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abstracts
Kostas Kardamis: The folkloric element in the opera
The Parliamentary Candidate by Spiridon Xindas
The comic opera O ypopsifios [The
Parliamentary Candidate] by Spyridon Xindas (premiere: Corfu, San
Giacomo Theatre, autumn 1867) holds a prominent place in the history
of neo-hellenic music as the earliest full-scale melodramatic work in
(demotic) Greek language. Nonetheless, the presence of folklore
elements in its music is equally important, given that its plot takes
place in a village of Corfu during the last years of the British
Administration. The present essay attempts to underline the use of
rural musical elements in Xindas’s opera, by making an explicit
reference to the importance of folklorism in the Ionian composers’
works before 1867 and by offering a series of stylistic observations
and archival information regarding The Parliamentary Candidate.
The folkloric musical
elements in Xindas’s opera serve several causes, apart from their
obvious use as “couleur locale” related to the rural areas of
Corfu: they strengthen the social critic (which lays behind the
opera’s comic façade) and expand it beyond the narrow
boundaries of the plot, they obtain particular importance during a
period of national mobilization, and illustrate the new social and
cultural orientations of the Ionian Islands after their annexation to
the Kingdom of Greece in 1864.
Konstantinos G. Sampanis: The opera performances in
Zante from 1835 until the embodiment of the Ionian Islands to the
“Kingdom of Greece” (1864) – IÉ
“Apollo”, initially a
wooden theatre in the Ionian Island of Zante (“Zakynthos” in Greek),
was built by the Italian Gaetano Mele in 1835, when the first aimed,
organised and complete season of opera performances was held. For more
than two decades the seasons of operas did not take place on an annual
basis, but from the year 1857 until the season of 1863-1864 there was
a remarkable stability and regularity concerning the annual occurrence.
Totally, from 1835 until the embodiment of Zante to the “Kingdom of
Greece” (1864), nineteen organised seasons of opera performances
took place, as well as a series of performances, which lasted only a
few weeks. Furthermore, two more seasons can be considered as
questionable and a series as possibly having taken place. It is
estimated that during the period 1835-1864 a total of 115-125 opera
productions were held, of which up to now the 90 are completely
confirmed, while 5 more are strongly believed to have taken place
based on documented evidence. Fifty-seven operas of 14 composers were
performed, mainly by Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi and Rossini. The small
population of Zante, as well as the fact that this island was a small
and peripheral opera “market”, conduced to the appearance of
Italian opera troops mainly of medium or law quality, usually
consisting on the one hand of young and undistinguished singers, a few
of which made a name of themselves during the following years, but
also most of which remained undistinguished, and on the other hand of
aged singers, which were very close to the end of their career.
However, not only a few times even with such troops, the impresarios
of “Apollo” were led to bankruptcy. Despite this, the public of
Zante had the opportunity to hear significant singers while they were
still young and insignificant. The most important lyrical artists that
appeared during the above mentioned period on the stage of
“Apollo” were the prima donnas Antonietta Galzerani, Serafina
Rubini, Enrichetta Zani and Argentina Angelini, the baritone Davide
Squarcia, the bass Luigi Dalla Santa and the comic bass Leopoldo
Cammarano.
Dimitris
Kabolis: Arvanitic songs in the public sphere: Issues of music policy
The purpose of this article is the presentation of
Arvanitic songs in the public sphere. Musical practice within the
framework of the old musical-cultural environment is examined up to
the years of the Second World War, where of special dominance was
dance accompanied by songs, which were antiphonically performed by the
dancers. There is a special mention of the various changes, both in
socio-economic and symbolic levels, through which the Arvanitic
language and music were held in contempt and pushed aside as elements
of a civilization characterized by linguistic dissimilarity. Emphasis
is also given to the role of discography on the spread of certain
songs, highlighting them as “pan-Arvanitic” and brushing aside in
this way the pre-existing centuries-old vocal tradition.
By combining the study of archived discographic
material with interviews of musicians who are performing in Arvanitic
villages and have recorded relevant repertoire, there can be seen,
during the post-war period, three periods of Arvanitic songs presence
in the public sphere. The central stage in all these periods is held
by the preeminence of discography. During the first period, local
repertoires were being continuously under fire by the self-censorship
of the indigenous people, as well as by the feelings of “shame”
concerning their language and culture, which were systematically
cultivated in the Arvanitic population by various sources. The second
period begins in the 1980s, where, through the rise of populism and
the development of the market and trade of folk songs audio cassettes
by Athenian record companies, “unknown” and “forgotten”
Arvanitic songs reemerge in the public sphere, this time handled by
folk bands in the same way that the rest of the folk songs were being
handled. The third period begins in the 1990s, and continues to the
present time. During this period, the presence of Arvanitic songs in
the discography subsides, as a consequence of historical circumstance
and the advent of new nationalistic movements in the modern
multicultural societies.
Veroniki
Mavriki: The presence of harmonica in Istanbul, Izmir and in Greece:
Organological and terminological issues
This article
is a study on
harmonica, a “forgotten” musical
instrument, which starred in
the bands of popular music of Constantinople
(Istanbul) and Smyrna
in the early 19th century
and later in the
orchestras of popular music in Greece until
1935. An attempt is made to approach some
organological issues of this instrument, through the
presentation of two harmonicas and through
oral testimonies, due to the absence of any other archival
sources. Reports from the
bibliography have been recorded, which
demonstrate the existence and the role
of the instrument in the
music life of
Istanbul, Izmir and the
Greek mainland. Finally, there is the issue
of the classification of
the instrument, as shown
through testimonials
and bibliographical references the
various names that have
been assigned from time to time to
this musical instrument.
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