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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 musical score contains the songs "Dyo prasina matia" and "S' ta filisa ta cheili sou", set to music by Mimis Katrivanos and lyrics by Kostas Kiousis.
The monochrome cover, which is adorned with a sketch of a woman's face by Kost. Pap. [Kostas Papadopoulos], bears the titles of the two songs, the creators, the publisher and the edition number (5th). The monochrome back cover contains the musical score of the song "S' ta filisa ta cheili sou" and the name "A. Varthalitis" is mentioned.
This is a musical score with a system of three staffs (two for piano and one for voice).
The song "Dyo prasina matia" was a great success, as evidenced by the present fifth version of the musical score, and was recorded three times in Greek historical discography.
– "Dyo prasina matia", Kakia Mandri, Athens, 1946 (Odeon Go 3630 – GA 7339/A 247232 a and re-issued by Decca Go 3630 – 31149 B).
– "Dyo prasina matia", Kaiti Paritsi - Tonis Maroudas, Athens, 1946 (Columbia CG-2173-1 – DG 6605 and re-issued by Columbia USA CO 38243 – 7232-F) and Columbia Turkish CG 2173 – DT 235).
– "Dyo prasina matua", Danai Stratigopoulou, Athens, 1946 (Standard F-9031-B).
The song was recorded many times in historical discography, either as a song or as an instrumental cover, in several locations and languages. For example:
British repertoire:
– "The story of Tina", Gerry Brereton, London, 1954 (Parlophone CE 15057-4A – R 3891).
– "The story of Tina", Ronnie Harris, London, July 1954 (Columbia CA 22920 – DB 3499).
– "The story of Tina", Victor Sylvester and his Ballroom Orchestra, London, 1954 (Columbia CA 22933 – F.B. 3717).
American repertoire:
– "The story of Tina", Charlie Applewhite, New York, July 29, 1954 (Decca W86621T5A – 29247).
– "The story of Tina", Al Martino, USA, 1954 (Capitol CAP.12920 – CL.14163).
Swedish repertoire:
– "Legenden om Tina (The story of Tina)", Lars Lönndahl – Jerry Högstedts orkester, Sweden, 1954 (Cupol 4820 -4885).
– "Legenden om Tina (The story of Tina)", Ingvar Bonze, Stockholm, 1954-1955 (Polydor 4854 – 60032 A).
Danish repertoire:
– "Sagnet om Tina", Lørdagspigerne – Hans Peder Åse, Copenhagen, 1954 (Odeon Kpo 5150-1B – DK 1319).
– "Sagnet om Tina (The story of Tina)", Victor Cornelius – Teddy Petersen og hans orkester, Denmark, 1954 (Polyphon HDK 3792 – 51729).
Dutch repertoire:
– "The story of Tina" in medley "Picco Bello 14. Folge", Die Piccos, Germany, 1955 (Electrola OFA 2102-1 – EG 8538).
Norwegian repertoire:
– "Historien om Tina", Inger Løvenberg – Robert Levins Orkester, Oslo, 1952-1953 (His Master's Voise A.L. 3500 – ONA 1150).
Italian repertoire:
– "Green eyes", Kramer and Wolmer [Gorni Kramer and Wolmer Beltrami], probably London, 1948 (Decca DR 11792-1 – F.8865).
Finnish repertoire:
– "Balladi Tiinasta", Olarvi Vita, Finland, January 31, 1955 (Decca M 2201 – SD 5292).
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. Over the years, and as the recording market becomes more complex, factories-branches are built on all continents. These offices are taken over by local actors who gradually draw up their own policies: they know their markets better. The ever-evolving recording industry proves to be centripetal: the decisions that are taken follow the policies centrally dictated by the managements of the companies and their subsidiaries. The network in which the Greek-speaking urban popular song participates, constantly conversing with its co-tenants, is magnificent. Discography as well as the musical scores have 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”.
Research and text: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis
Tags: Valse, Waltz, Cosmopolitanism, 1940s, Elafro (light) style, Interactions with Italian repertoire, Interactions with USA repertoire, Interactions with Dutch repertoire, Interactions with Swedish repertoire, Interactions with British repertoire, Interactions with Danish repertoire, Interactions with Norwegian repertoire, Interactions with Finnish repertoire
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 musical score contains the songs "Dyo prasina matia" and "S' ta filisa ta cheili sou", set to music by Mimis Katrivanos and lyrics by Kostas Kiousis.
The monochrome cover, which is adorned with a sketch of a woman's face by Kost. Pap. [Kostas Papadopoulos], bears the titles of the two songs, the creators, the publisher and the edition number (5th). The monochrome back cover contains the musical score of the song "S' ta filisa ta cheili sou" and the name "A. Varthalitis" is mentioned.
This is a musical score with a system of three staffs (two for piano and one for voice).
The song "Dyo prasina matia" was a great success, as evidenced by the present fifth version of the musical score, and was recorded three times in Greek historical discography.
– "Dyo prasina matia", Kakia Mandri, Athens, 1946 (Odeon Go 3630 – GA 7339/A 247232 a and re-issued by Decca Go 3630 – 31149 B).
– "Dyo prasina matia", Kaiti Paritsi - Tonis Maroudas, Athens, 1946 (Columbia CG-2173-1 – DG 6605 and re-issued by Columbia USA CO 38243 – 7232-F) and Columbia Turkish CG 2173 – DT 235).
– "Dyo prasina matua", Danai Stratigopoulou, Athens, 1946 (Standard F-9031-B).
The song was recorded many times in historical discography, either as a song or as an instrumental cover, in several locations and languages. For example:
British repertoire:
– "The story of Tina", Gerry Brereton, London, 1954 (Parlophone CE 15057-4A – R 3891).
– "The story of Tina", Ronnie Harris, London, July 1954 (Columbia CA 22920 – DB 3499).
– "The story of Tina", Victor Sylvester and his Ballroom Orchestra, London, 1954 (Columbia CA 22933 – F.B. 3717).
American repertoire:
– "The story of Tina", Charlie Applewhite, New York, July 29, 1954 (Decca W86621T5A – 29247).
– "The story of Tina", Al Martino, USA, 1954 (Capitol CAP.12920 – CL.14163).
Swedish repertoire:
– "Legenden om Tina (The story of Tina)", Lars Lönndahl – Jerry Högstedts orkester, Sweden, 1954 (Cupol 4820 -4885).
– "Legenden om Tina (The story of Tina)", Ingvar Bonze, Stockholm, 1954-1955 (Polydor 4854 – 60032 A).
Danish repertoire:
– "Sagnet om Tina", Lørdagspigerne – Hans Peder Åse, Copenhagen, 1954 (Odeon Kpo 5150-1B – DK 1319).
– "Sagnet om Tina (The story of Tina)", Victor Cornelius – Teddy Petersen og hans orkester, Denmark, 1954 (Polyphon HDK 3792 – 51729).
Dutch repertoire:
– "The story of Tina" in medley "Picco Bello 14. Folge", Die Piccos, Germany, 1955 (Electrola OFA 2102-1 – EG 8538).
Norwegian repertoire:
– "Historien om Tina", Inger Løvenberg – Robert Levins Orkester, Oslo, 1952-1953 (His Master's Voise A.L. 3500 – ONA 1150).
Italian repertoire:
– "Green eyes", Kramer and Wolmer [Gorni Kramer and Wolmer Beltrami], probably London, 1948 (Decca DR 11792-1 – F.8865).
Finnish repertoire:
– "Balladi Tiinasta", Olarvi Vita, Finland, January 31, 1955 (Decca M 2201 – SD 5292).
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. Over the years, and as the recording market becomes more complex, factories-branches are built on all continents. These offices are taken over by local actors who gradually draw up their own policies: they know their markets better. The ever-evolving recording industry proves to be centripetal: the decisions that are taken follow the policies centrally dictated by the managements of the companies and their subsidiaries. The network in which the Greek-speaking urban popular song participates, constantly conversing with its co-tenants, is magnificent. Discography as well as the musical scores have 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”.
Research and text: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis
Tags: Valse, Waltz, Cosmopolitanism, 1940s, Elafro (light) style, Interactions with Italian repertoire, Interactions with USA repertoire, Interactions with Dutch repertoire, Interactions with Swedish repertoire, Interactions with British repertoire, Interactions with Danish repertoire, Interactions with Norwegian repertoire, Interactions with Finnish repertoire
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