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. This recording 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. One such case is the recording "Pes mikro mou giati".

It is a Greek adaptation of the Neapolitan song "Che buò fa? ('Α Pacchianella)", set to music by Vincenzo Valente and lyrics by Giambattista De Curtis.

The musical score was published in Naples, in 1890, by the Bideri publishing house, and in 1892 by the G. Santojanni publishing house, with Neapolitan lyrics by Giambattista De Curtis and Italian lyrics by Mario Perla.

In Italian historical discography, the song was recorded six times by Francesco Daddi:

– In Milan, in April 1902 (The Gramophone and Typewriter Ltd. 4393 a – 52273 & 92080)
– In Milan, probably in 1904 (Columbia 60176 - Cylinder 10647)
– In London, September 13, 1906 (Gramophone 8959½ b – X-92158)
– In Milan, 1906 (Odeon Fonotipia XM651 – 37297)
– In New York, 1906-1907 (Edison 19064 – 19064)
– In New York, March 5, 1908 (Victor B-6009 – 3809 & 62425)

The song, however, seems to be also well known in the French repertoire.

In 1890, the French musical score of the song by L. Langlois under the title "Un Rêve!, Chanson Napolitaine", with French lyrics by Paul Milliet and Italian lyrics by Mario Perla, was published in Paris.

The song, adapted by Eugène Poncin and under the title "Souviens-toi! (Parodie de Un rêve)" and lyrics by Paul Milliet, was recorded five times in French historical discography:

– Félix Mayol, Paris, April 1903 (Gramophone 2045 – 2-32157)
– André Maréchal, Paris, August 15, 1904 (Odeon X 33853)
– Félix Mayol, Paris, 1906 (APGA 1190 – 1190)
– André Maréchal, Paris, February 1906 (Odeon xP 2377 – X 36549)
- Les Minstrels Parisien, Paris, probably in the 1910s (Pathé 25171-R – 1417)

The adaptation of the song by Eugène Poncin was published under the title "Souviens-toi! (Parodie de Un rêve)" in a musical score in Paris, in 1902, by the Librairie Hachette & Cie publishing house.

According to the data collected so far in Greek historical discography, the song was also recorded under the title "Mikro mou san gyriso" in Smyrna (Izmir), in March 1909, by the Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina) for Gramophone (12792b - 6-12683 & re-issue by Victor 63531-B).

Research and text: Leonardos Kounadis and Nikos Ordoulidis