romance
Et si le bois prend un air de fée, rie
C'est pour toi, Rose Marie
Oui, rie
Oui, par sa douceur
Elle a pris mon cœur
L'amour se tient dans son sillage
Et sa douce image que je revois
Paraît à chaque instant devant moi
Le lac bleu reflète en ses yeux
Le soleil se plait dans ses cheveux
© 2019 KOUNADIS ARCHIVE
