Spiros Delegos
University of the Arts Helsinki, Sibelius Academy DocMus Doctoral School, Salaried Doctoral Researcher
Spiros Delegos was born in Patras, Greece, and is a salaried doctoral researcher at the Sibelius Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki (academic years 2023-24 & 2024-25).
As a doctoral candidate (since 2020) of the DocMus Doctoral School (Research Study Programme with supervisors Markus Mantere & Risto Pekka Pennanen), he is working on a research project entitled "Heterotopia and Ideology in Interwar Rebetiko".
He holds a Master’s degree (2018) in “Ethnomusicology and Cultural Anthropology” from the Department of Music Studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (UoA) and a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the University of Patras.
He has studied Balkan and Mediterranean musical traditions on the lavta (lute with microintervals from Istanbul) at the Municipal Conservatory of Patras under the supervision of Christos Tsiamoulis and Theory of "European Classical Music" (diplomas in Harmony & Counterpoint, taught by Vasiliki Philippeou) at the Philharmonic Foundation Conservatory of Patras. He came into contact with Ottoman Music and European classical mandolin by attending private lessons and several seminars-master classes (“Labyrinth”, "Music Village", etc.). He also has an excellent knowledge of the folk guitar and the Greek three-course bouzouki and baglamas.
As a musician (since 1996), he has appeared at musical venues, live concerts, festivals and has been responsible for numerous tributes (“George Katsaros-Theologitis”, "Spiros Peristeris", “Music based on poems: D. Karatzas & A. Fostieris”, etc.) through musical ensembles of rebetiko, traditional, modern and classical styles (“Basso cantini”, “Trikyclo”, “Mantolinata of Patras”, "Vasilis Tsitsanis", etc.) performing on the guitar, mandolin and lavta. He has composed the music for the play “Adespoton” (written by Maria A. Spyropoulou) and he was co-founder and member of the Art Project team "Stalaktites" related to theatre and musical discourse.
He was the founder and the head teacher of the “Urban Greek Popular Music Department" (2012-2023) at the Philharmonic Foundation Conservatory of Patras, and was the musical director of the “Urban Popular Music Orchestra” (2016-2020), a large ensemble with string, wind instruments, etc.
He has given an array of musical workshops on makam modality and harmonisation in rebetiko and the urban popular tradition of the eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans (Sibelius Academy, 1st Festival of Folk Guitar in Greece, Philharmonic Foundation Conservatory of Patras, etc.).
He has been actively involved in research (since 2015) by presenting several papers at (ethno)musicology conferences in Greece and abroad (IMS, ICTM, etc.) and by publishing articles in Greek and international scientific journals and e-books (IMS Series Musicologica Balcanica, etc.), by peer-reviewing, and currently by translating-editing into Greek the edited book "Greek Music in America" (2019, University Press of Mississippi).
His research interests, as an ethnomusicologist and mostly from a historical perspective, concern music cultures and idioms within the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean (especially rebetiko) around and during the interwar period, beyond ethnocentric and hegemonic ideological-cultural considerations.
Finally, he is a member of ICTMD, IMS, International Research Collective: Popular Music in Greece, ICTMD Committee for Greece, Hellenic Musicological Society, and other musicological organisations.
As a doctoral candidate (since 2020) of the DocMus Doctoral School (Research Study Programme with supervisors Markus Mantere & Risto Pekka Pennanen), he is working on a research project entitled "Heterotopia and Ideology in Interwar Rebetiko".
He holds a Master’s degree (2018) in “Ethnomusicology and Cultural Anthropology” from the Department of Music Studies at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (UoA) and a Bachelor's degree in Mathematics from the University of Patras.
He has studied Balkan and Mediterranean musical traditions on the lavta (lute with microintervals from Istanbul) at the Municipal Conservatory of Patras under the supervision of Christos Tsiamoulis and Theory of "European Classical Music" (diplomas in Harmony & Counterpoint, taught by Vasiliki Philippeou) at the Philharmonic Foundation Conservatory of Patras. He came into contact with Ottoman Music and European classical mandolin by attending private lessons and several seminars-master classes (“Labyrinth”, "Music Village", etc.). He also has an excellent knowledge of the folk guitar and the Greek three-course bouzouki and baglamas.
As a musician (since 1996), he has appeared at musical venues, live concerts, festivals and has been responsible for numerous tributes (“George Katsaros-Theologitis”, "Spiros Peristeris", “Music based on poems: D. Karatzas & A. Fostieris”, etc.) through musical ensembles of rebetiko, traditional, modern and classical styles (“Basso cantini”, “Trikyclo”, “Mantolinata of Patras”, "Vasilis Tsitsanis", etc.) performing on the guitar, mandolin and lavta. He has composed the music for the play “Adespoton” (written by Maria A. Spyropoulou) and he was co-founder and member of the Art Project team "Stalaktites" related to theatre and musical discourse.
He was the founder and the head teacher of the “Urban Greek Popular Music Department" (2012-2023) at the Philharmonic Foundation Conservatory of Patras, and was the musical director of the “Urban Popular Music Orchestra” (2016-2020), a large ensemble with string, wind instruments, etc.
He has given an array of musical workshops on makam modality and harmonisation in rebetiko and the urban popular tradition of the eastern Mediterranean and the Balkans (Sibelius Academy, 1st Festival of Folk Guitar in Greece, Philharmonic Foundation Conservatory of Patras, etc.).
He has been actively involved in research (since 2015) by presenting several papers at (ethno)musicology conferences in Greece and abroad (IMS, ICTM, etc.) and by publishing articles in Greek and international scientific journals and e-books (IMS Series Musicologica Balcanica, etc.), by peer-reviewing, and currently by translating-editing into Greek the edited book "Greek Music in America" (2019, University Press of Mississippi).
His research interests, as an ethnomusicologist and mostly from a historical perspective, concern music cultures and idioms within the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean (especially rebetiko) around and during the interwar period, beyond ethnocentric and hegemonic ideological-cultural considerations.
Finally, he is a member of ICTMD, IMS, International Research Collective: Popular Music in Greece, ICTMD Committee for Greece, Hellenic Musicological Society, and other musicological organisations.
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Articles by Spiros Delegos
https://doi.org/10.1017/ytm.2024.9
Abstract:
This article revisits the concepts of makam modality and chordal harmony, and argues for viewing interwar rebetiko as a musico-cultural amalgamation. I explore the transcendence of the theoretical incompatibility beyond the East–West dichotomy by employing the Foucauldian concept of heterotopia as a de-ideologised analytical tool. I conduct a case study of makam Sabâ and pertinent harmonisation on the guitar, by analysing two representative historical recordings from the 1930s and interpreting them within the contemporaneous musico-cultural context. As a result, I contend that the terms “equal-tempered makam” and “idiosyncratic harmonisation” mirror expressions of modal heterotopia within interwar rebetiko.
This paper addresses the contribution of modality, chordal harmony and the relationship between them to the formulation of ‘Rebetiko’ –a musical genre of Greek Urban Popular Music– during the interwar period. The aim of the research is to show the hybrid character of Rebetiko through the analysis of the confrontation between the makam modality and an idiosyncratic form of chordal harmony, transcending the typical East-West dipole.
After having listened to a large corpus of gramophone recordings of that period, I chose some of the most representative musical pieces –in terms of harmonization and modality– in order, firstly, to document them in transcriptions and, secondly, to analyze and interpret them within their socio-cultural context.
The establishment of the equal tempered three-course bouzouki and the censorship by Metaxas’ regime are peculiar forms of modernization and westernization respectively, which contributed to the hybrid aspects of this genre. The interplay between the Greek and the other ethnic communities within the eastern Mediterranean context, the deterritorialization of the musical culture from the broader area of Anatolia to the Greek state due to the Greek refugee movement (1922-23) are some of the basic factors which facilitate the understanding of the cultural osmosis responsible for this musical syncretism.
"Δρόμος»: μακάμ(ι) ή κλίμακα;"
In the Greek web journal "Klika" in February 2019.
Tracing the character and the several meanings of the rebetiko term "dromos".
Link:
https://klika.gr/index.php/arthrografia/arthra/211-dromos-makami-i-klimaka.html
Master Thesis by Spiros Delegos
The current study focuses on that musical genre which, in the context of the Greek Urban Popular Music during the Interwar period, is described by the Greek discourse as “Rebetiko”.
We introduce a relatively new categorization of Rebetiko repertoire in terms of style. From the perspective of Historical Ethnomusicology, after having listened to a large corpus of gramophone recordings of the Interwar period, the most representative music pieces are chosen firstly in order to be documented in transcriptions and secondly to be analyzed, co-examined and interpreted within the socio-cultural context. The recordings are regarded as primary elements of the examined musical culture.
In this regard, we prove that the Interwar Rebetiko is based on the Ottoman makam in its popular version. Using the Ottoman-Turkish makam theoretical system as the main analytical tool, the modal entity of Rast as case study and deconstructing the relevant dipoles Theory-Practice and Orality-Literacy to the extent possible, we feature the makam identification conditions in general and more specifically those related to Rast makam.
From the above, two interrelated modernization forms in the Rebetiko context are proven: “the Contextual Hardening of Soft Intervals” and “the Equal Tempered Makam”. The former concerns the transition and adaptation of the “soft” and “hard” intervals from the repertoire of Anatolia (1st category) towards the equal tempered intervallic context of the repertoire of the three-course bouzouki style (2nd category); in practice intervals corresponding to the “hard” ones. That is, the phenomenon that describes how the inherently flowing soft interval is captured in its hard counterpart of the equal temperament. The latter expresses a secondary form of makam of syncretic character in order to show its modernized version and its continuity, beyond terms, such as “dromos”, which demonstrates different and various meanings, despite its sufficient literal and figurative conceptual aspect.
Key-words: Historical Ethnomusicology, modernization, makam, Interwar period, Rebetiko, non equal tempered intervals, soft intervals, hard intervals, equal temperament.
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Η εκ των συνθηκών σκλήρυνση των μαλακών διαστημάτων και
το ίσα συγκερασμένο μακάμ:
δύο αλληλένδετες μορφές εκσυγχρονισμού
στον χώρο της ελληνικής αστικής λαϊκής μουσικής του Μεσοπολέμου
Από τον χώρο της ελληνικής αστικής λαϊκής μουσικής κατά την περίοδο του Μεσοπολέμου εστιάζουμε σε εκείνο το μουσικό είδος που σύμφωνα με την ελληνική παράδοση καλείται «Ρεμπέτικο».
Συστήνοντας μια σχετικά νέα κατηγοριοποίηση του ρεπερτορίου αυτού ως προς το στυλ και με θεωρητικό υπόβαθρο τον κλάδο της ιστορικής εθνομουσικολογίας, προχωρούμε από την ακρόαση δείγματος εκατοντάδων ηχογραφήσεων του ελληνικού μεσοπολεμικού ρεπερτορίου –που εκλαμβάνονται ως πρωτογενείς μαρτυρίες της εξεταζόμενης μουσικής κουλτούρας– στην επιλογή αντιπροσωπευτικών μουσικών κομματιών ως τεκμηρίων για σημειογραφική αποτύπωση, μουσική ανάλυση, συγκριτική εξέταση και ερμηνεία μέσα στα κοινωνικοπολιτισμικά συμφραζόμενα.
Κατά αυτόν τον τρόπο δείχνουμε ότι το Μεσοπολεμικό ρεμπέτικο στηρίζεται στo οθωμανικό μακάμ στη λαϊκή του εκδοχή. Με κύριο αναλυτικό εργαλείο το θεωρητικό μοντέλο των οθωμανοτουρκικών μακάμ και μελέτη περίπτωσης (case study) την τροπική οντότητα του Ραστ, αλλά και μέσα από την κατά δύναμη αποδόμηση των σχετικών διπολικών σχημάτων θεωρία-πράξη και προφορικότητα-εγγραμματοσύνη, αναδεικνύουμε τις συνθήκες ταυτοποίησης ενός μακάμ γενικά και ειδικότερα του Ραστ.
Εκ των άνω, στοιχειοθετούνται δύο αλληλένδετες μορφές εκσυγχρονισμού στο πεδίο του ρεμπέτικου: «η εκ των συνθηκών σκλήρυνση των μαλακών διαστημάτων» και «το ίσα συγκερασμένο μακάμ». Η πρώτη αφορά στη μετάβαση και προσαρμογή του διαστηματικού κώδικα με τα «μαλακά» και «σκληρά» διαστήματα από το ρεπερτόριο της Ανατολίας (1η κατηγορία) προς το ίσα συγκερασμένο διαστηματικό περιβάλλον –στην πράξη διαστήματα αντίστοιχα των «σκληρών»– του ρεπερτορίου του στυλ του τρίχορδου μπουζουκιού (2η κατηγορία). Δηλ. το φαινόμενο που περιγράφει το πώς εγκλωβίζεται το εγγενώς ρευστό μαλακό διάστημα στο αντίστοιχο σκληρό του ίσου συγκερασμού. Η δεύτερη εκφράζει μια δευτερογενή μορφή μακάμ συγκρητικού χαρακτήρα, προκειμένου να αποδοθεί η εκσυγχρονισμένη του μορφή και η συνέχειά του· πέρα από όρους, όπως «δρόμος», του οποίου η νοηματοδότηση συχνά διαφέρει και ποικίλει, παρά την εύστοχη κυριολεκτική και ποιητική του εννοιολογική διάσταση.
Λέξεις-κλειδιά: Ιστορική Εθνομουσικολογία, εκσυγχρονισμός, μακάμ, Μεσοπόλεμος, Ρεμπέτικο, μαλακά διαστήματα, σκληρά διαστήματα, ίσος συγκερασμός
Published Conference Papers by Spiros Delegos
Περί ελληνικής αστικής λαϊκής μουσικής Η ελληνική αστική λαϊκή μουσική εναγκαλίζεται ένα μεικτογενές και αρκετά πλούσιο υφολογικά και μορφολογικά πλήθος οργανικών σκοπών και τραγουδιών, που ευδοκίμησαν στα μεγάλα αστικά κέντρα του ευρύτερου ελλαδικού χώρου (Αθήνα, Πειραιάς, Κωνσταντινούπολη, Σμύρνη, Θεσσαλονίκη κ.ά.) από τον 19ο αιώνα και έπειτα (Δελέγκος, 2015α: 91). Ο όρος αυτός βρίσκεται σε χωρική αντιστοίχιση με αυτόν της λαϊκής μουσικής της υπαίθρου, της λεγόμενης δημοτικής μουσικής (Pennanen, 1997: 65, υποσημ. 1). Η διάκριση και η, τουλάχιστον σε μερικό βαθμό, σχέση αντιδιαστολής μεταξύ τους δεν αποκλείουν την αλληλοτροφοδότηση, με έμφαση κυρίως από την ύπαιθρο προς το άστυ, καθώς αυτή ήταν και η κυρίαρχη τάση στη μετακίνηση των πληθυσμών. Ωστόσο, ουκ ολίγες φορές, πλάι στο εμπόριο από τις μεγάλες πόλεις προς την ύπαιθρο συνταξίδευε ο αστικός πολιτισμός, που με το σύγχρονο και μοντέρνο πνεύμα του μπόλιαζε την όποια κουλτούρα συναντούσε. 1 Στην εν λόγω παρουσίαση εστιάζουμε σε εκείνο το μουσικό είδος της αστικής λαϊκής μουσικής που κατά την ελληνική παράδοση χαρακτηρίζεται με τον αρκετά ευρύ και θολό όρο: Ρεμπέτικο (Δελέγκος, 2015β: 166). Η πληθώρα απόψεων ως προς το περιεχόμενο αυτού 2 και οι εκ του φυσικού δυσδιάκριτες διαχωριστικές γραμμές διαφόρων δημιουργιών της αστικής λαϊκής μουσικής ως προς το ύφος, αλλά και γενικότερα, 3 ιδιαιτέρως προ της δεκαετίας του '30, αποτελούν μάλλον τους πιο 1 Αφ' ενός μπορεί ο μπάλος από τα Κύθηρα Μονάχος μες τη μοναξιά
The current paper elaborates on the content of two fundamental music terms, those of Modality
and Harmonization since their appearance and during their evolution in the field of Urban Greek
popular music from the beginning of the interwar period to the mid 1950’s. We realize that the hybrid
character of this particular kind of music is a result of the strong cultural blend of the two great
musical philosophies of the East and the West, which have been influencing this music phenomenon.
The paper sets out the features of Modality, which are connected with the eastern musical approach of
Makams and which are traced throughout several time periods. Evidence is provided concerning the
maintenance of Modality during the early period of equal temperament, while the several stages of
Harmonization, approached in a more or less non western Traditional way, are described and
interpreted. The unique characteristics of this kind of music justify the absence and therefore the need
for a theoretical model of its interpretation, and by extension the potential of its implementation on
education (Intercultural Awareness, Museum culture, educational use of Greek traditional instruments,
etc.).
Conference Presentations by Spiros Delegos
by Spiros Delegos /
2nd International Conference on Popular Music in Greece (11th July – 14th July 2024, Delvinaki, Greece), organised by the International Research Collective: Popular Music in Greece./
Abstract:
On June 16, 1927, in Camden, New Jersey, George Katsaros-Theologitis, a Greek migrant from the Aegean island of Amorgos, made his first recording performing idiosyncratically on the guitar a traditional song entitled “Elliniki Apolafsis [Greek Pleasure]”. This creative expression of Greek nostalgia concerning the contemporaneous mass migration in the USA marked the inception of his career in the American recording industry mostly as a multifaceted solo performer: guitarist, singer, lyricist, and composer/arranger. But were Katsaros and other contemporary Greek American musicians exclusively bearers of musical traditions of Greece in America or did they also contribute to the creation of fresh, diasporic musics beyond the narrow limits of Greekness? The pertinent discourses seem not to evaluate appropriately the latter being under the rule of the prevalent musico-cultural narratives mostly defined by ethnocentrism. In this study, I argue that Katsaros was a creative agent (a sort of troubadour with an ‘essence’ of Ottoman Aşık and American songster) demonstrating a distinct guitarscape and diversity in the recorded repertoire and singing interpretations. From a historical ethnomusicological perspective, I analyse representative pieces and reveal that Katsaros incorporated elements from a spectrum of diverse musical styles through his musico-cultural trajectories, introducing in essence a stylistic heterotopia. /
Περίληψη: Στις 16 Ιουλίου του 1927 στο Κάμντεν του Νιου Τζέρσεϋ, ο έλληνας μετανάστης από την Αμοργό Γιώργος Κατσαρός-Θεολογίτης πραγματοποίησε την πρώτη του ηχογράφηση εκτελώντας ιδιοσυγκρασιακά στην κιθάρα ένα παραδοσιακό τραγούδι με τίτλο «Ελληνική Απόλαυσις». Αυτή η δημιουργική εκτέλεση, εμποτισμένη από νοσταλγική διάθεση προς την Ελλάδα στο πνεύμα της τότε μαζικής μετανάστευσης στις Η.Π.Α., σηματοδότησε την έναρξη της καριέρας του στην αμερικανική μουσική βιομηχανία κυρίως ως σόλο καλλιτέχνη: κιθαρίστας, τραγουδιστής, στιχουργός και συνθέτης/διασκευαστής. Αλλά ήταν ο Κατσαρός και άλλοι σύγχρονοί του αποκλειστικά κομιστές των μουσικών παραδόσεων από την Ελλάδα στις Η.Π.Α. ή συνέβαλαν επιπλέον στη διαμόρφωση και νέων διασπορικών μουσικών πέρα από τα στενά όρια της ελληνικότητας; Οι σχετικές συζητήσεις φαίνεται να μην αξιολογούν κατάλληλα το δεύτερο σκέλος του παραπάνω ερωτήματος, όντας υπό το κράτος κυρίαρχων μουσικο-πολιτισμικών αφηγημάτων καθορισμένων περισσότερο από εθνοκεντρικές αντιλήψεις. Στην εν λόγω μελέτη, αναδεικνύεται η δημιουργική μουσική δράση του Κατσαρού ως μια μορφή τροβαδούρου με άρωμα οθωμανού ασίκη και αμερικανού songster, το χαρακτηριστικό του ‘κιθαροτοπίο’ [guitarscape] και η διαφορετικότητα ως προς το ηχογραφημένο υλικό και τις τραγουδιστικές ερμηνείες. Υπό το πρίσμα της ιστορικής εθνομουσικολογίας, αναλύονται αντιπροσωπευτικά κομμάτια και αποκαλύπτεται ότι ο Κατσαρός ενσωμάτωσε στοιχεία από ποικίλα μουσικά στυλ μέσω των μουσικο-πολιτισμικών του διαδρομών, συστήνοντας ουσιαστικά μια στυλιστική ετεροτοπία.
In my paper, drawing upon the theoretical background of historical ethnomusicology and the Foucauldian concept of heterotopia, I focus on the meandering of a minor tune viewing it as a reflection of musico-cultural heterotopia in rebetiko. Thus, beyond the diverse ideologically charged narratives of the ‘East-West’ dualism, I endeavour to perceive the blending of musico-cultural elements “represented”, “contested”, and “inverted” (quoting Foucault) in the rebetiko-related context as a musico-cultural heterotopia. In this regard, I apply the philosophical concept of heterotopia in the musico-cultural field of rebetiko to analyse and interpret phenomena that emerge through musical amalgamation as a consequence of the historical musico-cultural trajectories of an influential melody for the development of rebetiko, known in earlier recordings as Minore manes or Smyrneiko Minore and later evolving into the emblematic rebetiko piece Minore tou Nteke. The research material is the relevant contemporary recordings and biographical information regarding the protagonists (Yiovanikas, Halikias, etc.).
"Voices of Rebetiko in Musical Heterotopias: From Research Study Programme to Audiences"
by Spiros Delegos
-In my doctoral research, I endeavour to interpret musico-culturally amalgamated expressions and practices in interwar rebetiko and examine critically its representations regarding the ‘East-West’ dipole and the diverse meanings of ‘Greekness’, by employing the Foucauldian concept of heterotopia as an analytical tool. This approach utilises the perspective of historical ethnomusicology (including musical analysis) and, therefore, I belong to the “Research Study Programme” of the SibA. Thus, my research output does not result in artistic components, in other words, there is no performance.
Conversely, performing and writing music constitute essential aspects of my identity, as I am a musician of rebetiko among other—both historical and contemporary—repertoires. Rebetiko is an interwar urban musical genre of mixed origin, considered to fall into the category of urban popular music in Greece. From such a perspective, I should be regarded as a rebetiko revivalist; nevertheless, I frequently wonder what the voice of rebetiko and of its musico-theoretical and stylistic attributes is nowadays, in particular in my own music-making. In my case, what are the relationships formed in the triangle: Research, Musicianship, and Society? Does music praxis enable my research to be reflected in society, even though it is formally of a non-artistic nature? Could heterotopia as an analytical device also interpret modern compositions with rebetiko-related elements such as my own music? Might such pieces be viewed as musical heterotopias? How could audiences perceive them? Although the above questions are on the periphery of my doctoral project, they represent a fresh prospect in my research field.
In this regard, I will perform a personal composition on the lavta (a historical lute from Istanbul with movable frets, associated with the broader modal context of rebetiko) and make a PowerPoint presentation. In parallel, the audience will be asked to become involved via a questionnaire.
Decolonising Rebetiko: Employing Heterotopia as an Analytical and Interpretive Device.
[by Spiros Th. Delegos]
Abstract:
Rebetiko is commonly regarded as a historical urban popular musical genre of mixed origin around and mostly during the interwar period, conceptualised in relation to the Greek ethnic group within the Ottoman Empire, the contemporary Greek state, and the USA as a place of the Greek diaspora, essentially demonstrating a more translocal character. For the majority of rebetiko-related studies, the ‘East-West’ perspective has been, explicitly or implicitly, introduced as an analytical tool, pervading their vocabulary/terminology and the whole thinking, to a greater or lesser extent. This viewpoint, essentially lacking a clear musicological content as charged with ideological-cultural connotations, has become one of the main hegemonic ideological-cultural narratives drastically impacting on the interpretation of several rebetiko phenomena. The French thinker Michel Foucault with his revolutionary concept of heterotopia (1986) introduced the ‘other’ in the notion of space, offering new perspectives on a multitude of disciplines in humanities and social sciences. Heterotopia as an expression of an innovative philosophical concept provides a unique platform for understanding complex cultural phenomena beyond any bipolar and conventional consideration. In the light of this angle, I apply the concept of heterotopia within the musico-cultural field as a critical and de-ideologised device to analyse and interpret anew syncretic musical expressions and practices in rebetiko, thus deconstructing the related hegemonic narratives of the ‘East-West’ dipole. Drawing upon the theoretical background of historical ethnomusicology —including musical analysis— and in a more interdisciplinary and philosophical view, I attempt to decolonise rebetiko by perceiving it as a musico-cultural heterotopia. Exemplifying rebetiko-related syncretic musico-cultural phenomena, such as the blending of makam modality and chordal harmony, and the tune of Minore manes as one of the seeds of rebetiko development, I focus on the importance of the concept of heterotopia as an innovative, de-ideologised tool to deconstruct the relevant hegemonic narratives.
under the aegis of the “Cultural and Folklore Association of Skopelos”
in co-organisation with
the Department of Music Studies at University of Illinois Springfield
- Spiros Th. Delegos,
De-ideologizing Rebetiko through the Concept of Heterotopia as an Analytical and Interpretive Tool.
- 14-15 Ιουλίου 2023, Σκόπελος
- Διεθνές Συνέδριο για τη «Δημοφιλή Μουσική» στην Ελλάδα
- Υπό την αιγίδα του Πολιτιστικού και Λαογραφικού Συλλόγου Σκοπέλου
σε συνδιοργάνωση με το τμήμα Μουσικών Σπουδών
του Πανεπιστημίου του Ιλλινόις Σπρίνγφιλντ
Σπύρος Θ. Δελέγκος
Απο-ιδεολογικοποιώντας το ρεμπέτικο
με αναλυτικό και ερμηνευτικό εργαλείο την έννοια της ετεροτοπίας.
De-ideologizing Rebetiko
through the Concept of Heterotopia as an Analytical and Interpretive Tool.
Spiros Th. Delegos
Abstract [in English]
Diverse ideological-cultural narratives have been introduced variously in rebetiko-related studies as analytical and interpretive devices. For instance, the ideologically charged politico-cultural narrative of the East-West dipole has contributed to promoting hegemonically several generalizations and stereotypes without clear musicological meanings in rebetiko discourse. In my study, I attempt to de-ideologize rebetiko in terms of the East-West dualism through an analysis and interpretation of syncretic rebetiko-related phenomena, based on the Foucauldian philosophical concept of heterotopia. I draw upon the theoretical background of historical ethnomusicology and I contextualize the concept of heterotopia within the musico-cultural field as a critical and de-ideologized tool. In this regard, I show that syncretic musical expressions and practices, such as the blending of makam modality and chordal harmony, and the tune Minore manes as a seed of rebetiko development, can be perceived beyond the East-West narrative. Therefore, I argue for the deconstruction of the East-West dichotomy in and, by extension, the decolonization of rebetiko by understanding it as a musico-cultural heterotopia.
Rebetiko is considered to be an urban musico-cultural scene of mixed origin around and mostly during the interwar period, which commonly falls into the category of Greek urban popular music. In rebetiko, a plethora of music pieces is revitalised by creative agents via musico-cultural intersections and transformation processes, contributing to the formulation of the relevant repertoire. Frequently, the related musico-cultural routes do not concern alone the actors themselves, but even—in an independent trajectory—their tunes or songs whose circulation is facilitated by the growing role of technology. In this regard, gramophone record technology enables a series of rebetiko-related agents in transit to deconstruct, copy, and re-create music in a variety of renditions within a broadened translocal and cosmopolitan world, obviously not limited to national boundaries. Drawing upon the theoretical background of historical ethnomusicology, I propose that rebetiko can be understood as a musico-cultural heterotopia in an attempt to develop a more interdisciplinary and philosophical view on the phenomenon, beyond the diverse ideologically charged narratives encapsulated in the ‘East-West’ dipole. Along these lines, in my paper, Ι focus on those heterotopic aspects that emerge through musical syncretism as a consequence of the historical musico-cultural trajectories of a legendary tune for rebetiko called Smyrneiko minore meandering around a universalised world, in particular from Ottoman Anatolia to the contemporary Greek state via the migration destination of the USA. Forms of deterritorialisation and reterritorialisation, intertextuality, and glocalisation are main conditions casting light on the phenomena in question. Thus, I attempt to reveal heterotopic aspects of rebetiko deconstructing the prevailing ideological-cultural narrative of ‘East-West’, offering a new perspective on this field. My lens is in a spirit of openness and crossing borders, free of the shackles of ethnocentrism and Eurocentrism, paving the way for previously unheard voices to resonate beyond the Canon and conventions.
The current paper addresses the contribution of musicο-cultural trajectories to the formulation of a particularly popular Greek musical genre called ‘Rebetiko’; the space and time coordinates are mainly within the powerful and cosmopolitan urban network of Southeastern Europe and Anatolia prior to and during the interwar period. Focusing on the case of Ioannis Eitzirides from a historical ethnomusicology perspective, I trace those musico-cultural intersections and transformation processes dealing mostly with the deterritorialization of the Anatolian musical culture due to the Greek refugee movement after the Greco-Turkish War (1919-22). The study attempts to reveal historical and cultural affinities in Rebetiko between two areas: the Black Sea in the broader context of Anatolia and the Greek mainland.
During the interwar period, Rebetiko was a renowned musical genre of Greek urban popular music. The latter, as an umbrella term, embraces a plethora of instrumental tunes and songs of mixed origin and rich in style and morphology from the 19th century onwards. Nonetheless, it should be clarified that ‘Rebetiko’ is quite a broad and vague term; this is so, not just from an academic perspective, but from the several different views in everyday life regarding its content and the unclear time of its birth and demise, too.
Ioannis Eitzirides or Yovan Tsaous (1893-1942), born in Kastamonu near the Anatolian Black Sea coast, is a peculiar case of a musician with multiple cultural identities, whose style manages to introduce a ‘musical heterotopia’ within the Rebetiko context, in spite of his limited number of recordings in discography. He is considered to be an expert on makam compositions and especially on makam improvisations performing with a bouzouki-like instrument called ‘tambouri’, which resembles the Ottoman saz.
An understanding of Eitzirides’ trajectory in combination with an indicative repertoire analysis within the socio-cultural context of that period highlight considerable ethno-musicological aspects in terms of mobility, flows, intertextuality, cosmopolitanism, musical syncretism, etc., shedding light on the phenomenon in question.
The current paper addresses the peculiarity of interwar rebetiko, with regard to makam modality, as an expression of modal heterotopia.
I draw upon the theoretical background of historical ethnomusicology including musical analysis in order to reveal and explain the signs of Ottoman makam modality in the syncretic musical phenomena. Conducting a case study of Saba makam phraseology and melodic behaviour, I focus on the objectified material of certain representative recordings and on the musico-cultural routes of the related agents, interpreting them within the socio-cultural context. Rebetiko constitutes a musical genre falling into the category of Greek urban popular music, an umbrella-term which embraces a plethora of instrumental tunes and songs of mixed origin and rich in style and morphology. Despite the fact that commercial imperatives have largely determined the space-time boundaries of rebetiko in an indistinct way, it could be seen as a musico-cultural ontology around and during the interwar period within the cosmopolitan urban network where the Greek ethnic group was present to varying degrees due to the modernity project of the establishment of the nation-state institution (Athens, Piraeus, Istanbul, Smyrna, Salonika, New York, Chicago, etc.).
Rebetiko sounds and voices resonate and meander around the ‘East’, ‘West’, ‘Balkans’, and ‘eastern Mediterranean’; in fact, these expressions of essentialised spaces ideologically ground several narrations of the origin and history of interwar rebetiko. The transcendence of these essentialisms leads to the emergence of the heterotopia in question.
concepts in research discourses: makam and equal temperament in the Greek
Rebetiko musical culture from a perspective of historical ethnomusicology.
The phenomenon meanders between the Ottoman makam in its popular
version and the European twelve-tone equal temperament; this idiosyncratic musicalcultural
expression could broadly be considered as osmosis in the Balkan and the
Eastern Mediterranean context. In this regard, Rebetiko performance practice, which
belongs to the world of orality, transcends the above theoretical incompatibility
inducing the deconstruction of the typical static dipole theory – practice and leading
to the introduction of the term “equal tempered makam”. It constitutes a secondary
form of makam of syncretic character showing its continuity and its modernized version in the new context of Rebetiko based on the equal tempered three-course
bouzouki.
During the Interwar period, Rebetiko is one of the well-known music genres
of the Greek urban popular music. The latter, as an umbrella term, embraces a
plethora of instrumental tunes and songs of mixed origin and rich in style and
morphology; those flourished in the large urban centres of the greater Greek area and
the Ottoman Empire (Athens, Piraeus, Constantinople, Smyrna/Izmir, Salonika etc.)
from the 19th century and onwards.
After listening to a large corpus of gramophone recordings of the Interwar
period, certain representative music pieces are chosen firstly in order to be
documented in transcriptions and secondly to be analyzed, co-examined and
interpreted within the socio-cultural context. The recordings are regarded as primary
elements of the examined musical culture. The above procedure reveals the change
and the continuity in the Ottoman popular makam within Rebetiko musical culture
shedding light on this peculiar syncretic phenomenon and introducing as well one of
the resonant aspects of the ideologically polysemous notions of Balkanism and
Mediterraneanism.
https://doi.org/10.1017/ytm.2024.9
Abstract:
This article revisits the concepts of makam modality and chordal harmony, and argues for viewing interwar rebetiko as a musico-cultural amalgamation. I explore the transcendence of the theoretical incompatibility beyond the East–West dichotomy by employing the Foucauldian concept of heterotopia as a de-ideologised analytical tool. I conduct a case study of makam Sabâ and pertinent harmonisation on the guitar, by analysing two representative historical recordings from the 1930s and interpreting them within the contemporaneous musico-cultural context. As a result, I contend that the terms “equal-tempered makam” and “idiosyncratic harmonisation” mirror expressions of modal heterotopia within interwar rebetiko.
This paper addresses the contribution of modality, chordal harmony and the relationship between them to the formulation of ‘Rebetiko’ –a musical genre of Greek Urban Popular Music– during the interwar period. The aim of the research is to show the hybrid character of Rebetiko through the analysis of the confrontation between the makam modality and an idiosyncratic form of chordal harmony, transcending the typical East-West dipole.
After having listened to a large corpus of gramophone recordings of that period, I chose some of the most representative musical pieces –in terms of harmonization and modality– in order, firstly, to document them in transcriptions and, secondly, to analyze and interpret them within their socio-cultural context.
The establishment of the equal tempered three-course bouzouki and the censorship by Metaxas’ regime are peculiar forms of modernization and westernization respectively, which contributed to the hybrid aspects of this genre. The interplay between the Greek and the other ethnic communities within the eastern Mediterranean context, the deterritorialization of the musical culture from the broader area of Anatolia to the Greek state due to the Greek refugee movement (1922-23) are some of the basic factors which facilitate the understanding of the cultural osmosis responsible for this musical syncretism.
"Δρόμος»: μακάμ(ι) ή κλίμακα;"
In the Greek web journal "Klika" in February 2019.
Tracing the character and the several meanings of the rebetiko term "dromos".
Link:
https://klika.gr/index.php/arthrografia/arthra/211-dromos-makami-i-klimaka.html
The current study focuses on that musical genre which, in the context of the Greek Urban Popular Music during the Interwar period, is described by the Greek discourse as “Rebetiko”.
We introduce a relatively new categorization of Rebetiko repertoire in terms of style. From the perspective of Historical Ethnomusicology, after having listened to a large corpus of gramophone recordings of the Interwar period, the most representative music pieces are chosen firstly in order to be documented in transcriptions and secondly to be analyzed, co-examined and interpreted within the socio-cultural context. The recordings are regarded as primary elements of the examined musical culture.
In this regard, we prove that the Interwar Rebetiko is based on the Ottoman makam in its popular version. Using the Ottoman-Turkish makam theoretical system as the main analytical tool, the modal entity of Rast as case study and deconstructing the relevant dipoles Theory-Practice and Orality-Literacy to the extent possible, we feature the makam identification conditions in general and more specifically those related to Rast makam.
From the above, two interrelated modernization forms in the Rebetiko context are proven: “the Contextual Hardening of Soft Intervals” and “the Equal Tempered Makam”. The former concerns the transition and adaptation of the “soft” and “hard” intervals from the repertoire of Anatolia (1st category) towards the equal tempered intervallic context of the repertoire of the three-course bouzouki style (2nd category); in practice intervals corresponding to the “hard” ones. That is, the phenomenon that describes how the inherently flowing soft interval is captured in its hard counterpart of the equal temperament. The latter expresses a secondary form of makam of syncretic character in order to show its modernized version and its continuity, beyond terms, such as “dromos”, which demonstrates different and various meanings, despite its sufficient literal and figurative conceptual aspect.
Key-words: Historical Ethnomusicology, modernization, makam, Interwar period, Rebetiko, non equal tempered intervals, soft intervals, hard intervals, equal temperament.
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Η εκ των συνθηκών σκλήρυνση των μαλακών διαστημάτων και
το ίσα συγκερασμένο μακάμ:
δύο αλληλένδετες μορφές εκσυγχρονισμού
στον χώρο της ελληνικής αστικής λαϊκής μουσικής του Μεσοπολέμου
Από τον χώρο της ελληνικής αστικής λαϊκής μουσικής κατά την περίοδο του Μεσοπολέμου εστιάζουμε σε εκείνο το μουσικό είδος που σύμφωνα με την ελληνική παράδοση καλείται «Ρεμπέτικο».
Συστήνοντας μια σχετικά νέα κατηγοριοποίηση του ρεπερτορίου αυτού ως προς το στυλ και με θεωρητικό υπόβαθρο τον κλάδο της ιστορικής εθνομουσικολογίας, προχωρούμε από την ακρόαση δείγματος εκατοντάδων ηχογραφήσεων του ελληνικού μεσοπολεμικού ρεπερτορίου –που εκλαμβάνονται ως πρωτογενείς μαρτυρίες της εξεταζόμενης μουσικής κουλτούρας– στην επιλογή αντιπροσωπευτικών μουσικών κομματιών ως τεκμηρίων για σημειογραφική αποτύπωση, μουσική ανάλυση, συγκριτική εξέταση και ερμηνεία μέσα στα κοινωνικοπολιτισμικά συμφραζόμενα.
Κατά αυτόν τον τρόπο δείχνουμε ότι το Μεσοπολεμικό ρεμπέτικο στηρίζεται στo οθωμανικό μακάμ στη λαϊκή του εκδοχή. Με κύριο αναλυτικό εργαλείο το θεωρητικό μοντέλο των οθωμανοτουρκικών μακάμ και μελέτη περίπτωσης (case study) την τροπική οντότητα του Ραστ, αλλά και μέσα από την κατά δύναμη αποδόμηση των σχετικών διπολικών σχημάτων θεωρία-πράξη και προφορικότητα-εγγραμματοσύνη, αναδεικνύουμε τις συνθήκες ταυτοποίησης ενός μακάμ γενικά και ειδικότερα του Ραστ.
Εκ των άνω, στοιχειοθετούνται δύο αλληλένδετες μορφές εκσυγχρονισμού στο πεδίο του ρεμπέτικου: «η εκ των συνθηκών σκλήρυνση των μαλακών διαστημάτων» και «το ίσα συγκερασμένο μακάμ». Η πρώτη αφορά στη μετάβαση και προσαρμογή του διαστηματικού κώδικα με τα «μαλακά» και «σκληρά» διαστήματα από το ρεπερτόριο της Ανατολίας (1η κατηγορία) προς το ίσα συγκερασμένο διαστηματικό περιβάλλον –στην πράξη διαστήματα αντίστοιχα των «σκληρών»– του ρεπερτορίου του στυλ του τρίχορδου μπουζουκιού (2η κατηγορία). Δηλ. το φαινόμενο που περιγράφει το πώς εγκλωβίζεται το εγγενώς ρευστό μαλακό διάστημα στο αντίστοιχο σκληρό του ίσου συγκερασμού. Η δεύτερη εκφράζει μια δευτερογενή μορφή μακάμ συγκρητικού χαρακτήρα, προκειμένου να αποδοθεί η εκσυγχρονισμένη του μορφή και η συνέχειά του· πέρα από όρους, όπως «δρόμος», του οποίου η νοηματοδότηση συχνά διαφέρει και ποικίλει, παρά την εύστοχη κυριολεκτική και ποιητική του εννοιολογική διάσταση.
Λέξεις-κλειδιά: Ιστορική Εθνομουσικολογία, εκσυγχρονισμός, μακάμ, Μεσοπόλεμος, Ρεμπέτικο, μαλακά διαστήματα, σκληρά διαστήματα, ίσος συγκερασμός
Περί ελληνικής αστικής λαϊκής μουσικής Η ελληνική αστική λαϊκή μουσική εναγκαλίζεται ένα μεικτογενές και αρκετά πλούσιο υφολογικά και μορφολογικά πλήθος οργανικών σκοπών και τραγουδιών, που ευδοκίμησαν στα μεγάλα αστικά κέντρα του ευρύτερου ελλαδικού χώρου (Αθήνα, Πειραιάς, Κωνσταντινούπολη, Σμύρνη, Θεσσαλονίκη κ.ά.) από τον 19ο αιώνα και έπειτα (Δελέγκος, 2015α: 91). Ο όρος αυτός βρίσκεται σε χωρική αντιστοίχιση με αυτόν της λαϊκής μουσικής της υπαίθρου, της λεγόμενης δημοτικής μουσικής (Pennanen, 1997: 65, υποσημ. 1). Η διάκριση και η, τουλάχιστον σε μερικό βαθμό, σχέση αντιδιαστολής μεταξύ τους δεν αποκλείουν την αλληλοτροφοδότηση, με έμφαση κυρίως από την ύπαιθρο προς το άστυ, καθώς αυτή ήταν και η κυρίαρχη τάση στη μετακίνηση των πληθυσμών. Ωστόσο, ουκ ολίγες φορές, πλάι στο εμπόριο από τις μεγάλες πόλεις προς την ύπαιθρο συνταξίδευε ο αστικός πολιτισμός, που με το σύγχρονο και μοντέρνο πνεύμα του μπόλιαζε την όποια κουλτούρα συναντούσε. 1 Στην εν λόγω παρουσίαση εστιάζουμε σε εκείνο το μουσικό είδος της αστικής λαϊκής μουσικής που κατά την ελληνική παράδοση χαρακτηρίζεται με τον αρκετά ευρύ και θολό όρο: Ρεμπέτικο (Δελέγκος, 2015β: 166). Η πληθώρα απόψεων ως προς το περιεχόμενο αυτού 2 και οι εκ του φυσικού δυσδιάκριτες διαχωριστικές γραμμές διαφόρων δημιουργιών της αστικής λαϊκής μουσικής ως προς το ύφος, αλλά και γενικότερα, 3 ιδιαιτέρως προ της δεκαετίας του '30, αποτελούν μάλλον τους πιο 1 Αφ' ενός μπορεί ο μπάλος από τα Κύθηρα Μονάχος μες τη μοναξιά
The current paper elaborates on the content of two fundamental music terms, those of Modality
and Harmonization since their appearance and during their evolution in the field of Urban Greek
popular music from the beginning of the interwar period to the mid 1950’s. We realize that the hybrid
character of this particular kind of music is a result of the strong cultural blend of the two great
musical philosophies of the East and the West, which have been influencing this music phenomenon.
The paper sets out the features of Modality, which are connected with the eastern musical approach of
Makams and which are traced throughout several time periods. Evidence is provided concerning the
maintenance of Modality during the early period of equal temperament, while the several stages of
Harmonization, approached in a more or less non western Traditional way, are described and
interpreted. The unique characteristics of this kind of music justify the absence and therefore the need
for a theoretical model of its interpretation, and by extension the potential of its implementation on
education (Intercultural Awareness, Museum culture, educational use of Greek traditional instruments,
etc.).
by Spiros Delegos /
2nd International Conference on Popular Music in Greece (11th July – 14th July 2024, Delvinaki, Greece), organised by the International Research Collective: Popular Music in Greece./
Abstract:
On June 16, 1927, in Camden, New Jersey, George Katsaros-Theologitis, a Greek migrant from the Aegean island of Amorgos, made his first recording performing idiosyncratically on the guitar a traditional song entitled “Elliniki Apolafsis [Greek Pleasure]”. This creative expression of Greek nostalgia concerning the contemporaneous mass migration in the USA marked the inception of his career in the American recording industry mostly as a multifaceted solo performer: guitarist, singer, lyricist, and composer/arranger. But were Katsaros and other contemporary Greek American musicians exclusively bearers of musical traditions of Greece in America or did they also contribute to the creation of fresh, diasporic musics beyond the narrow limits of Greekness? The pertinent discourses seem not to evaluate appropriately the latter being under the rule of the prevalent musico-cultural narratives mostly defined by ethnocentrism. In this study, I argue that Katsaros was a creative agent (a sort of troubadour with an ‘essence’ of Ottoman Aşık and American songster) demonstrating a distinct guitarscape and diversity in the recorded repertoire and singing interpretations. From a historical ethnomusicological perspective, I analyse representative pieces and reveal that Katsaros incorporated elements from a spectrum of diverse musical styles through his musico-cultural trajectories, introducing in essence a stylistic heterotopia. /
Περίληψη: Στις 16 Ιουλίου του 1927 στο Κάμντεν του Νιου Τζέρσεϋ, ο έλληνας μετανάστης από την Αμοργό Γιώργος Κατσαρός-Θεολογίτης πραγματοποίησε την πρώτη του ηχογράφηση εκτελώντας ιδιοσυγκρασιακά στην κιθάρα ένα παραδοσιακό τραγούδι με τίτλο «Ελληνική Απόλαυσις». Αυτή η δημιουργική εκτέλεση, εμποτισμένη από νοσταλγική διάθεση προς την Ελλάδα στο πνεύμα της τότε μαζικής μετανάστευσης στις Η.Π.Α., σηματοδότησε την έναρξη της καριέρας του στην αμερικανική μουσική βιομηχανία κυρίως ως σόλο καλλιτέχνη: κιθαρίστας, τραγουδιστής, στιχουργός και συνθέτης/διασκευαστής. Αλλά ήταν ο Κατσαρός και άλλοι σύγχρονοί του αποκλειστικά κομιστές των μουσικών παραδόσεων από την Ελλάδα στις Η.Π.Α. ή συνέβαλαν επιπλέον στη διαμόρφωση και νέων διασπορικών μουσικών πέρα από τα στενά όρια της ελληνικότητας; Οι σχετικές συζητήσεις φαίνεται να μην αξιολογούν κατάλληλα το δεύτερο σκέλος του παραπάνω ερωτήματος, όντας υπό το κράτος κυρίαρχων μουσικο-πολιτισμικών αφηγημάτων καθορισμένων περισσότερο από εθνοκεντρικές αντιλήψεις. Στην εν λόγω μελέτη, αναδεικνύεται η δημιουργική μουσική δράση του Κατσαρού ως μια μορφή τροβαδούρου με άρωμα οθωμανού ασίκη και αμερικανού songster, το χαρακτηριστικό του ‘κιθαροτοπίο’ [guitarscape] και η διαφορετικότητα ως προς το ηχογραφημένο υλικό και τις τραγουδιστικές ερμηνείες. Υπό το πρίσμα της ιστορικής εθνομουσικολογίας, αναλύονται αντιπροσωπευτικά κομμάτια και αποκαλύπτεται ότι ο Κατσαρός ενσωμάτωσε στοιχεία από ποικίλα μουσικά στυλ μέσω των μουσικο-πολιτισμικών του διαδρομών, συστήνοντας ουσιαστικά μια στυλιστική ετεροτοπία.
In my paper, drawing upon the theoretical background of historical ethnomusicology and the Foucauldian concept of heterotopia, I focus on the meandering of a minor tune viewing it as a reflection of musico-cultural heterotopia in rebetiko. Thus, beyond the diverse ideologically charged narratives of the ‘East-West’ dualism, I endeavour to perceive the blending of musico-cultural elements “represented”, “contested”, and “inverted” (quoting Foucault) in the rebetiko-related context as a musico-cultural heterotopia. In this regard, I apply the philosophical concept of heterotopia in the musico-cultural field of rebetiko to analyse and interpret phenomena that emerge through musical amalgamation as a consequence of the historical musico-cultural trajectories of an influential melody for the development of rebetiko, known in earlier recordings as Minore manes or Smyrneiko Minore and later evolving into the emblematic rebetiko piece Minore tou Nteke. The research material is the relevant contemporary recordings and biographical information regarding the protagonists (Yiovanikas, Halikias, etc.).
"Voices of Rebetiko in Musical Heterotopias: From Research Study Programme to Audiences"
by Spiros Delegos
-In my doctoral research, I endeavour to interpret musico-culturally amalgamated expressions and practices in interwar rebetiko and examine critically its representations regarding the ‘East-West’ dipole and the diverse meanings of ‘Greekness’, by employing the Foucauldian concept of heterotopia as an analytical tool. This approach utilises the perspective of historical ethnomusicology (including musical analysis) and, therefore, I belong to the “Research Study Programme” of the SibA. Thus, my research output does not result in artistic components, in other words, there is no performance.
Conversely, performing and writing music constitute essential aspects of my identity, as I am a musician of rebetiko among other—both historical and contemporary—repertoires. Rebetiko is an interwar urban musical genre of mixed origin, considered to fall into the category of urban popular music in Greece. From such a perspective, I should be regarded as a rebetiko revivalist; nevertheless, I frequently wonder what the voice of rebetiko and of its musico-theoretical and stylistic attributes is nowadays, in particular in my own music-making. In my case, what are the relationships formed in the triangle: Research, Musicianship, and Society? Does music praxis enable my research to be reflected in society, even though it is formally of a non-artistic nature? Could heterotopia as an analytical device also interpret modern compositions with rebetiko-related elements such as my own music? Might such pieces be viewed as musical heterotopias? How could audiences perceive them? Although the above questions are on the periphery of my doctoral project, they represent a fresh prospect in my research field.
In this regard, I will perform a personal composition on the lavta (a historical lute from Istanbul with movable frets, associated with the broader modal context of rebetiko) and make a PowerPoint presentation. In parallel, the audience will be asked to become involved via a questionnaire.
Decolonising Rebetiko: Employing Heterotopia as an Analytical and Interpretive Device.
[by Spiros Th. Delegos]
Abstract:
Rebetiko is commonly regarded as a historical urban popular musical genre of mixed origin around and mostly during the interwar period, conceptualised in relation to the Greek ethnic group within the Ottoman Empire, the contemporary Greek state, and the USA as a place of the Greek diaspora, essentially demonstrating a more translocal character. For the majority of rebetiko-related studies, the ‘East-West’ perspective has been, explicitly or implicitly, introduced as an analytical tool, pervading their vocabulary/terminology and the whole thinking, to a greater or lesser extent. This viewpoint, essentially lacking a clear musicological content as charged with ideological-cultural connotations, has become one of the main hegemonic ideological-cultural narratives drastically impacting on the interpretation of several rebetiko phenomena. The French thinker Michel Foucault with his revolutionary concept of heterotopia (1986) introduced the ‘other’ in the notion of space, offering new perspectives on a multitude of disciplines in humanities and social sciences. Heterotopia as an expression of an innovative philosophical concept provides a unique platform for understanding complex cultural phenomena beyond any bipolar and conventional consideration. In the light of this angle, I apply the concept of heterotopia within the musico-cultural field as a critical and de-ideologised device to analyse and interpret anew syncretic musical expressions and practices in rebetiko, thus deconstructing the related hegemonic narratives of the ‘East-West’ dipole. Drawing upon the theoretical background of historical ethnomusicology —including musical analysis— and in a more interdisciplinary and philosophical view, I attempt to decolonise rebetiko by perceiving it as a musico-cultural heterotopia. Exemplifying rebetiko-related syncretic musico-cultural phenomena, such as the blending of makam modality and chordal harmony, and the tune of Minore manes as one of the seeds of rebetiko development, I focus on the importance of the concept of heterotopia as an innovative, de-ideologised tool to deconstruct the relevant hegemonic narratives.
under the aegis of the “Cultural and Folklore Association of Skopelos”
in co-organisation with
the Department of Music Studies at University of Illinois Springfield
- Spiros Th. Delegos,
De-ideologizing Rebetiko through the Concept of Heterotopia as an Analytical and Interpretive Tool.
- 14-15 Ιουλίου 2023, Σκόπελος
- Διεθνές Συνέδριο για τη «Δημοφιλή Μουσική» στην Ελλάδα
- Υπό την αιγίδα του Πολιτιστικού και Λαογραφικού Συλλόγου Σκοπέλου
σε συνδιοργάνωση με το τμήμα Μουσικών Σπουδών
του Πανεπιστημίου του Ιλλινόις Σπρίνγφιλντ
Σπύρος Θ. Δελέγκος
Απο-ιδεολογικοποιώντας το ρεμπέτικο
με αναλυτικό και ερμηνευτικό εργαλείο την έννοια της ετεροτοπίας.
De-ideologizing Rebetiko
through the Concept of Heterotopia as an Analytical and Interpretive Tool.
Spiros Th. Delegos
Abstract [in English]
Diverse ideological-cultural narratives have been introduced variously in rebetiko-related studies as analytical and interpretive devices. For instance, the ideologically charged politico-cultural narrative of the East-West dipole has contributed to promoting hegemonically several generalizations and stereotypes without clear musicological meanings in rebetiko discourse. In my study, I attempt to de-ideologize rebetiko in terms of the East-West dualism through an analysis and interpretation of syncretic rebetiko-related phenomena, based on the Foucauldian philosophical concept of heterotopia. I draw upon the theoretical background of historical ethnomusicology and I contextualize the concept of heterotopia within the musico-cultural field as a critical and de-ideologized tool. In this regard, I show that syncretic musical expressions and practices, such as the blending of makam modality and chordal harmony, and the tune Minore manes as a seed of rebetiko development, can be perceived beyond the East-West narrative. Therefore, I argue for the deconstruction of the East-West dichotomy in and, by extension, the decolonization of rebetiko by understanding it as a musico-cultural heterotopia.
Rebetiko is considered to be an urban musico-cultural scene of mixed origin around and mostly during the interwar period, which commonly falls into the category of Greek urban popular music. In rebetiko, a plethora of music pieces is revitalised by creative agents via musico-cultural intersections and transformation processes, contributing to the formulation of the relevant repertoire. Frequently, the related musico-cultural routes do not concern alone the actors themselves, but even—in an independent trajectory—their tunes or songs whose circulation is facilitated by the growing role of technology. In this regard, gramophone record technology enables a series of rebetiko-related agents in transit to deconstruct, copy, and re-create music in a variety of renditions within a broadened translocal and cosmopolitan world, obviously not limited to national boundaries. Drawing upon the theoretical background of historical ethnomusicology, I propose that rebetiko can be understood as a musico-cultural heterotopia in an attempt to develop a more interdisciplinary and philosophical view on the phenomenon, beyond the diverse ideologically charged narratives encapsulated in the ‘East-West’ dipole. Along these lines, in my paper, Ι focus on those heterotopic aspects that emerge through musical syncretism as a consequence of the historical musico-cultural trajectories of a legendary tune for rebetiko called Smyrneiko minore meandering around a universalised world, in particular from Ottoman Anatolia to the contemporary Greek state via the migration destination of the USA. Forms of deterritorialisation and reterritorialisation, intertextuality, and glocalisation are main conditions casting light on the phenomena in question. Thus, I attempt to reveal heterotopic aspects of rebetiko deconstructing the prevailing ideological-cultural narrative of ‘East-West’, offering a new perspective on this field. My lens is in a spirit of openness and crossing borders, free of the shackles of ethnocentrism and Eurocentrism, paving the way for previously unheard voices to resonate beyond the Canon and conventions.
The current paper addresses the contribution of musicο-cultural trajectories to the formulation of a particularly popular Greek musical genre called ‘Rebetiko’; the space and time coordinates are mainly within the powerful and cosmopolitan urban network of Southeastern Europe and Anatolia prior to and during the interwar period. Focusing on the case of Ioannis Eitzirides from a historical ethnomusicology perspective, I trace those musico-cultural intersections and transformation processes dealing mostly with the deterritorialization of the Anatolian musical culture due to the Greek refugee movement after the Greco-Turkish War (1919-22). The study attempts to reveal historical and cultural affinities in Rebetiko between two areas: the Black Sea in the broader context of Anatolia and the Greek mainland.
During the interwar period, Rebetiko was a renowned musical genre of Greek urban popular music. The latter, as an umbrella term, embraces a plethora of instrumental tunes and songs of mixed origin and rich in style and morphology from the 19th century onwards. Nonetheless, it should be clarified that ‘Rebetiko’ is quite a broad and vague term; this is so, not just from an academic perspective, but from the several different views in everyday life regarding its content and the unclear time of its birth and demise, too.
Ioannis Eitzirides or Yovan Tsaous (1893-1942), born in Kastamonu near the Anatolian Black Sea coast, is a peculiar case of a musician with multiple cultural identities, whose style manages to introduce a ‘musical heterotopia’ within the Rebetiko context, in spite of his limited number of recordings in discography. He is considered to be an expert on makam compositions and especially on makam improvisations performing with a bouzouki-like instrument called ‘tambouri’, which resembles the Ottoman saz.
An understanding of Eitzirides’ trajectory in combination with an indicative repertoire analysis within the socio-cultural context of that period highlight considerable ethno-musicological aspects in terms of mobility, flows, intertextuality, cosmopolitanism, musical syncretism, etc., shedding light on the phenomenon in question.
The current paper addresses the peculiarity of interwar rebetiko, with regard to makam modality, as an expression of modal heterotopia.
I draw upon the theoretical background of historical ethnomusicology including musical analysis in order to reveal and explain the signs of Ottoman makam modality in the syncretic musical phenomena. Conducting a case study of Saba makam phraseology and melodic behaviour, I focus on the objectified material of certain representative recordings and on the musico-cultural routes of the related agents, interpreting them within the socio-cultural context. Rebetiko constitutes a musical genre falling into the category of Greek urban popular music, an umbrella-term which embraces a plethora of instrumental tunes and songs of mixed origin and rich in style and morphology. Despite the fact that commercial imperatives have largely determined the space-time boundaries of rebetiko in an indistinct way, it could be seen as a musico-cultural ontology around and during the interwar period within the cosmopolitan urban network where the Greek ethnic group was present to varying degrees due to the modernity project of the establishment of the nation-state institution (Athens, Piraeus, Istanbul, Smyrna, Salonika, New York, Chicago, etc.).
Rebetiko sounds and voices resonate and meander around the ‘East’, ‘West’, ‘Balkans’, and ‘eastern Mediterranean’; in fact, these expressions of essentialised spaces ideologically ground several narrations of the origin and history of interwar rebetiko. The transcendence of these essentialisms leads to the emergence of the heterotopia in question.
concepts in research discourses: makam and equal temperament in the Greek
Rebetiko musical culture from a perspective of historical ethnomusicology.
The phenomenon meanders between the Ottoman makam in its popular
version and the European twelve-tone equal temperament; this idiosyncratic musicalcultural
expression could broadly be considered as osmosis in the Balkan and the
Eastern Mediterranean context. In this regard, Rebetiko performance practice, which
belongs to the world of orality, transcends the above theoretical incompatibility
inducing the deconstruction of the typical static dipole theory – practice and leading
to the introduction of the term “equal tempered makam”. It constitutes a secondary
form of makam of syncretic character showing its continuity and its modernized version in the new context of Rebetiko based on the equal tempered three-course
bouzouki.
During the Interwar period, Rebetiko is one of the well-known music genres
of the Greek urban popular music. The latter, as an umbrella term, embraces a
plethora of instrumental tunes and songs of mixed origin and rich in style and
morphology; those flourished in the large urban centres of the greater Greek area and
the Ottoman Empire (Athens, Piraeus, Constantinople, Smyrna/Izmir, Salonika etc.)
from the 19th century and onwards.
After listening to a large corpus of gramophone recordings of the Interwar
period, certain representative music pieces are chosen firstly in order to be
documented in transcriptions and secondly to be analyzed, co-examined and
interpreted within the socio-cultural context. The recordings are regarded as primary
elements of the examined musical culture. The above procedure reveals the change
and the continuity in the Ottoman popular makam within Rebetiko musical culture
shedding light on this peculiar syncretic phenomenon and introducing as well one of
the resonant aspects of the ideologically polysemous notions of Balkanism and
Mediterraneanism.
During the interwar period, Rebetiko music is one of the most known music genres of the Greek urban popular music. The latter, as an umbrella term, embraces a plethora of instrumental tunes and songs of mixed origin and rich in style and morphology; those flourished in the large urban centres of the greater Greek area and the Ottoman Empire (Athens, Piraeus, Constantinople, Izmir, Salonika etc.) from the 19th century and onwards. Rebetiko is a quite vague term; this is so not just from a scholar perspective, but also from the several different views in everyday life regarding its content and the time of its birth and demise.
We investigate the contemporary representation of this broad music culture via music critics’ and intellectuals’ articles, chronicles, as well as composers’ statements from the late 19th century to the Great War and up to the end of the interwar period, showing the intersection between music and culture.
Unraveling diverse and ambivalent aspects of the native public discourse upon Rebetiko and pre-Rebetiko music, we examine critically the ideological negotiation on the imaginary ‘Westerness’ and ‘Easterness’ in the Greek context, that is, the occidental and the oriental tendency respectively. The ‘West-East’ dipole is the main vehicle of meanings of ‘Greekness’ concerning the ‘appropriate’ constitution of the Greek national identity of that period.
The hearing of specific musical examples in correspondence with the examined representations sheds light on the above vacillation.
The reception of the Ottoman Greek popular music, after the deterritorialization of the music culture from Anatolia to the Greek state due to the refugee movement (1922-23), and in general the cultural blending through practices from West and East in Greece during the interwar period result in a makam-based music: Rebetiko. Rebetiko is scholarly a quite wide and obscure term expressing a music genre of Greek urban popular music. The latter embraces a plethora of instrumental tunes and songs of mixed origin and rich in style and morphology; those flourished in the large urban centres of the greater Greek area and the Ottoman Empire (Athens, Piraeus, Constantinople, Izmir, Salonika etc.) from the beginning of the 19 th century and onwards. Rebetiko is a syncretic tradition combining elements of the Eastern Mediterranean music cultures, where modality (as makam) is common more or less in several forms, with features of Western music (chordal harmony etc). Modernization and westernization (according to Bruno Nettl) are basic cultural processes which contribute to the shaping of the genre shedding light on the character of " Rebetiko makam " during the interwar period. After having listened to a large corpus of gramophone recordings of this period are chosen the most representative music pieces in order firstly to document them in transcriptions and secondly to analyze, co-examine and interpret them within the socio-cultural context. This procedure reveals the cultural crossroads which characterize the current music phenomenon.
Presentation of Vaso Filipeou’s book: “Notes on J.S. Bach Chorals”.
26th Guitar Festival, Evangelos & Liza / Ευάγγελος Ασημακόπουλος-Λίζα Ζώη
Apr 7-10, 2017
Delegos Spiros (2014). Modality and harmonization in the Urban Greek Popular Music. 1st Annual Forum for Urban Greek Popular Music:” folk guitar”. Department of Traditional Music, School of Arts, Technological Educational Institute of Epirus. 9-11 May 2014, Geni Tzami, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Performed by Spiros Delegos [lavta] in 2014/
Concert Hall of the Philharmonic Foundation-Conservatory of Patras, Greece
Performed by Spiros Delegos [guitar & vocals] in 2013.
Live in Concert Hall of the Philharmonic Foundation-Conservatory of Patras, Greece.
"Elliniki Apolafsis": Composed by Giorgos Katsaros-Theologitis [1888-1997]. Recording of 1919 in the U.S.A.
Performed by Spiros Delegos [ guitar & vocals] in 2013.
"Μακάμια/Δρόμοι και Εναρμόνιση στο Ρεμπέτικο" [με τον Σπύρο Δελέγκο].
Πρόκειται για ένα σεμινάριο πάνω στους μουσικούς τρόπους, τα λεγόμενα μακάμια/ δρόμους, αλλά και το φαινόμενο της εναρμόνισης, έτσι όπως εμφανίζονται στο προπολεμικό και μεταπολεμικό ρεπερτόριο του ρεμπέτικου που στηρίζεται κυρίως στο τρίχορδο μπουζούκι, την κιθάρα («μπασοκίθαρο») και τον μπαγλαμά. Το σεμινάριο απευθύνεται σε παίκτες οποιουδήποτε μουσικού οργάνου (βιωματικούς ή μη) με ένα τουλάχιστον στοιχειώδες μουσικό υπόβαθρο, που ενδιαφέρονται να εμβαθύνουν στα θεμελιώδη ζητήματα της μελωδικής τροπικότητας (μακάμια/δρόμοι) και της εναρμόνισης (επιλογή και σύνδεση συγχορδιών) μέσα από την ανάλυση και την επιτέλεση σχετικών κομματιών που θα καλύψουν όσο το δυνατόν πιο αντιπροσωπευτικά την πλούσια γκάμα του ρεπερτορίου. Οι ενδιαφερόμενοι θα συμμετέχουν ενεργά έχοντας μαζί τους και παίζοντας το μουσικό όργανο που επιθυμούν.
1o Φεστιβάλ Λαϊκής Κιθάρας, 20-22 Μαΐου, Θεσσαλονίκη.
Πρόκειται για μια παρουσίαση του πολλαπλού ρόλου της κιθάρας μέσα από την ανάλυση αντιπροσωπευτικών παραδειγμάτων από ιστορικές ηχογραφήσεις της όψιμης φάσης του λεγόμενου μεσοπολεμικού ρεμπέτικου. Εντός αυτής της περιόδου, η κιθάρα φαίνεται να προσλαμβάνει σταδιακά όλα εκείνα τα χαρακτηριστικά, τα οποία ισχυροποιούν την παρουσία της και την καθιερώνουν πλάι στο τρίχορδο μπουζούκι ως βασικό συντελεστή στις αστικολαϊκές ορχήστρες της εποχής, αλλά και μετέπειτα.
T building Wegelius Hall
Sibelius Academy
Uniarts Helsinki
Musical
Traditions
of the World
The current workshop is an immersion in two key concepts concerning the Interwar Rebetiko, a genre which falls into the category of modal popular music: 1) Makam as an expression of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Balkan modality. The focus is on the continuity of Ottoman popular makam, mostly in its equal-tempered form, within the Rebetiko context. 2) Harmonization, as an expression of innovative musical practice in makam melodies in a 'traditional' way without obeying, to an extent, the conventional rules of 'Western' Theory. The above can be comprehended by the participants through the collective performance of representative Rebetiko musical pieces and their analysis. Improvisation will be the closing objective of the workshop as an experiential process. The workshop is open to all vocalists and instrumentalists regardless of their instruments.
In this regard, the whole tone interval between the leading tone and the melodic base note, and the minor chord in the tonic degree constitute the basic common attributes of these modal entities.
-2015-16 (weekly for an academic year), Urban Greek Popular Music Department, Philharmonic Foundation Conservatory of Patras, Greece
In this regard, the chromatic interval in the tetrachord or pentachord of the tonic (finalis), the whole tone or the semitone interval between the leading tone and the tonic (finalis), and the major chord in the tonic degree constitute the basic common attributes of these modal entities.
- 2014-15 (weekly for an academic year), Urban Greek Popular Music Department, Philharmonic Foundation Conservatory of Patras, Greece
Tracing the nexus of the 4 following modes: Nikriz, Neveser, Nihavend, Buselik in their equal-tempered form, as expressed in rebetiko performance context.
In this regard, the semitone interval between the leading tone and the tonic (finalis), and the minor chord in the tonic degree constitute the basic common attributes of these modal entities.
- 2013-14 (weekly for an academic year), Urban Greek Popular Music Department, Philharmonic Foundation Conservatory of Patras, Greece
Tracing the nexus of the 7 following modes: Rast, Sazkar, Mahur, Segah, Huzzam, Cargah, Suzinak in their equal-tempered form, as expressed in rebetiko performance context.
In this regard, the semitone interval between the leading tone and the tonic (finalis), and the major chord in the tonic degree constitute the basic common attributes of these modal entities.
- 2012-13 (weekly for an academic year), Urban Greek Popular Music Department, Philharmonic Foundation Conservatory of Patras, Greece.
πέρα από την εθνική ταυτότητα προς μια ευρωπαϊκή ταυτότητα:
Η περίπτωση της Κροατίας στον ESC του 2017
2)Το camp & το queer
μέσα από την εθνική ταυτότητα προς μια ευρωπαϊκή ταυτότητα, η οριενταλιστική θεώρηση και τα παίγνια εθνικής πολιτικής:
Η περίπτωση της Ελλάδας στον ESC του 2013