Marika Papagika
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Marika Papagika (, née Katsoris; September 1, 1890 – August 2, 1943) was a popular Greek singer in the early 20th century and one of the first Greek women singers to be heard on sound recordings.


Biography

Marika Papagika was born on the island of
Kos Kos or Cos (; el, Κως ) is a Greek island, part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese by area, after Rhodes and Karpathos; it has a population of 36,986 (2021 census), ...
on September 1, 1890. In late 1913 or early 1914, she recorded for the
Gramophone Company The Gramophone Company Limited (The Gramophone Co. Ltd.), based in the United Kingdom and founded by Emil Berliner, was one of the early recording companies, the parent organisation for the ''His Master's Voice (HMV)'' label, and the European ...
in
Alexandria, Egypt 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 ...
. Only one of those recordings has so far been found. She emigrated to America through
Ellis Island Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mi ...
in 1915 with her husband, Kostas (Gus) Papagika, a
cymbalom The cimbalom (; ) or concert cimbalom is a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box on legs with metal strings stretched across its top and a damping pedal underneath. It was designed and created by V. Josef Schunda in 1874 in ...
player who was also her accompanist. By this time Kos had come under Italian rule. In July 1918, she made her first trial recording in the States for
Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...
, though her first published Victor recordings were made in December of that year. In July 1919 she also began recording for
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
. Marika Papagika was thus among the first to record
Greek music The music of Greece is as diverse and celebrated as its History of Greece, history. Greek music separates into two parts: Greek folk music, Greek traditional music and Byzantine music. These compositions have existed for millennia: they originat ...
in the USA.Vernon, Paul. ''Seeking Marika'' She also recorded a number of songs in Turkish. By 1925, Marika and Kostas had opened a nightclub in New York on W. 34th St near 8th Ave, called Marika's, likely the first café-aman—a gathering place characterized by Greek cuisine and Greek music—to appear in the States. Marika's wasn't just a café-aman, but a
speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...
for Greek people as well as for other Mediterranean immigrants.Nagoski, Ian. ''The Further The Flame, The Worse It Burns Me: Greek Folk Music in New York City, 1919–28'' Marika's attracted not only Greeks as regular patrons, but also Albanians, Arabs, Armenians, Bulgarians and Turks. Between 1918 and 1929, she recorded at least 232 performances of café-aman styled songs, including kleftiko demotikο (Greek traditional songs about
Klepht Klephts (; Greek κλέφτης, ''kléftis'', pl. κλέφτες, ''kléftes'', which means "thieves" and perhaps originally meant just "brigand": "Other Greeks, taking to the mountains, became unofficial, self-appointed armatoles and were know ...
s, heroic brigands),
rebetiko Rebetiko ( el, ρεμπέτικο, ), plural rebetika ( ), occasionally transliterated as rembetiko or rebetico, is a term used today to designate originally disparate kinds of urban Greek music which have come to be grouped together since the s ...
, and light classical pieces, many of them overlapping with her chief rival in Greek music sales in the United States, Koula Antonopoulos (known on her recordings as ''Kyria Koula'' or "Madame Coula").Frangos, Steve. ''Marika Papagika and the Transformation of Modern Greek Music'' Marika's café-aman was a successful business until the stock market crashed. The club closed in 1930, and Marika Papagika's recording career ended, except for four
side Side or Sides may refer to: Geometry * Edge (geometry) of a polygon (two-dimensional shape) * Face (geometry) of a polyhedron (three-dimensional shape) Places * Side (Ainis), a town of Ainis, ancient Thessaly, Greece * Side (Caria), a town of an ...
s recorded for Victor in 1937.Soffa, David. ''Notes to CD Marika Papagika – Greek Popular and Rebetic Music in New York 1918–1929 – Alma Criolla ACCD802 (1994)'' In her later years Marika lived with her husband on
Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
, New York, where she died on August 2, 1943.


Musical style

Marika Papagika distinguished herself from most of her contemporaries by virtue of her sweet soprano voice with its relatively high tessitura, her vocal timbre, somewhat reminiscent of Western classical singers, and her diction. The style and sound of her recordings is further distinguished by the particular accompaniment which graced most of them, namely the unusual combination of cymbalom and violoncello, plus a violin or a clarinet, and, very occasionally, a xylophone. Her occasional forays into more purely Western songs also set her apart from her female contemporaries on both sides of the Atlantic. It is perhaps reasonable to understand the performance styles of Mr. & Mrs Papagika & Co. as a true echo of the "santouro-violi" (santouri and violin) music of late 19th century urban Ottoman and mainland Greece.


Musical collaborators

The major source of information as to Papagika's accompanists is Richard Spottswood's Ethnic Music On Records Vol 3 pp 1197–1204. Papagika was accompanied on all but about 50 of her recordings by her husband Gus and by cellist Markos Sifnios, one of very few cellists in Greek folk music recordings. The upper instrumental part was usually played by one of various violinists, including Athanasios Makedonas, Vangelis Naftis (to whom she calls out on the song "Aïdinikos Horos"), George Theologou, and the Epirot Alexis Zoumbas, or by a clarinettist, most frequently Nicholas Relias (1922–1925), and on one session Pete Mamakos. Some orchestral accompaniments were directed by
Nathaniel Shilkret Nathaniel Shilkret (December 25, 1889 – February 18, 1982) was an American musician, composer, conductor and musical director. Early career Shilkret (originally named Natan Schüldkraut) was born in New York City, United States, to parents ...
, some by hitherto anonymous directors.


Revival of interest

After her death, Papagika's music faded into obscurity, and was only available to those with access to her
78 rpm records A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts near ...
, often collectors and enthusiasts in the US and in Greece. From 1976 onwards, with the first crop of LP reissues of Greek music from the earlier decades of the 20th century, her songs were again to be heard. In Greece a total of at least twenty-nine of her songs were reissued on eight LPs between 1976 and 1984 (see discography). In 1984(?) a USA-produced LP featured two Papagika songs. During the analogue reissue era Papagika was thus represented as generously on LP as her colleague
Roza Eskenazi Roza Eskenazi (mid-1890s – 2 December 1980, Greek: Ρόζα Εσκενάζυ) was a famous Jewish-Greek dancer and singer of ''rebetiko'', Greek folk music, Kanto and Turkish folk music born in Istanbul, whose recording and stage career extend ...
, and considerably more than Rita Abadzi and Madame Coula. Since the early 1990s, Papagika's songs have featured regularly in American, French, and Greek-produced CD reissues focusing on the musical genre often called "rebetiko", including the first reissue solely dedicated to her, a 19-track compilation released in 1994 by Alma Criolla Records, USA. In 1995, Marika Papagika was the subject of an episode of
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
’s ''All Things Considered'' where Dick Spottswood introduced her music to the North American audience. The first Greek reissue entirely dedicated to Papagika appeared in 1999, and this was expanded to a 3-CD set in 2008, presenting a grand total of 52 songs. A recent USA LP reissue has included seven songs previously not reissued.


Songs

This is an alphabetical selection comprising about one sixth of Papagika's recorded output. Some songs were recorded twice at a few years' interval. * Ah, Giatre Mou (Oh, My Doctor!) * Aidinikos horos (Aidinikos Dance) * Apano Se Trikorfo Vouno (On a Triple-Peaked Mountain) * Arahova (Arachova) * Baghlamadhes (Baglamas) * Bournovalio Manes (Varitera Ap' Ta Sidera) (Bournovalio Manes – Heavier That Iron) * Daskala (Teacher) * Dourou Dourou (Dourou Dourou) * Elenaki (Elenaki) * Fonias Tha Gino (I'll Become a Murderer) * Galata Manes (Galata Manes) * Gel Gel (Come Come) * Hrissaido (Chrissaido) * I Mavromata (Black-Eyed Girl) * Katinaki mou (My Little Katina) * Katsantonis (Katsantonis) * Kenouria Logia Mou Pane (New Words They Said to Me) * Kinisa o mavros (I Departed the Poor One) * Kira Doudou (Mrs. Doudou) * Kremete I kapota (The Shepherd's Coat is Hanging) * Lemonaki (Little Lemon) * Manaki mou (My Baby) * Mantalena (Mantalena) * Mavrideroula (Black-Skinned Girl) * Mes Tin Agia Paraskevi (In Saint Paraskevi) * Mes Tou Sigrou Ti filaki (In Sygros' Prison) * Mytilinia (Girl of Mytilini) * Ntavelis (Davelis) * O Horos Tou Zalongou (Dance of Zalogo) * O Marcos Botsaris (Markos Botsaris) * Olympos Ke Kisavos (Olympos and Kissavos) * Pismatariko (Little Obstinate Girl) * Prosfigopoula (Little Refugee Girl) * Psaradhes (Fishermen) * Smyrneïko Minore (2 versions, 1918 & 1919) * Smyrneikos Ballos (Ballos Dance of Smyrna) * Sta Salona (In Salona) * Sta Vervena Sta Giannena (In Vervena and Giannina) * Sti Filaki Me Valane (The Put Me in Prison) * Stis Arkadias Ton Platano (Under the Arcadian Plane) * Stis Mantzouras Ton Antho (The Flower of Mandzoura) * Tha Spaso Koupes (I'll Smash Cups) * Ti Se Meli Esenane (What Do You Care About) * To Koutsavaki (Bully) * To Len I Kouki Sta Vouna (The Cuckoos Sing it on the Mountains) * To Vlepis Kino To Vouno (Do You See That Mountain) * Tourka Derni Ti Sklava Tis (Turkish Lady Beats Her Slave) * A Ballad for Chanakkale * Iskender bogazi dardir gecilmez * Küçük Hanım (Sendeki Kaşlar Bende Olaydı)


Discography (reissues)

For the sake of historical accuracy this chronological reissue discography includes reissues from 1976 onwards. The first 8 entries refer to 33rpm LPs. All subsequent issues but the Mississippi LPs are CDs. * Ta Prota Rembetika (The First Rebetika Songs) CBS LP 53753 (1976) – 7 songs * To Rembetiko Tragoudi vol 1 – CBS LP 82290 (1977) – 4 songs * To Rembetiko Tragoudi vol 2 – CBS LP 82303 (1977) – 3 songs * To Rembetiko Tragoudi vol 3 – CBS LP 26116 (1984) – 4 songs * To Rembetiko Tragoudi vol 4 – CBS LP 26117 (1984) – 2 songs * To Rembetiko Tragoudi vol 5 – CBS LP 26118 (1984) – 3 songs * To Elliniko Laiko Tragoudi Stin Ameriki – Falirea 22/23 (1984) – 6 songs * Greek-Oriental Rebetica: Songs And Dances In The Asia Minor Style. The Golden Years: 1911–1937 – Arhoolie Folklyric Records (LP 9033, 1984?, CD 7005 1991) – 2 songs * Rembetica – Historic Urban Folk Songs From Greece – Rounder CD 1079 (1992) – 1 song * Marika Papagika – Greek Popular and Rebetic Music in New York 1918–1929 – Alma Criolla ACCD802 (1994) – 19 songs * Smirneiko et Rebetiko – Les grandes chanteuses, 1915–1936 Silex Memoire, Auvidis Y225114 (1995) – 6 songs * To Elliniko Tragoudi Stin Ameriki – Ixografiseis 1918–1929 – Difono-Hellenic Record C 1011 (1999) – 18 songs * Women Of Rembetica – Rounder CD 1121 (2000) – 1 song * Mortika – Rare Vintage Recordings From A Greek Underworld – ARKOCD008 (2005) (2LP Mississippi MR-043 2009) – 1 song * Rembetika – Greek Music From The Underground – JSP 77105 (2006) – 2 songs * Black Mirror – Reflections in Global Musics (1918–1954) – Dust-To-Digital DTD-10 (2007) – 1 song * Rembetika 2: More of the Secret History of Greece's Underground Music – JSP 77105 (2008) – 1 song * The Greek Song In USA Marika Papagika Vol. 1: Recordings 1918 – 1929 – Hellenic Record (2008) – 19 songs * The Greek Song In USA Marika Papagika Vol. 2: Recordings 1923 – 1929 – Hellenic Record (2008) – 16 songs * The Greek Song In USA Marika Papagika Vol. 3: Recordings 1919 – 1929 – Hellenic Record (2008) – 17 songs * The Further The Flame The Worse It Burns Me – Greek Folk Music in New York City 1919–1928 – Mississippi MR-071(2010) – 11 songs * To What Strange Place – The Music Of The Ottoman-American Diaspora (1916–1929) – Tompkins Square TSQ 2618 (2011) – 4 songs * Rembetika 7: Women of Rembetika – JSP77152 (2012) – 8 songs


Notes


References

* * * Nagoski, Ian. Notes to LP ''The Further The Flame, The Worse It Burns Me: Greek Folk Music in New York City, 1919–28'' (2010) * Soffa, David. Notes to CD ''Marika Papagika – Greek Popular and Rebetic Music in New York 1918–1929 – Alma Criolla ACCD802 (1994) * Spottswood, Richard. ''Ethnic Music On Records – A Discography of Ethnic Recordings Produced in the United States, 1893 to 1943. Volume 3 Eastern Europe; University of Illinois Press 1990'' LCCN 89-020526. * Vernon, Paul. ''Seeking Marika'' (2008). see http://www.frootsmag.com/content/features/marika-papagika/


External links

* * http://www.emusic.com/search.html?mode=x&QT=marika+papagika
Marika Papagika
on Myspace
Marika Papagika (Μαρικα Παπαγκικα) recordings
at the
Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Papagika, Marika 1890 births 1943 deaths 20th-century Greek women singers Greek rebetiko singers People from Kos Italian emigrants to the United States