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”.

One of these fascinating networks concerns the Spanish world, which, through a variety of paths, meets the Greek one. A key chapter in this influence was the unparalleled international success achieved by a Spanish estudiantina in 1878 in Paris. Following its success, the band toured countless locations around the world. According to the sources, on February 28, 1886, the Spanish estudiantina gave a concert in Constantinople (Istanbul) and on April 26 and 29, 1886, in Athens (for the first Greek estudiantina, see Ordoulidis, 2021a: 88–100 and Ordoulidis, 2021b). The Spanish students mainstream the culture of semi-professional music bands, the culture of the banduria, the mandolin, the guitar, the “tuna”, that is, the street serenades, and the habanera. The latter follows a path that starts from the Afro-Cuban repertoires and ends up being appropriated by Greek musicians, finding its place even in the form of the manes (see, for example, the Smyrneiko minore (Smyrnaean minor), Gramophone 12574b). The network of the theater is a key environment for the circulation of music; and the relationship between the two (music-theater) is more than dynamic. 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, the performance practices: different instrumentation, different singing style, often differences in melodic and rhythmic forms and in the harmonies. Greek musicians adapt what they hear to their own condition, based on their own capabilities. In 1894, when the play of the then most popular zarzuela “La Gran Vía” was played for the first time, a new path that led to the appearance of the Athenian revue opened. Spanish songs started being adapted into Greek since then. 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 was not only embedded in this context, but played a key role in its transformation.

Within these networks, already existing tendencies and aesthetic currents are often created or integrated, especially during the period when the phenomenon of sound recording and reproduction takes on commercial, mass and universal dimensions. A typical example is exoticism, as manifested in its various representations. Its meaning concerns, on the one hand, the characteristics of that which is outside the sphere of identity and, on the other hand, the attraction exerted by that which has such characteristics. The widespread acceptance of the phenomenon of exoticism is obvious: the multidimensional linguistic, musical and visual wealth accumulated around and within exoticism created a common stock of knowledge that perpetually feeds the collective and individual imaginary.

Focusing on the modern Greek communities, we find very early established traces of exoticism in poetry and literature, which are quickly transferred to the theater, enriched in terms of their visual and dramatic texture. The explosion of popular forms of spectacle and mass entertainment in the 20th century will radiate their reach. In Greece, among all artistic fields, the most persistent and most obvious presence of exoticism is found in singing. In the era of discography, the advance of exoticism is irresistible and leaves a very strong imprint. However much it seems to be defined by the principle of "locality", exoticism is a global aesthetic constant, a "common" language of the new age strongly marked by modernism and inscribed in a complex and lengthy process of osmosis among "national" musicians, which produces repertoires with "ecumenical" or global characteristics.

The locations represented in exoticism, that is, the East, Latin America, Spain, Hawaii, are par excellence imaginary, disconnected from the real world. They are revealed like a theatrical stage, with alternating scenes, where fantasies are dramatized, overwhelm the senses and release intense emotions, offering the "visitor" an ideal experience, outside the limitations of the conventional world: an eternal feast, pleasures, adventure.

In Spain, there is a permanent spring and blooming landscape, often nocturnal, in which cities that are symbols of "Spanishness", such as Granada, Valencia and Seville, are usually placed. The popularity of Gioacchino Rossini's opera The Barber of Seville probably played a role in its extensive use in exotic performances.

Imaginary Spain is borderline medieval, a cultural amalgam of Gypsies, Christians, Moors and Jews. It constitutes the absolute exotic place where one meets almost all the characteristics of the East, the Latin world and the Gypsies. It constitutes the point of convergence but also the border of the above cultures. The Spanish are represented as a pre-modern and semi-exotic people motivated by honor, and an archaic way of life, different from the materialism and progress of the Western world. Their life is characterized by an unconventional freedom dominated by passion and nostalgia. The musical instruments in Spain, mostly guitars and castanets, are not played to accompany a feast, as is the case in the East, but to express amorous passion.

On the musical level, one can find the typical characteristics of European musical exoticism, such as the use of the Phrygian mode. The use of the chordal progression that is usually called  "Andalusian cadence" is also extensive: iv-III-♭II-I, which is undoubtedly one of the most common stereotypes of "Spanishness" in exoticism. A guitarist today can easily and quickly suggest "Spanish" music by playing the Andalusian cadence with a vigorous rhythmic pattern (Scott, 2003: 166).

The above stereotypes also structure the exotic atmosphere of Granada in this recording: the nostalgia of the beloved city and the systematic use of “Andalusian cadence”.

It is an adaptation with Greek lyrics of the Spanish song Granadinas: "Adiós Granada" from the zarzuela "Emigrantes", set to music by Tomás Barrera - Rafael Calleja and libretto by Pablo Cases. It was staged for the first time on July 15, 1905 at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid.

For the production and reproduction of exotic identities, nothing is more suitable than the ideal models pre-constructed by the respective national folklore. "Ethnic" and "exotic" music can be described in exactly the same terms (for example, the use of the Andalusian cadence), since in both cases the point is for the area being represented to be “listened to”. This is made possible through selective choices and inventions that serve communicative functionality. Imaginary places, such as Granada in this recording, sufficiently simplified and ideally standardized, are reflected through ethnic and exotic musics that outline the image of a recognizable collectivity in a rudimentary but essential way (Evangelou, 2022: 89-90).

The first recording of the song took place, according to Alan Kelly's database, in 1905 in Madrid by Sr. Gandía, with the composer Rafael Calleja conducting the orchestra (see here) on behalf of the record label Gramophone (5623o - 62439). It was also probably released in Barcelona, in 1905, on a piano roll by the labels Rollos Best (number 3030) and Rollos Princesa (number 2288).

Recordings of the song, apart from Spanish historical discography (see, for example, here and here), can also be found in Italian, such as that of Enzo de Muro Lomanto, and there is also a recording of the song for the Romanian label Electrocord by the Armenian singer Girag Sakizlian (Գիրագ Սաքըզլյան).

In Greek historical discography, it was recorded by Michalis Thomakos, Kostis Stellakis (present recording) and Tetos Dimitriadis.

Re-release from the record Pathé X-80.086, which has also been uploaded for research purposes.

Research and text: Giorgos Evangelou, Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis