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At the beginning of the 20th century, Europe was living in peace and prosperity. The "Belle Époque" was an outgrowth of previous important historical events and developments. The networks that were created and which evolved funneled both people and their products, tangible and intangible. It was within this multi-layered world that sound recording and sound reproduction was invented. Cosmopolitanism in large urban centers favored polystylisms and polymorphisms. Colonialism, revolutions, conflicts, refugee flows; the theater, cinema, radio, photography, orchestras’ tours, but also releases in all kinds of commercial channels in a world that evolved dynamically and anisotropically formed 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 had already provided important tools in understanding the relationships that developed between "national" repertoires. 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.
It has been found in the European vocabulary since the end of the 16th century, although its widespread prevalence as a trend was associated with the colonial imperialism of the 19th century (Netto, 2015: 13). Since then, the term has incorporated various levels of reading and interpretating anything “Other”. 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.
The representation of the East gives the composers the possibility to expand the musical language they use, using new timbres, melodic developments and rhythmic patterns. Of course, this is done in the way in which they themselves perceive a musical material that is not easily accessible to them, neither in breadth nor in depth. A key obstacle is the large gap that separates the mindset of the "musical syntaxes" of the Eastern cultures and the culturally hegemonic Central European example.
The main musical features of the representation of the East are rather standardized: the modal entity of Hitzaz, the use of modes such as the Phrygian and Dorian, and the use of vocal melismas and vocalizations. Regarding the instruments, the representation of the exotic is systematically undertaken by the English horn and the oboe and, at the same time, the percussion is reinforced with tambourines, triangles, cymbals, gongs, etc. Regarding the rhythm, rhythmic patterns are chosen that "presage" one of the most important musical characteristics of exoticism: the bolero, called "oriental", which will define exoticism in Greek discography in the post-war period.
At the center of the Eastern stage (which is always represented as Islamic) stands the palace, synonymous with pleasures and opulence, within which every imaginable intemperance is put into practice. Violent and despotic pashas, maharajas and sheikhs enjoy lavishness while indulging in proverbial laziness. The figure that dominates the ethnoscape of the East is certainly the female, an object of desire. Through a series of roles, almost exclusively leading ones, women embody the mysticism, eroticism and sensuality of the imaginary East. The ultimate symbol of lust, a trademark of the East, is none other than the harem (Lewis, 2004: 12-52). The slavery of the female body contributes decisively to the ethnoscape of the East, bringing the narrator face to face with transcendental acts of heroism. In the East, calendar time is polarized, with the atmosphere almost always described as nocturnal. Darkness is a powerful symbol of escalating emotional tension, as it is synonymous with a metaphysical fog. The desert is an ideal oriental setting, an alternative to the palace. In contrast to the crowd that dwells there, igniting emotions and stirring passions, the static and still world of the desert stands as the refuge or the place of exile of the disillusioned outcast. Far from civilization, outside the time-space stream, strange and dangerous, the desert presents itself as a land of adventure, where daring camel drivers confront their passions.
Greek composers followed the great trend of Orientalism in European operetta (see Seiragakis, 2013: 35-42 and Evangelou, 2022: 100-106) the heyday of which would be associated with the first great explosion of exoticism in Greek artistic activity during the interwar period, approximately from 1916 to 1935. These works are characterized by a complete exotic phantasmagoria, with the libretto, music, sets and costumes contributing to its creation, in contrast to the fragmented appearance of exotic places and people observed in revues.
The song "Fox tis Chalimas" comes from the three-act operetta "Chalima", with music and lyrics by Theofrastos Sakellaridis and written by Spyros Potamianos. The play premiered at the Mondial Theater in Athens, on August 31, 1926 (I vradyni newspaper, issue No. 1046, 31/8/1926, page 2) by the Olympia Kantioti-Ritsiardi troupe, directed by Kostis Velmyras. Until the outbreak of World War II, the operetta was performed more than two hundred times, something that suggests its great success (Seiragakis & Tselikas, 2015: 97). The programs of two more productions have been found: by the Giannis Papaioannou troupe, who staged it at the Municipal Theater of Athens, around 1930 (see here), and by the Takis Kassis’ and Lela Skordouli’s Greek Musical Troupe, who staged it in Istanbul, in 1948 (see here). In 1954, "Chalima" was adapted to film, directed by Petros Giannakos and Filippos Fylaktos (see here).
The story of the play takes place in some kingdom of the exotic East. The central heroine is Chalima, who, on the day of her wedding to Prince Nureddin, falls in love with Prince Shah Ruman, who is in prison, sentenced to death for allegedly murdering Chalima's father. The story also involves Alis Mousakas, the palace cook. Through a series of comic situations, Chalima's father appears alive and well. In the end, the innocent Shah Ruman is allowed to marry Chalima.
Potamianos borrowed most of the names of the protagonists from the infamous collection of Arabic folktales "Arabian Nights". The name "Chalima" appears in the first Greek translations of the collections "Aravikon mythologiko" (Arabic mythology) (vol. 1-3, Venice: Phoenix, 1757-1762) and "Nea Chalima" (New Halima) (vol. 1-4, Vienna: Phoenix, 1791-1794) in which stories from "Arabian Nights" are anthologized (Kechagioglou, 1980: 50). The collection became known in Greece and later in the Balkans as "Tales of Halima" from these editions (Seiragakis & Tselikas, 2015).
The lyrics of the song are a dialogue between the protagonists of the play, that is, Chalima and Shah Ruman. Singers Giorgos Savaris and Tzon Miliaris took over their roles for the recording, respectively.
The commercial musical score of the song has also been found, in which the work is described as a "spectacular operetta in three acts". An anthology containing all the songs from the operetta was also published, with the similar designation "oriental spectacular operetta".
The song has been recorded four more times:
– "To fox tis Chalimas", by Giorgos Savaris and Giorgos Vidalis (Odeon GO316 – GA1172/A154318, Athens, 1926)
– «To fox tis Chalimas», by Athinaiki Estoudiantina (Homocord T. M 807 – G. 4-32040, Athens, 1928)
– "M’ anapses sevda", by Aliki Epitropaki and Petros Epitropakis (His Master's Voice BM532 – AO547, Vienna, 1928)
– "To fox tis Chalimas", by Orestis Makris (Polydor 1347BF – V50575, Athens, 1929 or 1930)
The coupling of the aesthetic standard of exoticism with the modern music-dance trend of the fox seen in the title of the song is interesting, two seemingly opposite worlds that are nevertheless created within the European musical condition.
Apart from "Fox tis Chalimas", the songs of the play that were recorded are as follows:
– "Giala-giala", by Giorgos Vidalis and Giorgos Savaris (Odeon G0315 – GA1172/A 154317, Athens, 1926)
– "To tagko tis Leilas", by Giorgos Vidalis and Anna Axelou (Odeon GO 334-2 – GA1176, Athens, 1926)
– "Sachrazat", by Giorgos Vidalis and Giorgos Savaris (Odeon Go318 – GA1173, Athens, 1926)
– "Sachrazat", by Giorgos Savaris, Tzon and Lousien Miliaris (Columbia 20063 – 8040, Athens, 1927)
– "Gialla-gialla", by Giorgos Savaris, Tzon and Lousien Miliaris (Columbia 20013 – 8048, Athens, 1927)
– "Leila", by Giorgos Savaris and Tzon Miliaris (Columbia 20159 – 8069, Athens, 1927)
– "Sachrazat", by Athinaiki Estoudiantina (Homocord T. M 822 – G. 4-32052, Athens, 1928)
– "To tagko tis Leilas", by Orestis Makris (Polydor 1304BF – V50575, Athens, 1929 or 1930)
– "Sachrazat", by Orestis Makris (Polydor 1306BF – V50946, Athens, 1930)
Research and text: George Evangelou, Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis
At the beginning of the 20th century, Europe was living in peace and prosperity. The "Belle Époque" was an outgrowth of previous important historical events and developments. The networks that were created and which evolved funneled both people and their products, tangible and intangible. It was within this multi-layered world that sound recording and sound reproduction was invented. Cosmopolitanism in large urban centers favored polystylisms and polymorphisms. Colonialism, revolutions, conflicts, refugee flows; the theater, cinema, radio, photography, orchestras’ tours, but also releases in all kinds of commercial channels in a world that evolved dynamically and anisotropically formed 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 had already provided important tools in understanding the relationships that developed between "national" repertoires. 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.
It has been found in the European vocabulary since the end of the 16th century, although its widespread prevalence as a trend was associated with the colonial imperialism of the 19th century (Netto, 2015: 13). Since then, the term has incorporated various levels of reading and interpretating anything “Other”. 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.
The representation of the East gives the composers the possibility to expand the musical language they use, using new timbres, melodic developments and rhythmic patterns. Of course, this is done in the way in which they themselves perceive a musical material that is not easily accessible to them, neither in breadth nor in depth. A key obstacle is the large gap that separates the mindset of the "musical syntaxes" of the Eastern cultures and the culturally hegemonic Central European example.
The main musical features of the representation of the East are rather standardized: the modal entity of Hitzaz, the use of modes such as the Phrygian and Dorian, and the use of vocal melismas and vocalizations. Regarding the instruments, the representation of the exotic is systematically undertaken by the English horn and the oboe and, at the same time, the percussion is reinforced with tambourines, triangles, cymbals, gongs, etc. Regarding the rhythm, rhythmic patterns are chosen that "presage" one of the most important musical characteristics of exoticism: the bolero, called "oriental", which will define exoticism in Greek discography in the post-war period.
At the center of the Eastern stage (which is always represented as Islamic) stands the palace, synonymous with pleasures and opulence, within which every imaginable intemperance is put into practice. Violent and despotic pashas, maharajas and sheikhs enjoy lavishness while indulging in proverbial laziness. The figure that dominates the ethnoscape of the East is certainly the female, an object of desire. Through a series of roles, almost exclusively leading ones, women embody the mysticism, eroticism and sensuality of the imaginary East. The ultimate symbol of lust, a trademark of the East, is none other than the harem (Lewis, 2004: 12-52). The slavery of the female body contributes decisively to the ethnoscape of the East, bringing the narrator face to face with transcendental acts of heroism. In the East, calendar time is polarized, with the atmosphere almost always described as nocturnal. Darkness is a powerful symbol of escalating emotional tension, as it is synonymous with a metaphysical fog. The desert is an ideal oriental setting, an alternative to the palace. In contrast to the crowd that dwells there, igniting emotions and stirring passions, the static and still world of the desert stands as the refuge or the place of exile of the disillusioned outcast. Far from civilization, outside the time-space stream, strange and dangerous, the desert presents itself as a land of adventure, where daring camel drivers confront their passions.
Greek composers followed the great trend of Orientalism in European operetta (see Seiragakis, 2013: 35-42 and Evangelou, 2022: 100-106) the heyday of which would be associated with the first great explosion of exoticism in Greek artistic activity during the interwar period, approximately from 1916 to 1935. These works are characterized by a complete exotic phantasmagoria, with the libretto, music, sets and costumes contributing to its creation, in contrast to the fragmented appearance of exotic places and people observed in revues.
The song "Fox tis Chalimas" comes from the three-act operetta "Chalima", with music and lyrics by Theofrastos Sakellaridis and written by Spyros Potamianos. The play premiered at the Mondial Theater in Athens, on August 31, 1926 (I vradyni newspaper, issue No. 1046, 31/8/1926, page 2) by the Olympia Kantioti-Ritsiardi troupe, directed by Kostis Velmyras. Until the outbreak of World War II, the operetta was performed more than two hundred times, something that suggests its great success (Seiragakis & Tselikas, 2015: 97). The programs of two more productions have been found: by the Giannis Papaioannou troupe, who staged it at the Municipal Theater of Athens, around 1930 (see here), and by the Takis Kassis’ and Lela Skordouli’s Greek Musical Troupe, who staged it in Istanbul, in 1948 (see here). In 1954, "Chalima" was adapted to film, directed by Petros Giannakos and Filippos Fylaktos (see here).
The story of the play takes place in some kingdom of the exotic East. The central heroine is Chalima, who, on the day of her wedding to Prince Nureddin, falls in love with Prince Shah Ruman, who is in prison, sentenced to death for allegedly murdering Chalima's father. The story also involves Alis Mousakas, the palace cook. Through a series of comic situations, Chalima's father appears alive and well. In the end, the innocent Shah Ruman is allowed to marry Chalima.
Potamianos borrowed most of the names of the protagonists from the infamous collection of Arabic folktales "Arabian Nights". The name "Chalima" appears in the first Greek translations of the collections "Aravikon mythologiko" (Arabic mythology) (vol. 1-3, Venice: Phoenix, 1757-1762) and "Nea Chalima" (New Halima) (vol. 1-4, Vienna: Phoenix, 1791-1794) in which stories from "Arabian Nights" are anthologized (Kechagioglou, 1980: 50). The collection became known in Greece and later in the Balkans as "Tales of Halima" from these editions (Seiragakis & Tselikas, 2015).
The lyrics of the song are a dialogue between the protagonists of the play, that is, Chalima and Shah Ruman. Singers Giorgos Savaris and Tzon Miliaris took over their roles for the recording, respectively.
The commercial musical score of the song has also been found, in which the work is described as a "spectacular operetta in three acts". An anthology containing all the songs from the operetta was also published, with the similar designation "oriental spectacular operetta".
The song has been recorded four more times:
– "To fox tis Chalimas", by Giorgos Savaris and Giorgos Vidalis (Odeon GO316 – GA1172/A154318, Athens, 1926)
– «To fox tis Chalimas», by Athinaiki Estoudiantina (Homocord T. M 807 – G. 4-32040, Athens, 1928)
– "M’ anapses sevda", by Aliki Epitropaki and Petros Epitropakis (His Master's Voice BM532 – AO547, Vienna, 1928)
– "To fox tis Chalimas", by Orestis Makris (Polydor 1347BF – V50575, Athens, 1929 or 1930)
The coupling of the aesthetic standard of exoticism with the modern music-dance trend of the fox seen in the title of the song is interesting, two seemingly opposite worlds that are nevertheless created within the European musical condition.
Apart from "Fox tis Chalimas", the songs of the play that were recorded are as follows:
– "Giala-giala", by Giorgos Vidalis and Giorgos Savaris (Odeon G0315 – GA1172/A 154317, Athens, 1926)
– "To tagko tis Leilas", by Giorgos Vidalis and Anna Axelou (Odeon GO 334-2 – GA1176, Athens, 1926)
– "Sachrazat", by Giorgos Vidalis and Giorgos Savaris (Odeon Go318 – GA1173, Athens, 1926)
– "Sachrazat", by Giorgos Savaris, Tzon and Lousien Miliaris (Columbia 20063 – 8040, Athens, 1927)
– "Gialla-gialla", by Giorgos Savaris, Tzon and Lousien Miliaris (Columbia 20013 – 8048, Athens, 1927)
– "Leila", by Giorgos Savaris and Tzon Miliaris (Columbia 20159 – 8069, Athens, 1927)
– "Sachrazat", by Athinaiki Estoudiantina (Homocord T. M 822 – G. 4-32052, Athens, 1928)
– "To tagko tis Leilas", by Orestis Makris (Polydor 1304BF – V50575, Athens, 1929 or 1930)
– "Sachrazat", by Orestis Makris (Polydor 1306BF – V50946, Athens, 1930)
Research and text: George Evangelou, Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis
© 2019 KOUNADIS ARCHIVE
