Nikos Ordoulidis, University of Ioannina, Greece
email: n.ordoulidis@gmail.com
Prelude1
Countless pages are required to examine the relations between Greece and Italy. The period in which both regions have established their own nation-state is a small–and of course recent–part of these relations, which go back much further.
Before the musical discoveries, a representative part of which this text will bring to the forefront, the trigger for my personal interest around the culture associated with the Italian peninsula was sparked by one of the most excellent television series concerning the Roman Empire, which is titled with the simple and comprehensive “Rome”. It is a BBC and HBO production, aired from 2005 to 2007, which in its two cycles and with a total of 22 episodes, chronicles–both from the perspective of those “from above” and “from below”–the period of Julius Caesar and the Roman civil war, until the time of the second civil war, between Octavian and Mark Antony and Cleopatra, which essentially ended with the naval battle of Actium. Obviously, Greece is mentioned and/or involved in the series many times. In one of these scenes, in episode 6, one of the main–fictional–protagonists, Titus Pullo, says: “he got himself into some trouble with some nasty Greek boys across the river”. This phrase, and especially the word “river” used to describe the Adriatic Sea, inspired the title of this text, as it manages to describe in an extremely eloquent way the close relations between the peoples living to the east and west of it.
The historical framework
This text examines the actions of the musical protagonists, but also of the networks in which they participated and, very often, they themselves built. As can be easily seen, in the background is the Mediterranean Sea and the way it has been functioning as a platform upon which cultures communicate. Its large and historic ports hold a dominant position in this communication. The relationships between our leading figures cover a wide period, starting at least from the 19th century, until the era of early massive record production, that is, the first decades of the 20th. The focus is on the project implemented by the Kounadis Archive Virtual Museum, entitled “Cosmopolitanism in Greek Historical Discography”. For the needs of this project, hundreds of cases of musical tunes were documented, which were recorded in many different contexts, places, and times. Although the map, from which one can begin to study these cases, seemingly indicates binary relationships, one will soon understand that the networks are much more complex, since often the musical tune being studied has known two, three or even more ethnic or national lives, often parallel. In other words, we find the same song or instrumental piece recorded in 1910 in Constantinople by Greek speakers, in 1911 in Bucharest by Romanian speakers, in the same year in Saint Petersburg by Russian speakers, etc2. This research has revealed that, many times, it is either the record companies or the networks of the publishing houses that trigger the movements of these musical tunes. However, quite often, it seems that these “dealings” are also the product of more unmediated and gradual fermentations between the ethnic groups which, in the greater part of Europe during the period under consideration, live within multicultural empires or other political entities.
Two of these pairs of repertory relations concern the Italian-speaking repertoires, numbering so far 137 documents. Most of these, which are constantly increasing, concern historical 78-rpm records and cylinders, as well as historical printed commercial musical scores. The specific two cases/groups are titled: “interactions with Italian repertoire” and “interactions with Neapolitan repertoire”3, implying “of Greek repertoire”. Here, songs are included, which were originally recorded in their Italian condition, creations of mainly Italian-speaking composers and lyricists, and then recorded as Greek covers. Most of these cases were identified by Leonardos Kounadis and often, as one can read in the relevant texts, the adaptations were not a Greek exclusivity. It is worth mentioning that, in some cases, the reason for the Greek recording was not the Italian-language one4, but another one; or, to make it even more complex, an adaptation was not made because the Greek-speaking musicians came into direct contact with the original Italian work, but instead came to know the musical tune in question through another, third “national” repertoire, which had earlier adopted the musical tune in question.
This article tries to outline a context within which these adoptions took place, posing questions concerning the creation and the modes of operation of the network: what are these routes, through which Italian-language songs reach the cities where Greek-speaking musicians play a leading part? What is the role of record companies, publishing houses, but also intermediaries, in these mass movements of repertoires from place to place? What are the aesthetic differences between “national/ethnic” performances? Subsequently, two cases from this corpus of recordings are presented; two songs that lived a second life, in a new context, and shaped parallel–to their original–ways, within new national places5.
Arrived in Smyrna in 1841, shortly after a disastrous fire, the Italian Giuseppe Francesco Baruffi marveled at the passion for the theater and the Italian language he found in that city “busy building two new theaters to replace those destroyed by fire: one dedicated to Italian opera with a capacity of 500 seats, and the other to French comedies and vaudevilles,” he wrote. It was in Smyrna, the “Home of Homer,” that Baruffi heard “some blind Greeks singing in the streets about daily events in elegant popular poetry” and improvising verses on the recent fire accident. This is another characteristic that strongly tied people of diverse religions and backgrounds from the heart of the Adriatic to the eastern Mediterranean: the presence of singing storytellers (Fabris, 2018: 4).
The available sources highlight the close relations between Italian-speaking and Greek-speaking music. The conversations developed between specific places and their results6 are enough to highlight the strong ties between the two ethnic groups. Furthermore, relationships were forged in places where the two ethnicities lived together. As, for example, in the case of the cosmopolitan Smyrna in the Ottoman Empire7, up to the Lausanne Treaty of 1923 and the mass movement and exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey; or in that of New York, where Italians and Greeks moved as immigrants since the 19th century en masse8. Moreover, we should not forget that cities such as Trieste and Venice traditionally host strong Greek communities, whose cultural activity has been intense.
And while we already have a robust literature examining relationships at the level of scholarly musicians9, folk and popular musical products, and their own relationships to the original Italophones (which, it should be noted, are not necessarily folk or popular, but can come from scholarly music as well) still remain to be examined. Much more so with regard to the thorough research in historical discography, a field which, to a large extent, still remains at an embryonic level in both countries, particularly as regards the critical aspect of metadata.
Especially at the level of persons, the research is dominated by large gaps and unanswered questions: who are those who tighten the cultural relations and act as regenerative nodes in the networks, in which the two ethnic groups participate, and in the sub-networks concerning the direct mutual relationships? We know, for example, some names of Italian-speaking musicians, instrument teachers, and piano tuning experts who constantly conversed with Greek-speaking protagonists, from the case of Smyrna where the phenomenon has a long history, to cities of the Greek state about which we know little, in terms of their music reality, such as Trikala for example. For the latter, for instance, we have reports that the later main innovator of urban folk-popular music in Greece, born in Trikala in 1915, Vassilis Tsitsanis, had an Italian music teacher at school. Biographical information for all of them is extremely incomplete. What we have so far are scattered reports, from which emerges the strong cultural imprint of the Italophones, and their constant conversation with the Grecophones.
The recordings gathered for the needs of the research project for the Kounadis Archive Virtual Museum belong to a corpus of recorded songs, in which the Greek-speaking musicians borrowed music and/or lyrics from pre-existing Italian songs. The adoption of these songs is twofold: on the one hand, it concerns the lyrics, which are now Greek (often, in fact, they have nothing to do with the original ones), but, on the other hand, it also concerns the performance practices: different instrumental combinations, different ways of performing the same instruments, different singing styles, often variations in the melodic and rhythmic forms, but also in the harmonies, embellishments by the soloists and singers, accompanying instruments habits. In general, Greek-speaking musicians adapt what they hear–from some record or from some touring Italian-speaking orchestra, or read, from some commercial musical score–to their own condition, based on their own capabilities, composing an alla greca way of performance the Italian songs.
Understandably, in the modern capitalist world, music transcription, being the primary tool for the subjectification of music, brought under its purview repertoires that were not connected, disseminated, and functioned based on their transcription. This offered the centres of sales of musical products an additional tool to expand their network of action: non-scholarly musics acquired a convenient way for their circulation, enhancing their popularity, even in places far removed from those of their original creation. Also, light, folk-popular or folk-like songs were printed and released by publishing houses, who possibly believed that in this way they would be able to reach more social groups. At the end of the 19th century, however, the phenomenon of sound recording and reproduction came to rearrange relationships, and to disrupt the status quo of publishing houses, claiming a share of the market, offering a product that was extremely more complete and immediate. The publishing houses tried to react with legal measures, but it became impossible to stop the dynamics of the new phenomenon: the prevalence of commercial discography is now a fact, for the greater part of the 20th century.
In the early period of discography there is no previous management model. Each company creates its own networks, which will allow it to take a dynamic lead in the market. New specialties and professions are created, while new conditions emerge or the need to update older facts, with the most serious one being intellectual property. New small companies are constantly springing up, trying to claim a share in the market, which sooner or later takes on global dimensions. Often, they are bought by larger companies, along with their already recorded repertoires and their existing agreements with agents, producers, musicians. Eventually, most of the smaller labels are concentrated and under the control of a few growing companies. Over the years, and as the recording market becomes more complex, factories and/or branches are built on all continents. These offices are taken over by local actors, who gradually draw up their own policies: they know their markets better. The ever-evolving recording industry shows itself to be centripetal: Decisions made follow the policies dictated centrally by the managements of the companies and their subsidiaries10. This whole condition, this whole multi-layered landscape, becomes even more complex in the United States of America. There, the “national” repertoires live a new, parallel life11. This situation is not static and is largely constructed by the discography, which attends to and “tunes” the overlapping relationships that have already developed in the old world. Repertoires are communicating with each other again, a familiar and already dynamic condition between Europe, Asia Minor, and North Africa. The circulation of musics was already a reality at least since the 19th century, with the tours of theatrical and musical performances, the mechanical instruments, the professional musicians working in ships, but also with the networks of music publishing houses12. The discography is not only embedded in this context but plays a key-role in its transformation. This time the network is adjusted in a programmatic manner, under different conditions and via new paths13.
Two cases-samples of the material
The first song we will examine is one of the unrepeatable hits in the Greek-speaking world. It has been recorded many times by modern artists, and it is part of the active repertoire today, in performances and on the stages of entertainment venues that offer live music. It has been identified with Smyrna, and in the rebetiko revivals it held a strong position in the selected repertoire14. As an example, three modern releases will be mentioned, which either included the historical recording or the song was re-performed. Of particular interest is the way the song is presented in these versions:
In the album “Authentic songs recorded in Smyrna and Constantinople before 1922”, which was originally released in 1982 (Afoi Falirea ΑF 14 and on CD ΑF 652, 1995), in the text of the insert signed by Spyros Papaioannou, it is stated: “according to the profession of the Toundas family, it was probably written by the composer Panagiotis Toundas”15. On Marisa Koch’s disc, “Ta paralia – Tragoudia tis Mikras Asias” (The coastlands – Songs of Asia Minor, Diaulos, Z1/2640/87, 1987 and on CD: Verso 035), the song is simply referred to as “chasaposerviko”16, while in Koch’s text we read: “[the disc] contains favourite songs and music of Asia Minor performed, in the most authentic way, by the Asia Minor violin soloist, Stefanos Vartanis”. Finally, on the Estudiantina Neas Ionias album titled “Smyrne” (MINOS-EMI 724359804620, 2003), in the short musicological commentary signed by Christos Tsiamoulis on the insert, under the song it is mentioned: “Makam Nihavend with Chargiach, Minor scale that changes to Major”17.
The Greek song in question is titled “Apo ta polla” or “Den se thelo pia” (I don’t want you anymore) and it is an adaptation of the Neapolitan song “Mbraccia a me!..” (Hug me)18. The original music was written by Vincenzo Di Chiara and the lyrics by Antonio Barbieri. The song won at the contest “La tavola rotonda” of 1908, and its musical score was included in the issue of the same year (see Figure 1). “La tavola rotonda – Piedigrotta” was the title of a literary, illustrated, music newspaper that was published every Sunday. “Piedigrotta” refers to one of the most famous and oldest religious festivals that took place in Naples, at Madonna di Piedigrotta church. During the festival, a musical 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 song19.


Figure 1: The cover of Piedigrotta and the first page of the musical score of “Mbraccia a me”, published in 1908 (private archive).
Another musical score of the song was published in Naples by “Casa Editrice F. Bideri”, in 1932 (see Figure 2).


Figure 2: The cover and the first page of the musical score of “Mbraccia a me”, published in 1932 (Spilios Kounas archive20).
The song “Mbraccia a me” was recorded by Figli di Ciro21, Piero Orsatti (see Figure 3)22, Pasquale Sirabella, Diego Giannini, Vittorio Parisi, Raffaele Balsamo and more.

So far, the following recordings have been identified in Greek historical discography:
- “Den se thelo pia”, Elliniki Estudiantina (Greek Estudiantina)23, Gramophone 1552½y – 3-14586 and 040 and Victor 63523Β, Smyrna, June 1910 (see Figure 4)24:
- “Den se thelo pia”, Elliniki Estudiantina, Gramophone 1641y – 3-14101 and 032 and Victor 63519, Constantinople, July 3, 191025:
- “Apo ta polla”, Estudiantina Christodoulidis, Favorite 3950-t – 1-59031, Constantinople, July 5, 1910 (see Figure 5)26:
- “Den se thelo pia”, Antonis Melitsianos, Grammavox 12097, Constantinople, 1910–1911
- “Den se thelo pia”, Paul Armand, Columbia 19314 – E 833, New York, April 26, 1911
- “Den se thelo pia”, Elliniki Estudiantina, Odeon 46357, Constantinople, between 1909–191227:
- “Den se thelo pia”, Giorgos Chelmis, Columbia 84611 – E 4106, New York, ca. September 191828:


In the musical score published by the “S. Christidis’ publishing house” in Constantinople (see Figure 6), the song is attributed (lyrics and music) to V. D. Sideris (Vasileios Dimitriou Sideris)29, and on the cover of the musical score, published by “Fexis’ publishing house”, it is
written “Music from the Italian” and “V. Di Chiara”30. The designation “asma laikon” (folk-popular song) presents its own interest. It is found under the title, on the first page of the musical score.


Figure 6: The cover and the first page of the musical score of “Den se thelo pia”, published by “Christidis publishing house” (Collection of Printed Greek Musical Scores, Lilian Voudouri Music Library of Greece of The Friends of Music Society).
Furthermore, according to the musical score published by “Georgios D. Fexis’ publishing house” entitled “Ta dendra” (The trees, see Figure 7), the Neapolitan song “Mbraccia a me”, adapted by Theofrastos Sakellaridis and with different lyrics, written by Babis Anninos and Giorgos Tsokopoulos, was included in the Greek revue “Panathinaia” in 1909.


Figure 7: The cover and the first page of the musical score of “Ta dendra”, published by “Fexis publishing house” (Collection of Printed Greek Musical Scores, Lilian Voudouri Music Library of Greece of The Friends of Music Society).
It is extremely interesting that, although the song entered the Greek-speaking repertoire–both as a recording and as a commercial score–without mentioning the original authors, there were also cases, such as the Greek-language scores above, where the authors were mentioned. Perhaps the publishers or companies that issued the Neapolitan version earlier took notice and have since demanded credit to the original creators and publishers. Thus, although there have been historical references to the original song, none of the modern productions in which it was included have named the creators. The song was baptized “Smyrnean” and was included, indeed as a dynamic symbol, in the national narrative of Greece regarding Smyrna31. In addition, of special interest is the popularity of the Greek song even today, which brings to the surface several issues concerning the context and the protagonists, from place to place. Of particular interest is the fact that songs like this one, which may have gone unnoticed in the place they were created, after being adopted and re-arranged, obtained a new form in a different place and had a second “life”, triggering a new cycle of re-creation. As George Kokkonis mentions (2023):
they constitute a “snapshot” of transformations which constantly produce new versions of old and “deterritorialized” works. These do not possess any “archetypal” essence, but are revealed to us through their new lives, each time within a different context, with real or imaginary references to some recognizable historical, geographical, or linguistic imprint. Some of these new lives have greater longevity and are more influential, and then lend themselves particularly to the rhetorics of national identity, which often declare as archetypes all those things that are, par excellence, transformations, ignoring their cosmopolitan nature, and, above all, their universal scope.
What are these ingredients that account for this wide acceptance of the song by the Greek-speaking world? What role does the trauma of the Asia Minor Catastrophe, and the place Smyrna took in the collective imaginary, play?32 From the Catastrophe onwards, the relevant literature discusses the musical reality of Smyrna, adopting a biased perspective and presenting only the city’s oriental-oriented musical side. These narratives depict the Greek-speaking musical presence in Smyrna as exclusively oriental-oriented, something that is often used as evidence for a broader claim: “Greek music is Eastern music.” At the same time, however, the very same narratives emphatically and emotively highlight the cosmopolitan character of the Greek-speaking community, which played a decisive role in shaping the city’s overall cosmopolitan identity.
The second example goes by the name “Smyrniopoula”, that is, “the Smyrnean girl”. This song did not follow the same path as the previous one, as it was never a hit on the Greek musical stages, nor was it recorded by modern artists. Until the composer Nikos Platyrachos retrieved it from oblivion, and–arranged for piano–turned it into a basic background for the extremely interesting documentary by Maria Iliou, with historical consultant Alexander Kitroeff, “Smyrni, the destruction of a cosmopolitan city”33.
According to the available sources, “Smyrniopoula” was recorded for the first time in 1908 in Constantinople, by the group Smyrnaiki Estudiantina (Smyrnaean Estudiantina, see Figure 8)34.

Another recording of “Smyrniopoula” was made by the group Elliniki Estudiantina, in April 1909, in Smyrna (see Figure 9)35.

The database of the Research Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music (AHRC, https://www.charm.kcl.ac.uk) and the one of Alan Kelly (https://www.gramophonecompanydiscography.com/) contain two more recordings which we have not yet been able to locate36. Furthermore, two recordings were made in New York for Columbia (see Figure 10)37.
The two available recordings from the first decade of the 20th century could be considered aesthetically close. More or less, the composition of the two orchestras and the performance practices constitute an alla greca condition. Possibly, the second could be characterized as leaning slightly more towards western practices, and this mainly because of the singers’ voices, their placement, the ornamentation, and the attempt to build something like a second vocal line. But the third available recording, which is none other than the second recording made in America38, makes it obvious that it comes from another aesthetic world. Instrumentally and performatively, the piece draws from the environment of the military march. Moreover, the voice clearly refers to bel canto. The comparison of the various “national” repertoires, both with each other and each with its European phase, brings to the surface issues that have only slightly concerned musicological research: what are those elements that make the parallel American life of a national repertoire to be so different from that which the repertoire lives in “its original place(s)”? How does the recording industry intervene and shape the conditions? What is it that leads the same musicians to record in America often even the same pieces, which they recorded earlier in their original place of origin or activity, and perform them with aesthetic variations, and even consciously and on purpose? Many times, the differences are very large, and they concern everything from the instrumentation and the orchestration to the form, the phrasing, the harmonizing habits and the rhythm. They appear so densely in the discography that they give the impression of a well-established aesthetic. Does the American treaty offer any special tools, even some aesthetic “freedoms” that musicians could not easily find in the original places? Finally, what is the place in America of the various features that were established as national musical symbols in Europe, such as for example specific instruments that were identified with specific places39?

“Smyrniopoula” is none other than the Neapolitan “Nanninella”, a song that also won the competition “La tavola rotonda”. According to Franco Fabbri (2016: 33 and 2019: 79), the song is attributed to Vincenzo Di Chiara and Antonio Barbieri and was a great success at Elvira Donnarumma’s performances at the Eldorado Theatre in Naples in 1906. According to the same source, in 1909, it was recorded by the vocal ensemble Figli di Ciro40.
Recently, a recording for Pathé containing “Nanninella” has come to light, for the first time based on the evidence so far (see Figure 11). By this time, we have yet to hear a historical recording of the song in question. A special impression is made by the sticker of the “Bideri publishing house”, which, as we have already seen, printed a large part of the repertoire. Possibly, this sticker testifies to some kind of agreement between the publishing house and the record company, regarding the copyright from the sales of the record. Commercial discography had very recently entered the music market and had caused reshuffles, eventually winning the lion’s share, at the expense of the hitherto strong sheet music industry.

The musical score was included in “La tavola rotonda, Piedigrotta 1906”, published by the “F. Bideri publishing house” in Naples on September 6, 1906.



Figure 13: The copiella (leaflet) of “Nanninella” (private archive).
In the Greek-language musical score, which was released by the “S. Christidis publishing house” in Constantinople, the song is mentioned as an adaptation by P. Tsabounaris (or Tsabounaras) with lyrics by G. Labrynidis (see Figure 14).


Figure 14: The cover and the first page of the musical score of “Smyrniopoula”, published in Constantinople (Collection of Printed Greek Musical Scores, Lilian Voudouri Music Library of Greece of The Friends of Music Society).
In addition, according to the musical score published by “Georgios D. Fexis’ publishing house”, entitled “Asma dikaiosynis” (Song for justice), the song, adapted by Theofrastos Sakellaridis and with different lyrics written by Babis Anninos and Giorgos Tsokopoulos, was included in the first show of the revue “Panathinaia” (see Figure 15). It premiered on July 6, 1907 at the Nea Skini Theatre by the Kostas Sayior troupe and had as its main theme the migration wave to the USA. Another score was published by “Veloudios publishing house”, and under the title one can read the explanation “the Italian ‘Nanninella’”. The name of Di Chiara is credited as the composer (see Figure 16).


Figure 15: The cover and the front page of the musical score “Asma dikaiosynis”, published in Athens (Collection of Printed Greek Musical Scores, Lilian Voudouri Music Library of Greece of The Friends of Music Society).

The fact that Kelly’s database contains two more Greek recordings is extremely interesting41. Also, in the book Spanies ichografiseis mikron etaireion 1905-1930 (2020: 94), Aristomenis Kalyviotis includes a recording of the song, under the title “I dikaiosyni ek ton Panathinaion”, which was made in Athens in 1908 by Alex. Kandreviotis (Apollon A 135). Another recording has been found so far, which was performed by M. Kofiniotis in Athens, probably in 1908 under the title “Ta panathinaia: I dikeosini” (Odeon Gx 146 – X 58525).
This evidence reveals the fast reflex actions of the discographical network, as regards cases of popular songs which are introduced in the Greek repertoire, they are printed as musical scores, they are included in shows and, ultimately, they are introduced in discography.
Epilogue
Regarding future research, where there are clearly many open questions, it would be of particular interest to clarify the routes (land, sea and/or generally processes) through which these songs reach the places with Greek-speaking populations. For example, although we find many cases of such adoptions also taking place in Constantinople by Greek-speaking (and not only) musicians, evidence shows that Smyrna plays the leading part in this field. So, what are the factors that catalyse the creation of this network? Although we have an image of the shops selling musical products in Smyrna, Thessaloniki, Athens, and Constantinople, such as instruments and records, of the music teachers, conductors, piano tuning experts who are of Italian origin, unfortunately we do not know if any of them act in consultation with a record company that wants its records to travel, with the aim of producing covers. Or, if a publishing house sends its scores to specific cities, and they are the ones through which Greek-speaking musicians come into contact with these songs42. And of course, what position do these songs hold (and what version of them) in the heterogeneous–in terms of the cultural background of the customers–and polystylistic–in terms of the repertoires served–musical stages of the venues, hotels, theatres, and ships where live music is performed. The study of historical discography has already shown us countless surprising combinations, such as for example the combination of an alla greca mane with a waltz43, whose musical tune comes from the Russian-speaking world, or a hora which responds to the Romanian repertoire of Lăutari musicians. Were songs like the ones we are examined performed in the first stage of the musical programme, in the middle of the evening, or in the so-called “long hours”, that is, later in the night, perhaps part of a “series” of songs44? Clearly, a systematic indexing of the historical press is required, as well as field research in the places involved. Gathering, cataloguing and thorough documentation of the recording material is also required from all parties involved (Italy, Greece, Turkey, American etc.). In any case, research projects of this type require collaborative work and have the most to offer in terms of examining cultural relations in a period of intense rearrangements. These cross-cultural conversations allow us to understand the communication networks and social trends of the places and people involved.
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—. 2020. “Epanexetazontas ta grammika exeliktika schimata stis laikes mousikes paradoseis – i parametros tis armonias.” Edited by Ioannis Foulias, Petros Vouvaris, Kostas Kardamis and Giorgos Sakallieros. “Neoterismos kai paradosi” – Praktika 11ou Diatmimatikou mousikologikou synedriou. Hellenic Musicological Society. 277-283.
Liavas, Lambros. 2009. To Elliniko Tragoudi Apo to 1821 Eos Ti Dekaetia Tou 1950. Athens: Emporiki Trapeza tis Ellados.
March, Richard. 2013. The Tamburitza Tradition – From the Balkans to the American Midwest. The University of Wisconsin Press.
Martland, Peter. 2013. Recording History – The British Record Industry, 1888-1931. Plymouth: The Scarecrow Press.
Ordoulidis, Nikos. 2018. “Deconstructing dipoles: the term ‘Minor’ in Smyrna.” Paper presented at the Fifth International Conference on Analytical Approaches to World Music (AAWM 2018) & Eighth Folk Music Analysis Workshop (FMA 2018). Thessaloniki, Greece (June 26–29).
—. 2021a. “The Peregrinations of a Princess… Urban Popular Music of the 20th Century in the Network of Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the South-Eastern Mediterranean.” Association of Recorded Sound Collections Journal, 52 ed.: 249–282.
—. 2021b. “1911: Estudiantina Oriental on the Road.” “Musiques grecques en représentation (xixe et xxe siècles)”, Bulletin de correspondance hellénique moderne et contemporain. https://journals.openedition.org/bchmc/949.
—. 2021c. Musical Nationalism, Despotism and Scholarly Interventions in Greek Popular Music. Bloomsbury Academic.
—. 2021d. “Athens: Tatavliano / New York: Beykos.” Edited by Kostas Chardas, Giorgos Sakalieros and Ioannis Foulias. Proceedings of the 11th Conference of the Hellenic Musicological Society. Hellenic Musicological Society. 418–423.
—. 2024. “Oi Ellinikes Estoudiantines”. Mikrasiatika Chronika: ‘Smyrni, Oti Perimachitos Esti’ 25–26:287–302.
Pesce, Anita. 2005. La Sirena nel solco – Origini della riproduzione sonora. Napoli: Guida.
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Prato, Paolo. 2022. “Exporting Naples: Geopolitics and Transculturality, from Io te voglio bene assaje to Caruso.” Edited by Fabrizio Della Seta and Massimiliano Locanto. Chigiana, Journal of Musicological Studies: Music and Power in the Long Nineteenth Century 4 (LII): 215-247.
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Spottswood, Richard. 1990. Ethnic Music on Records – A Discography of Ethnic Recordings Produced in the United States, 1893-1942 (7 volumes). Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press.
Strötbaum, Hugo. 2010. “Report on Visit to Greece, April-May 1930, by Edmund Michael Innes.” https://www.recordingpioneers.com/docs/INNEStext_23juli2010.pdf.
Tsetsos, Markos. 2011. Ethnikismos kai laikismos stin neoelliniki mousiki – Politikes opseis mias politismikis apoklisis. Idryma Saki Karagiorga.
- A revised version of this article will appear in French in the upcoming publication “La Méditerranée traversée : Récits et figures sensibles de la mobilté”, edited by De Gourcy, C., Belguidum, S. Buslacchi, M.E. & Demetriou, E. (2025). Presses Universitaires de Provence. ↩︎
- For a case like this, the discographic route of which has been thorough examined, see Ordoulidis (2021a). ↩︎
- See https://vmrebetiko.gr/en/collection-en/?id=italian and https://vmrebetiko.gr/en/collection-en/?id=neapolitan. Parts of this text were published on these two web pages. ↩︎
- By the terms “italophone/Italian-speaking or -language” I mean the songs that fall under both categories. Similarly, the term “Greek” is not used to denote national identity, but as a substitute for the term “Greek-speaking/language”. The complexity of the use of such terms is related to the association of nation-states with ethnic groups. ↩︎
- Warm thanks to the following people and institutions for generously providing archival material and advice on issues related to this research: Panagiotis and Leonardos Kounadis and the Kounadis Archive Virtual Museum (https://vmrebetiko.gr/en/d-home-en/); Anita Pesce; Fondo Gioia, Simona Frasca; Franco Fabbri; Paolo Prato, Spilios Kounas, David Seubert and the Discography of American Historical Recordings database, at the UC Santa Barbara Library (https://adp.library.ucsb.edu); Valia Vraka and the Lilian Voudouri Music Library of Greece of The Friends of Music Society (https://mmb.org.gr/en); Lucia Marinelli and the Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli (https://dl.bnnonline.it). ↩︎
- See for example the cases of the Ionian Islands, Dodecanese Islands, and Patras. ↩︎
- For the Italian presence in Smyrna as regards musical matters, see Kalyviotis (2002). Generally, for the relations between Italian and Ottoman music see Kounas (2019: 137–138). ↩︎
- See for example Anagnostou, Kologeras and Patrona (2022). For the Neapolitan immigrants musicians in New York see Frasca (2014). Generally, for the role that Italian migration played in the music circulation see Prato (2022: 238). ↩︎
- See analytically the texts by Kostas Kardamis, and particularly Kardamis (2018). ↩︎
- For two illustrating examples, regarding the formulation and implementation of corporate policy, see the letter sent by Edmund Michael Innes to the head office of Gramophone. According to Hugo Strötbaum, he was a commercial traveler, patent and trademark expert, and legal assistant (Strötbaum, 2010). See also the case of the song “Ach Mari”, in its annotation text at the Kounadis Archive Virtual Museum (https://vmrebetiko.gr/en/item-en/?id=5462). ↩︎
- Richard Spottswood’s multi-volume work, which can now be described as monumental, is a good starting point for someone wishing to study lists of recordings of various ethnic groups in America (Spottswood, 1990). In recent years there has been an increase in publications concerning some of these repertoires, and their recording course in America (see for example: Green, 1992; March, 2013; Frasca, 2014; Bucuvalas, 2019; Rubin, 2020). ↩︎
- Regarding the “trips” of Neapolitan songs outside Italy, see Prato (2022). ↩︎
- For various issues regarding the context of historical discography see for example: Gronow, 1983 and 2014; Cook, Clarke, Wilkinson and Rink, 2009; Martland, 2013; Roy and Rodriguez, 2022. ↩︎
- The term ‘rebetiko’ refers to urban folk-popular creations and has been used in Greece in two ways. It is either divided into two categories or phases: the Smyrna style or school, and the Piraeus school, based in the city-port of Athens. Alternatively, the term is applied exclusively to the Piraeus style, particularly to its marginalised repertoire, a portion of which was recorded. In this case, the Smyrna school is regarded as the predecessor of rebetiko. The hallmark of the Smyrnean rebetiko is the so-called ‘santouroviolins’ (santouroviolia, derived from santur and violin), whereas for Piraean rebetiko the bouzouki assumes a dominant role. Greek-speaking folk-popular discography began on a large scale as early as 1904 in Constantinople. The discography reveals a different reality. Research shows that the term ‘rebetiko’ first began to appear on record labels around 1912, on Greek recordings made in Constantinople. Two remarkable points emerge: firstly, these recordings were made in the 1910s, 1920s, and 1930s. Markos Vamvakaris, widely mentioned as ‘the Patriarch of rebetiko’, began recording in Athens in 1933, meaning his discographic career cannot easily or exclusively be identified with the term. Secondly, listening to these musical works is surprising. None of these recordings feature the bouzouki. Furthermore, part of the repertoire does not ‘look’ eastward and the santouroviolins are not the majority. For the stereotypes, biases, omissions, and dipole mentalities in the relevant literature surrounding the musical reality of Smyrna see Ordoulidis (2021b: 1-12). For more technical issues, see Kounas (2020). More generally on nationalism in Greece and the role of music within it, see Kokkonis (2008, 2011 and 2012); Tsetsos (2011); and Ordoulidis (2021c). ↩︎
- Toundas, born before the 20th century, played a pivotal role in the musical affairs of both Smyrna, where he seems to have been born, and Athens, where he went as a refugee. No historical evidence has been found linking him to the song in question (for Toundas, see Gekas, 2018). ↩︎
- Chasapiko is one of the most popular folk-popular dances-rhythms in the Greek-speaking repertoire. It should be regarded as part of the network in which the respective dances-rhythms from the repertoires of other ethnic cohabitants participate, in their previous or evolved forms: hora, sirba, bulgar, sirto, longa, serviko and chasaposerviko, kasap, polka, etc. The other half of the word, “serviko”, literally means “Serbian”, but it actually refers to “sirba” (see in detail Kokkonis, 2017b and n.d.). ↩︎
- For the attempt to theoretically analyze the Asia Minor repertoire exclusively with the modal theoretical system of the Ottoman makam, which developed at the Court by scholarly musicians, see Fabbri (2019: 80). ↩︎
- The contrast between the lyrics is of particular interest. ↩︎
- Regarding the Piedigrotta festival see Pesce (2005). In terms of the efforts by Italian immigrants, towards introducing a similar festival in the USA see Frasca (2014: 40). For the Neapolitan song and its popularity see Plastino and Sciorra (2016). ↩︎
- See the entire score: https://vmrebetiko.gr/en/item-en/?id=11247. ↩︎
- “‘Mbraccia a mme” (embrace me), Gramophone 13317b – V 92472, Naples, 19 May 1909: https://youtu.be/rOhnWIQgDy4. ↩︎
- “‘Mbraccia a me”, Columbia 38415 – E 1255 and E 2092 and C 2311, New York, 20 November 1912: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000021220/38415-Mbraccia_a_me. ↩︎
- The Greek estudiantinas were small-member orchestras, which left a strong imprint on the historical discography. Based on recent research, it seems that they appear in Constantinople at the end of the 19th century. This is the fruit of the seed that a Spanish estudiantina sowed a little earlier, literally all over the world, after its great success in Paris. For the Greek estudiantinas and their history, see Ordoulidis (2021b; 2021c, chapter 13; and 2024 and Christoforidis (2023). ↩︎
- See https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/1000016530/1552y-Den_se_thelo_peia_ and https://vmrebetiko.gr/en/item-en/?id=4372. ↩︎
- See https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/1000004597/1641y-Den_se_thelo_pia. ↩︎
- See https://vmrebetiko.gr/en/item-en/?id=4410. ↩︎
- See https://www.greekdiscography.gr/Images/Records/201442/ODEON%2046357%208%20%20B.jpg.ashx. ↩︎
- See https://rebetiko.sealabs.net/display.php?d=0&recid=13208 and https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000110126/84611-Then_se_thelo_pia. ↩︎
- For Sideris and his participation in the musical life of Smyrna and Constantinople, see Ordoulidis (2021b). ↩︎
- See https://digilib.gr:8080/LSelia/images_View/MS.6.050.jpg. ↩︎
- For the Italian paternity of the song we have a reference to the composer in Kokkonis (2013: 34), and a reference to the fact that the original song was Italian in Liavas (2009: 386). ↩︎
- The collective national trauma caused by the abandonment of the Great Idea played a catalytic role in shaping Smyrna’s position in public discourse. The central goal of the Great Idea (Μεγάλη Ιδέα, Megali Idea) was the integration of the unredeemed regions of Hellenism in Asia Minor, including Constantinople. The 1922 defeat of the Greek army in Anatolia by the forces of the emerging Turkish state, known as the Katastrofi (Καταστροφή, catastrophe), along with the subsequent Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, marked the end of the Great Idea. ↩︎
- See https://youtu.be/H5Tylnbm9nY. ↩︎
- “Smyrniopoula”, Odeon CX 1881 – No 58579, Constantinople, 1908: https://vmrebetiko.gr/en/item-en/?id=5153. ↩︎
- “Smyrniopoula, Gramophone Concert Record 12804b – 6-12688, Smyrna, April 1909: https://vmrebetiko.gr/en/item-en/?id=4359. ↩︎
- Elliniki Estudiantina, 12301b, Constantinople, February 28, 1909; Mlle Simonides, 12410b – 4-13521, Constantinople, March 8, 1909. For the first one, given the absence of a disc code, we can assume that it was not released on the market. ↩︎
- “Smyrniopoula”, Columbia 19315-1 – E 834, Paul Armand, New York, April 26, 1911: https://rebetiko.sealabs.net/display.php?recid=18046; “Evmorfi mou Smyrniopoula” (My beautiful Smyrnean girl), Columbia 58999 – E 3804, George Chelmis, New York, ca. November 1917: https://vmrebetiko.gr/en/item-en/?id=4596. ↩︎
- The available audio file for America’s other recording is of poor quality and barely audible. ↩︎
- For a case such as this from the Greek-speaking repertoire, see Ordoulidis (2021d). ↩︎
- Gramophone 13347½b – V 92475, Naples, May 22, 1909. ↩︎
- “Dikeossini”, Yangos Psammatianos, 10723b – X-2-102659, Athens, October 1907; “I Dikeossini (Panathinea)”, Estudiantina Grecque, 13403b – 3-14580, Smyrna, May 1909. ↩︎
- “This age of sheet music exportation helped to satiate the demand created by piano-owning audiences who were enamoured of Neapolitan music […] Neapolitan song had become a consolidated ‘macro genre’, subject to be appropriated by artists of non-Neapolitan origin” (Prato, 2022: 238–239). ↩︎
- “Manes” refers to an alla greca form where vocal improvisation on a couplet plays a leading role. In the manes form, which in most of the recordings remains exactly the same (Introduction – A verse – Intermediate theme – B verse – Shift), the last part consists of the “shift”, a dramatic change that involves new melodies with new rhythmic features. See in detail: Kounadis (2010, 1: 45), Kokkonis (2017a: 112), Ordoulidis (2018), Kounas (2019). ↩︎
- For the so-called “seires” (series) in the folk repertoires and in their live performance, see Kokkonis (2011). ↩︎