Part of the content is temporarily available only in Greek
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”.
Historical sources underline the close relations between Italian-speaking and Greek-speaking music. The conversations that developed with specific places, such as the Ionian Islands, the Dodecanese and Patras, as well as their results, are enough to highlight the strong ties between the two ethno-cultural groups. Furthermore, relationships were forged in places where the two ethnicities lived together, such as, for example, in the case of cosmopolitan Smyrna (Izmir) in the Ottoman Empire, or that of New York, where Italians and Greeks immigrated. When researching the historical material, it seems that one particular city in the Italian peninsula developed special relations with the large urban centers where Greek-speaking musicians played a leading role: it was Naples, with its famous Canzone Napoletana. “Den se thelo pia or “Apo ta polla” belongs to a corpus of songs from which the Greek protagonists borrowed music and/or lyrics from pre-existing Neapolitan-speaking songs. In many cases, the appropriations concern not only Neapolitan-speaking songs but the Italian language as a whole, since, often, the original Neapolitan-speaking songs were translated into Italian, from which the loan arose. 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 is not only embedded in this context, but plays a key role in its transformation. 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, are the performance practices: different instrumentation, different singing style, often differences in melodic and rhythmic forms but also in the harmonies. Greek musicians adapt what they hear to their own condition, based on their own capabilities. After all, the mandolins, the guitars, the marches, polyphonic song and the bel canto singing style are characteristics that reveal the influences of the Canzone Napoletana on the Greek-speaking urban popular song. It should also be noted that, in various cases, often due to the great international success of the songs, the network that is finally formed is extremely complex and does not only concern Greek-Italian relations.
The song "Den se thelo pia" is an adaptation of the Neapolitan song “Mbraccia a me!..” (Embrace me) by Vincenzo Di Chiara-Antonio Barbieri with Greek lyrics. The musical score was included in a 1908 issue of "La Tavola Rotonda" (a literary, illustrated, music newspaper that was published every Sunday). Another musical score of the song was published in Napoli by "Casa Editrice F. Bideri" in 1932.
“Piedigrotta”, which is written on the headline of the newspaper, refers to one of the most famous and oldest religious festivals that took place in Naples. During the festival, a music competition took place, which, in the 19th century, turned into a dynamic festival. This festival took the form of a commercial mechanism which played a key role in shaping and promoting Neapolitan song. The song “Mbraccia a me” was recorded by Figli di Ciro (see here and here), Pasquale Sirabella (see here), Piero Orsatti (see here), Diego Giannini (see here), Vittorio Parisi (see here), Raffaele Balsamo (see here).
As noted by Giorgos Kokkonis and Maria Zoumpouli in the insert that accompanies the musical publication "I Smyrni kai i Smyrnia" (2013: 9): “The song ‘De se thelo pia’ is an Italian song whose first version had nothing to do, aesthetically-wise, with its adaptation from Smyrna (Izmir): if we characterize it as a ‘western’ song, we obscure the dynamics in which it was adopted by the people of Smyrna (Izmir), and which are perhaps the most basic component of the original style they created, beyond and above instrumental issues or interval choices. To this dynamics, however, we must add another essential feature of the Smyrna (Izmir) style: the context of performance which brings musicians and the audience to a society of their own that is full of intensity, passion and joy of life”.
So far, the following recordings has been identified in Greek historical discography:
- Den se thelo pia, Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina), Smyrna (Izmir), June 1910 (Gramophone 1552y - 3-14586X & Victor 63523)
- Den se thelo pia, Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina), Smyrna (Izmir), June 1910 (Gramophone 1552½y - 3-14586 & 040 & Victor 63523Β), this record
- Den se thelo pia, Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina), Constantinople (Istanbul), July 3, 1910 (Gramophone 1641y - 3-14101 & 032 & Victor 63519)
- Apo ta polla, Estudiantina Christodoulidis, Constantinople (Istanbul), July 5, 1910 (Favorite 3950-t - 1-59031)
- Den se thelo pia, Antonis Melitsianos, Constantinople (Istanbul), 1910-1911 (Grammavox 12097)
- Den se thelo pia, Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina), Constantinople (Istanbul), between 1909-1912 (Odeon 46357)
- Den se thelo pia, Giorgos Chelmis, New York, ca. September 1918 (Columbia 84611 - E4106)
Menios Kalyviotis (2015: 153) states: “In the present study, a rare recording with Turkish lyrics has been found, which is included in the recordings made by A. Clarke in 1910. We are talking about the song "Boycottage cantossi" which, as shown in the tables, was recorded in Drama by Victoria. The word 'cantossi' in the title suggests that it probably originated or was used in musical theater".
In the musical score released by the S. Christidis’ publishing house in Constantinople (Istanbul), the song is attributed (lyrics-music) to V. D. Sideris, and on the cover of the musical score published by Fexis’ publishing house it is written "Music from Italy" and "V. Di Chiara".
Also, according to the musical score published by Georgios D. Fexis’ publishing house entitled “Ta dendra", the Neapolitan song “Mbraccia a me!", adapted by Theofrastos Sakellaridis and with different lyrics by Bampis Anninos and Giorgos Tsokopoulos, was included in the revue “Panathinaia" in 1909.
Research and text by: 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 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”.
Historical sources underline the close relations between Italian-speaking and Greek-speaking music. The conversations that developed with specific places, such as the Ionian Islands, the Dodecanese and Patras, as well as their results, are enough to highlight the strong ties between the two ethno-cultural groups. Furthermore, relationships were forged in places where the two ethnicities lived together, such as, for example, in the case of cosmopolitan Smyrna (Izmir) in the Ottoman Empire, or that of New York, where Italians and Greeks immigrated. When researching the historical material, it seems that one particular city in the Italian peninsula developed special relations with the large urban centers where Greek-speaking musicians played a leading role: it was Naples, with its famous Canzone Napoletana. “Den se thelo pia or “Apo ta polla” belongs to a corpus of songs from which the Greek protagonists borrowed music and/or lyrics from pre-existing Neapolitan-speaking songs. In many cases, the appropriations concern not only Neapolitan-speaking songs but the Italian language as a whole, since, often, the original Neapolitan-speaking songs were translated into Italian, from which the loan arose. 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 is not only embedded in this context, but plays a key role in its transformation. 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, are the performance practices: different instrumentation, different singing style, often differences in melodic and rhythmic forms but also in the harmonies. Greek musicians adapt what they hear to their own condition, based on their own capabilities. After all, the mandolins, the guitars, the marches, polyphonic song and the bel canto singing style are characteristics that reveal the influences of the Canzone Napoletana on the Greek-speaking urban popular song. It should also be noted that, in various cases, often due to the great international success of the songs, the network that is finally formed is extremely complex and does not only concern Greek-Italian relations.
The song "Den se thelo pia" is an adaptation of the Neapolitan song “Mbraccia a me!..” (Embrace me) by Vincenzo Di Chiara-Antonio Barbieri with Greek lyrics. The musical score was included in a 1908 issue of "La Tavola Rotonda" (a literary, illustrated, music newspaper that was published every Sunday). Another musical score of the song was published in Napoli by "Casa Editrice F. Bideri" in 1932.
“Piedigrotta”, which is written on the headline of the newspaper, refers to one of the most famous and oldest religious festivals that took place in Naples. During the festival, a music competition took place, which, in the 19th century, turned into a dynamic festival. This festival took the form of a commercial mechanism which played a key role in shaping and promoting Neapolitan song. The song “Mbraccia a me” was recorded by Figli di Ciro (see here and here), Pasquale Sirabella (see here), Piero Orsatti (see here), Diego Giannini (see here), Vittorio Parisi (see here), Raffaele Balsamo (see here).
As noted by Giorgos Kokkonis and Maria Zoumpouli in the insert that accompanies the musical publication "I Smyrni kai i Smyrnia" (2013: 9): “The song ‘De se thelo pia’ is an Italian song whose first version had nothing to do, aesthetically-wise, with its adaptation from Smyrna (Izmir): if we characterize it as a ‘western’ song, we obscure the dynamics in which it was adopted by the people of Smyrna (Izmir), and which are perhaps the most basic component of the original style they created, beyond and above instrumental issues or interval choices. To this dynamics, however, we must add another essential feature of the Smyrna (Izmir) style: the context of performance which brings musicians and the audience to a society of their own that is full of intensity, passion and joy of life”.
So far, the following recordings has been identified in Greek historical discography:
- Den se thelo pia, Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina), Smyrna (Izmir), June 1910 (Gramophone 1552y - 3-14586X & Victor 63523)
- Den se thelo pia, Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina), Smyrna (Izmir), June 1910 (Gramophone 1552½y - 3-14586 & 040 & Victor 63523Β), this record
- Den se thelo pia, Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina), Constantinople (Istanbul), July 3, 1910 (Gramophone 1641y - 3-14101 & 032 & Victor 63519)
- Apo ta polla, Estudiantina Christodoulidis, Constantinople (Istanbul), July 5, 1910 (Favorite 3950-t - 1-59031)
- Den se thelo pia, Antonis Melitsianos, Constantinople (Istanbul), 1910-1911 (Grammavox 12097)
- Den se thelo pia, Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina), Constantinople (Istanbul), between 1909-1912 (Odeon 46357)
- Den se thelo pia, Giorgos Chelmis, New York, ca. September 1918 (Columbia 84611 - E4106)
Menios Kalyviotis (2015: 153) states: “In the present study, a rare recording with Turkish lyrics has been found, which is included in the recordings made by A. Clarke in 1910. We are talking about the song "Boycottage cantossi" which, as shown in the tables, was recorded in Drama by Victoria. The word 'cantossi' in the title suggests that it probably originated or was used in musical theater".
In the musical score released by the S. Christidis’ publishing house in Constantinople (Istanbul), the song is attributed (lyrics-music) to V. D. Sideris, and on the cover of the musical score published by Fexis’ publishing house it is written "Music from Italy" and "V. Di Chiara".
Also, according to the musical score published by Georgios D. Fexis’ publishing house entitled “Ta dendra", the Neapolitan song “Mbraccia a me!", adapted by Theofrastos Sakellaridis and with different lyrics by Bampis Anninos and Giorgos Tsokopoulos, was included in the revue “Panathinaia" in 1909.
Research and text by: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis
© 2019 KOUNADIS ARCHIVE
