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 network in which the Greek-speaking urban popular song participates, constantly conversing with its co-tenants, is 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”.

The present-day region of Romania, and especially the historical part of Wallachia, developed strong ties with the Greek-speaking world, at least since the time when the Ottoman Sultan in Constantinople (Istanbul) appointed Greek-speaking Orthodox Phanariotes as its governors. After all, it is no coincidence that the male populations from the Greek-speaking lands, mainly from the region of Epirus, migrated to the region of Romania. The results of these connections are visible even in today’s active repertoires, such as, for example, in the region of Zagori. In the urban popular actualizations, as those appeared in Greek discography, the cases that demonstrate the relationships that developed between the dances of the doina, the hora and the sirba with their Greek counterparts, that is, the skaros, the hasapiko and the serviko, are noteworthy (see in detail the extremely interesting text by Giorgos Kokkonis, 2017b: 133-161). These vast entities are found en masse, even in the “shifts” part of the à la greca manedes, that is, in their last part. Besides, there are plenty sources that name the then famous violinist Giovanikas, who was born in the island of Mytilene and lived for several years in the town of Galatsi in Romania, as the musician who established the legendary “Minore” in Smyrna [Izmir].

Another case that demonstrates the relations of the Romanian repertoire with the Greek-speaking is the present recording of "Tampachaniotikos manes", for which Panagiotis Kounadis points out (2010, 1: 61):

"'Tampachaniotikos'", as well as 'Smyrnaiiko minore' constituted a secret communication code of the enslaved Greeks, beyond the emotional state that their couplets may have expressed each time.

According to all the information we have gathered, the type of this mane was first sung in Smyrna, at the end of the 19th century. According to Angela Papazoglou, the first teacher and probably its creator was the old singer of Smyrna (Izmir) Kontaxis.

Tabahana, where the name of this mane comes from, was a popular district of Smyrna (Izmir) beyond the church of Evangelistria. [...] In this area from the end of the 19th century, leather processing workshops, i.e. vyrsodepseia [tanneries] (taba-hane, tabakario =[vyrsodepseio [tannery], and not from tabako = tobacco) operated. [...]

'Tampachaniotikos', like 'Smyrnaiiko minore', were released in many performances in the discography of 78rpm from the beginning of the 20th century until 1937, when the Metaxa's censorship prohibited the recording of this type of songs".

In the manes form, which in the majority of the recordings remains exactly the same (Introduction - A verse - Intermediate theme - B verse - Shift), the last part consists of the "shift", an ambiance change that involves new melodies with new rhythmic features. The rhythms that are usually performed in the shift are horas, waltzes and sirbas.

In the case of "Tampachaniotiko manes", with singer Kyria [Madam] Pipina  the musical theme of Karots(i)eris is part of the "shift" as the final part of the recording.

The musical theme of Karots(i)eris was extremely popular in the Greek-speaking repertoire and appears as a small transient theme in other songs (see for example: "Fotia kai niata", "I Marika i daskala", "To kalokairi tora", "Akou Duce mou ta nea", "Varvara", "Romaiiko glenti"). Apart from its Romanian origin and its strong ties with the local repertoire, the tune of "Karotsieris" also found in other repertoires, such as Jewish (for more see the recordings of "Karotseris" or "Karotsieri". Besides, encounters between the Greek-speaking Orthodox and the Eastern Ashkenazi Jews were also witnessed in the Romanian territories. The products of these inter-influences are also visible in historical discography. We should not forget the geographical position of Romania, since it is a key hub of the routes that start from the Baltic and reach the Mediterranean, but also from the center of Europe to the Russian Empire. In such context, repertoires are deterritorialized and mixed with others, which take on supralocal characteristics. Musicians are often on the move within multicultural empires, serving diverse repertoires and coming from heterogeneous ethno-cultural groups.

It seems that this tune is one of the most popular choices not only in the Greek-speaking urban folk-popular repertoire but also in others, something which highlights the cosmopolitanism and syncretism in which popular musicians lived and acted. Like other tunes, which eventually became what we would now call a “hit”, this one also puts emphasis on the interplay between the various repertoires which were discussants in a large geographical area. Thus arises an exciting network that includes repertoires from Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Mediterranean, which, on the one hand, came from three great empires: the Ottoman, the Austrian and the Russian. On the other hand, repertoires from Italy the Canzone Napoletana, the French chansons, the Spanish world and other sub-networks,were also very active, but also repertoires from two large worlds that were constantly on the move: the gypsy and the Jewish (mainly Yiddish) one. Discography is not only embedded in this context, but plays a key role in its transformation.

Research and text by: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis