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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 such repertoires is this recording.
According to the findings so far, the tune appears six more times in Greek historical discography under the following titles:
– “Choros Servikos Politikos”, Folk Orchestra, Athens 1927 (His Master's Voice BF-928 – AO-190)
– “Chasapikos”, Dimitris Semsis [Salonikios] (violin), Dimitris Arapakis (santur), Dimitris Kyriakidis (oud), Athens 1927 (Columbia UK W 20027 – 8003)
– “Servikos choros”, Popular Orchestra with harmonica [Antonis Amiralis or Papatzis], Athens or Berlin, 1928 (Odeon Go-577-2 – GA-1245/A 190072 a)
– “Kassapiko”, Unknown performers, Berlin, September 25, 1928 (Homocord TM-860 – G-4-32065)
– “Serviko”, Th. Pikoulas Trio, Athens 1929 (Pathé 70025 – X. 80059)
– “Chasapiko - Serviko”, Giannis Kyriakatis (clarinet) - Popular Orchestra, Athens 1930 (Odeon Go-1600 – GA-1441/A 190281 a)
The tune, however, can also be found in the Turkish repertoire. Specifically, between 1930-1935, Trompet Bay Maraşlı Ramazan recorded in Constantinople (Istanbul) the instrumental song “Bando İle Kasap Havası” (Columbia CTZ 5614 - RT 17382).
(Many thanks to Cemal Ünlü for the data of the Turkish recording as well as to Stelyo Berber).
As far as historical discography is concerned, the recording of “Kasapsko #2” made in 1948-1949, in the USA, by the Elo Kalkoff Orchestra, for Elinden Records, is of particular interest. The clarinetist Elo Kalkoff or Elia Calcoff was born in the village of Visheny, Kostursko, Macedonia (today Vyssinia or Vyssinea of the Municipality of Kastoria, in Greece), in 1894, and died in 1962 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the USA. In addition, on the website Библиотека “Струмски”, where 14 recordings of Elo Kalkoff's orchestra are posted, it is mentioned that he was a member of the MPO (Macedonian Patriotic Organization).
The tune, however, can also be found in the Jewish (klezmer/Yiddish) discography recorded in Argentina. In the 1950s the clarinetist Sam Liberman with his orchestra and D. Picholis (Grivas) on the santouri recorded in Buenos Aires "Viejos recuerdos" (Odeon Argentina C 21867 – 52131 A). The label on the record reads in the Greek language (Παλιές αναμνήσεις [Old Memories]) and "Jasapiko [Hasapiko] (Folklore Griego)". Also, according to the same source, Michael Dertilis is mentioned as the composer, while next to Liberman's name, Arapáki is written in brackets. Sam Liberman (Rubin, 2015: 129), from Safed, Israel, settled sometime after World War I in Buenos Aires, where he led Argentinian Jazz bands as well as Jewish orchestras and became well-known from discography, recording with Brunswick, Odeon, RCA-Victor (see for example here).
The label on the record reads "Dimodes" ("Folk-like").
Research and text: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis
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 such repertoires is this recording.
According to the findings so far, the tune appears six more times in Greek historical discography under the following titles:
– “Choros Servikos Politikos”, Folk Orchestra, Athens 1927 (His Master's Voice BF-928 – AO-190)
– “Chasapikos”, Dimitris Semsis [Salonikios] (violin), Dimitris Arapakis (santur), Dimitris Kyriakidis (oud), Athens 1927 (Columbia UK W 20027 – 8003)
– “Servikos choros”, Popular Orchestra with harmonica [Antonis Amiralis or Papatzis], Athens or Berlin, 1928 (Odeon Go-577-2 – GA-1245/A 190072 a)
– “Kassapiko”, Unknown performers, Berlin, September 25, 1928 (Homocord TM-860 – G-4-32065)
– “Serviko”, Th. Pikoulas Trio, Athens 1929 (Pathé 70025 – X. 80059)
– “Chasapiko - Serviko”, Giannis Kyriakatis (clarinet) - Popular Orchestra, Athens 1930 (Odeon Go-1600 – GA-1441/A 190281 a)
The tune, however, can also be found in the Turkish repertoire. Specifically, between 1930-1935, Trompet Bay Maraşlı Ramazan recorded in Constantinople (Istanbul) the instrumental song “Bando İle Kasap Havası” (Columbia CTZ 5614 - RT 17382).
(Many thanks to Cemal Ünlü for the data of the Turkish recording as well as to Stelyo Berber).
As far as historical discography is concerned, the recording of “Kasapsko #2” made in 1948-1949, in the USA, by the Elo Kalkoff Orchestra, for Elinden Records, is of particular interest. The clarinetist Elo Kalkoff or Elia Calcoff was born in the village of Visheny, Kostursko, Macedonia (today Vyssinia or Vyssinea of the Municipality of Kastoria, in Greece), in 1894, and died in 1962 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the USA. In addition, on the website Библиотека “Струмски”, where 14 recordings of Elo Kalkoff's orchestra are posted, it is mentioned that he was a member of the MPO (Macedonian Patriotic Organization).
The tune, however, can also be found in the Jewish (klezmer/Yiddish) discography recorded in Argentina. In the 1950s the clarinetist Sam Liberman with his orchestra and D. Picholis (Grivas) on the santouri recorded in Buenos Aires "Viejos recuerdos" (Odeon Argentina C 21867 – 52131 A). The label on the record reads in the Greek language (Παλιές αναμνήσεις [Old Memories]) and "Jasapiko [Hasapiko] (Folklore Griego)". Also, according to the same source, Michael Dertilis is mentioned as the composer, while next to Liberman's name, Arapáki is written in brackets. Sam Liberman (Rubin, 2015: 129), from Safed, Israel, settled sometime after World War I in Buenos Aires, where he led Argentinian Jazz bands as well as Jewish orchestras and became well-known from discography, recording with Brunswick, Odeon, RCA-Victor (see for example here).
The label on the record reads "Dimodes" ("Folk-like").
Research and text: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis
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