Kostas Skarvelis ( el, Κώστας Σκαρβέλης, 1880 – 8 April 1942) was a Greek composer of popular music, of the '' rembetiko'' (''ρεμπέτικο'') genre. He also wrote the lyrics for his songs and was an excellent

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

player, having participated in many recordings.

Life

Skarvelis was born and grew up in

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, which at the time still had a significant Greek population. Due to unspecified adversities, during his childhood he was unable to attend a Greek school, hence lacked basic writing skills. He was nevertheless able to pursue his interest in music and had, by the age of 17, become a very good guitar player. Early in his adulthood he fled the country, never again to return, in order to avoid being drafted into the Turkish Army. He first settled in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

in Egypt and eventually in Athens, Greece some time between 1915 and 1920. Before starting his career as a professional musician, Skarvelis worked as a specialist craftsman in the manufacturing of luxury shoes. Following the defeat of the Greek Army in

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

in 1922 and the expulsion of most Greeks from Turkey (and eventually a formal exchange of populations), Skarvelis was reunited in Greece with many musicians from those areas who arrived as refugees and with whom he shared a musical background. Notable among them were

Antonis Diamantidis Antonis Diamantidis (Greek: Αντώνης Διαμαντίδης), also known as Antonis Dalgas (Greek: Αντώνης Νταλγκάς) was a Greek musician. He was notable for his rebetiko songs. He was also a songwriter and best known as a s ...

(Dalgkas), Kostas Karipis,

Spyros Peristeris Spyros Peristeris ( el, Σπύρος Περιστέρης; 1900 – 15 March 1966) was a Greek ''rebetiko'' composer and a skillful mandolin and bouzouki player. Biography Peristeris was born in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire. His parents were Aristides, ...

Rita Abatzi Rita Abatzi (also spelled Abadzi; el, Ρίτα Αμπατζή) (1914 – 17 June 1969) was a Greek ''rebetiko'' musician who began her career in the first part of the 1930s. She was born in Smyrna (now Izmir), in the Aidin Vilayet of the Ottoman ...

Grigoris Asikis Grigoris Asikis ( el, Γρηγόρης Ασίκης) (1890, Istanbul, Constantinople Vilayet – 7 October 1966, Athens) was a Greek singer and songwriter of urban Greek music, ''Rembetiko.'' He wrote lyrics for most of the songs he recorded an ...

. It was then that he started his professional career, initially as a guitarist and later as a composer as well. Skarvelis eventually rose to the position of artistic director in the recording industry in 1930. From that position he further influenced the evolution of Greek music. He also helped with the instrumentation and as a guitarist in the recordings of most composers and artists he collaborated with. Skarvelis continued to work as a live guitarist. Among others he worked with, he accompanied the famous Tetras (

Markos Vamvakaris Márkos Vamvakáris ( el, Μάρκος Βαμβακάρης; 10 May 1905 – 8 February 1972), was a ''rebetiko'' musician. He is universally referred to by ''rebetiko'' writers and fans simply by his first name, Márkos. The great significance ...

, Giorgos Batis,

Stratos Pagioumtzis Stratos Pagioumtzis ( el, Στράτος Παγιουμτζής 1904 – 16 November 1971) was a Greek ''rebetiko'' singer, also known with the nickname ''Stratos the sluggard (Στράτος ο τεμπέλης)'' or simply ''Stratos''. Biograp ...

, Anestos Delias) in many of their performances. He died of starvation in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

on 8 April 1942, sharing the fate of hundreds of thousands of Greeks during the Great Famine that resulted from the occupation of Greece by the Axis during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Work

Skarvelis composed hundreds of songs (recordings survive of over 200 of them). The singers he collaborated with for the recording of his songs include Giorgos Kavouras,

Kostas Roukounas Konstantinos (Kostas) Roukounas ( el, Κώστας Ρούκουνας) (Principality of Samos, 1903 – Athens, 11 March 1984) was a Greek singer. His repertoire included both "traditional" (''δημοτικά'') and "popular" songs (''λαϊκά' ...

, Stellakis Perpiniadis, Marika Frantzeskopoulou, Kostas Tsanakos,

, Apostolos Chatzichristos. Among those, the lion's share belongs to Kavouras. As a lyricist, Skarvelis mostly wrote songs about love. The majority belong to the subgenre of ''

hasapiko The hasapiko ( el, χασάπικο, , meaning “the butcher's

ance Ance may refer to: * Ance (given name), a feminine given name * Ance, Latvia * Ance, Pyrénées-Atlantiques Ance (; Gascon: ''Ansa'') is a former commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. O ...

��) is a Greek dances, Greek folk dance from Constantinople. The dance originated in the Middle Ages as a battle mime with swords performed by the Greeks, Greek butchers' g ...

'' (χασάπικο), of which he explored all variations. His musical signature is considered most representative of the Constantinopolitan urban musical tradition.

Content notes

# Officially renamed to

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

only much later, in 1930.

References

Sources

Transcription of an article authored by P. Kounadis
��originally featured in the sleeve of the CD "Συνθέτες του Ρεμπέτικου - Κώστας Σκαρβέλης" {{DEFAULTSORT:Skarvelis, Kostas 1880 births 1942 deaths Greek songwriters Constantinopolitan Greeks Rebetiko musicians Greek guitarists 20th-century guitarists Musicians from Istanbul Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Greece