Markos Vamvakaris
Encyclopedia
Markos Vamvakaris , was a rebetiko
musician. He is universally referred to by rebetiko writers and fans simply by his first name, Markos. The great significance of Vamvakaris for the rebetiko is also reflected by his nickname; the "patriarch of rebetiko" (O Πατριάρχης).
(aka Ano Chora), Syros
, Greece. His family belonged to the sizeable Roman Catholic
community of the island, the Frankosyrians, a name deriving from the common Greek reference to West Europeans collectively as "Franks
".
At the age of twelve, believing he was wanted by the police, Vamvakaris left Syros and went to Piraeus
. He worked as a stevedore, employee at a pit-coal
mine, polisher, paperman, butcher and other jobs. He heard a bouzouki
player playing, and swore that if he did not learn to play the instrument in six months he would cut off his hand with a cleaver (he was working in the Athens
slaughterhouse at the time). He learned bouzouki, becoming an innovative virtuoso player, and began to compose music, and write songs. At first he often played in hashish
smoking establishments known as Tekes, later he and his band, which included Giorgos Batis, Anestis Delias and Stratos Pagioumtzis played in more legitimate clubs. They were extremely popular, and Markos made many recordings.
Vamvakaris recorded his first rebetiko disc, Na 'Rchosouna Re Magka Mou (Να 'ρχόσουνα ρε μάγκα μου) in 1932. Among other songs in that period, he wrote the classic love song "Frangkosyriani" (Φραγκοσυρισνή).
After the liberation of Greece from the occupation of Nazi Germany
, difficult times arrived, since his kind of music was no longer fashionable. He also suffered badly with arthritis
in his hands that crippled his bouzouki playing and asthma
that hampered his singing. The slump in his fortunes lasted until the early 1960s, when after initiatives by Vassilis Tsitsanis
, many of his old songs were revived, sung by modern singers including Grigoris Bithikotsis
, and Stratos Dionysiou. Vamvakaris died on February 8, 1972 at the age of 66.
Markos' composing style was utterly simple: minimal orchestration, melodic lines stripped of any embellishment, and lyrics as devoid of ornamentation as possible. His strophic masterpiece "Your eyelashes shine" is a typical example of his art. It consists of just three short sentences, each sung twice with clauses reversed for the second time:
As the years pass, his towering contribution to Greek music emerges. All other laiko
composers, of his time and afterwards, revered him as their master teacher, and Mikis Theodorakis
remarked: "We all, we are but branches of a tree. Markos is that tree".
wrote a song called Gramma sto Marko Vamvakari (Letter to Markos Vamvakaris, Greek: Γράμμα στο Μάρκο Βαμβακάρη), sung by George Dalaras
and actress Despo Diamantidou. Also, Thodoros Derveniotis and Kostas Virvos wrote Markos, sung by Kaiti Abavi.
Markos Vamvakaris is also mentioned in the following songs:
There is a 2001 documentary made of his life and times, entitled "I Like Hearts Like Mine", by George C. Zervas, in Greek with English subtitles. http://www.der.org/films/ilikeheartslikemine.html
Rebetiko
Rebetiko, plural rebetika, , occasionally transliterated as Rembetiko, is a term used today to designate originally disparate kinds of urban Greek folk music which have come to be grouped together since the so-called rebetika revival, which started in the 1960s and developed further from the early...
musician. He is universally referred to by rebetiko writers and fans simply by his first name, Markos. The great significance of Vamvakaris for the rebetiko is also reflected by his nickname; the "patriarch of rebetiko" (O Πατριάρχης).
Biography
Vamvakaris was born on May 10, 1905 in Ano SyrosAno Syros
Ano Syros is a town and a former municipality on the island of Syros, in the Cyclades, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Syros-Ermoupoli, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit includes the uninhabited islands Gyaros and Varvaroúsa....
(aka Ano Chora), Syros
Syros
Syros , or Siros or Syra is a Greek island in the Cyclades, in the Aegean Sea. It is located south-east of Athens. The area of the island is . The largest towns are Ermoupoli, Ano Syros, and Vari. Ermoupoli is the capital of the island and the Cyclades...
, Greece. His family belonged to the sizeable Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
community of the island, the Frankosyrians, a name deriving from the common Greek reference to West Europeans collectively as "Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
".
At the age of twelve, believing he was wanted by the police, Vamvakaris left Syros and went to Piraeus
Piraeus
Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....
. He worked as a stevedore, employee at a pit-coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mine, polisher, paperman, butcher and other jobs. He heard a bouzouki
Bouzouki
The bouzouki , is a musical instrument with Greek origin in the lute family. A mainstay of modern Greek music, the front of the body is flat and is usually heavily inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The instrument is played with a plectrum and has a sharp metallic sound, reminiscent of a mandolin but...
player playing, and swore that if he did not learn to play the instrument in six months he would cut off his hand with a cleaver (he was working in the Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
slaughterhouse at the time). He learned bouzouki, becoming an innovative virtuoso player, and began to compose music, and write songs. At first he often played in hashish
Hashish
Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...
smoking establishments known as Tekes, later he and his band, which included Giorgos Batis, Anestis Delias and Stratos Pagioumtzis played in more legitimate clubs. They were extremely popular, and Markos made many recordings.
Vamvakaris recorded his first rebetiko disc, Na 'Rchosouna Re Magka Mou (Να 'ρχόσουνα ρε μάγκα μου) in 1932. Among other songs in that period, he wrote the classic love song "Frangkosyriani" (Φραγκοσυρισνή).
After the liberation of Greece from the occupation of Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
, difficult times arrived, since his kind of music was no longer fashionable. He also suffered badly with arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....
in his hands that crippled his bouzouki playing and asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
that hampered his singing. The slump in his fortunes lasted until the early 1960s, when after initiatives by Vassilis Tsitsanis
Vassilis Tsitsanis
Vassilis Tsitsanis was a Greek songwriter and bouzouki player. He became one of the leading Greek composers of his time and is widely regarded as one of the founders of modern Rebetika. Tsitsanis wrote more than 500 songs and is still remembered as an extraordinary bouzouki...
, many of his old songs were revived, sung by modern singers including Grigoris Bithikotsis
Grigoris Bithikotsis
Grigoris Bithikotsis was a popular Greek folk singer/songwriter with a career spanning five decades.-Biography:...
, and Stratos Dionysiou. Vamvakaris died on February 8, 1972 at the age of 66.
Markos' composing style was utterly simple: minimal orchestration, melodic lines stripped of any embellishment, and lyrics as devoid of ornamentation as possible. His strophic masterpiece "Your eyelashes shine" is a typical example of his art. It consists of just three short sentences, each sung twice with clauses reversed for the second time:
- Your eyelashes shine
like flowers on the field.
Your eyes, sister, crack my little heart.
Search till you're blind: you won't find one like me.
As the years pass, his towering contribution to Greek music emerges. All other laiko
Laïkó
Laïkó ), is a Greek music genre. Also called folk song or urban folk music , in its plural form is a Greek music genre which has taken many forms over the years...
composers, of his time and afterwards, revered him as their master teacher, and Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis
Mikis Theodorakis is one of the most renowned Greek songwriters and composers. Internationally, he is probably best known for his songs and for his scores for the films Zorba the Greek , Z , and Serpico .Politically, he identified with the left until the late 1980s; in 1989, he ran as an...
remarked: "We all, we are but branches of a tree. Markos is that tree".
Discography
Markos may be heard on many of the anthology CDs listed in the rebetiko discography. CDs of his own which may be available in English language countries include:- Markos Vamvakaris Bouzouki Pioneer: 1932-1940 Rounder Select, 1998.
- Rembetika 5-Master of Rembetika 1932-193 [Box set] (4 discs) Jsp Records, 2010.
- The Road to Rembetica Trad. Crossroads, 2010 (accompanying CD to the Book by Gail Holst - see References section)
In popular culture
Stavros Xarchakos and Nikos GatsosNikos Gatsos
-Biography:Nikos Gatsos was born in 1911 in Asea in Arcadia, a district of the Peloponnese, where he finished primary school . He attended high school in Tripoli, where he became acquainted with literature and foreign languages. Afterwards, he moved to Athens, where he studied literature,...
wrote a song called Gramma sto Marko Vamvakari (Letter to Markos Vamvakaris, Greek: Γράμμα στο Μάρκο Βαμβακάρη), sung by George Dalaras
George Dalaras
George Dalaras , also possibly spelled as Yorgos or Giorgos Dalaras, is a Greek singer. He is of international fame and has recently been selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. He was born in Nea Kokinia, Piraeus. His father was Loukas Daralas, a singer of rebetiko.-Early...
and actress Despo Diamantidou. Also, Thodoros Derveniotis and Kostas Virvos wrote Markos, sung by Kaiti Abavi.
Markos Vamvakaris is also mentioned in the following songs:
- Deka palikaria (Ten lads, Greek: Δέκα παλικάρια) by Manos LoïzosManos LoïzosManos Loïzos was considered to be one of the most important Greek music composers of the 20th century.-Biography:...
and Lefteris PapadopoulosLefteris PapadopoulosLefteris Papadopoulos is a Greek lyricist, writer and journalist.Lefteris Papadopoulos was born in Athens, Greece on 14 November 1935. He is the son of Greek refugees from the Asia Minor and Russia. He enrolled at the Law School of the University of Athens but he stopped during the third year in...
, sung by George Dalaras - Ihes thalasses sta matia (You had seas in your eyes, Greek: Είχες θάλασσες στα μάτια) by Elias Andriopoulos and Michalis Bourboulis, sung by Antonis Kalogiannis
- I mikri istoria tis Marinas (The short story of Marina, Greek: Η μικρή ιστορία της Μαρίνας) by Dionysis Tsaknis
- Rock fegari (Rock moon, Greek: Ροκ φεγγάρι) by Andreas Mexas and Vasilis Mastrokostas, sung by Paschalis TerzisPaschalis TerzisPaschalis Terzis is a popular Greek singer.-Biography:Terzis was born in Pylaia, a suburb of Thessaloniki in the region of Northern Greece. In his early teens he began to sing with friends, some of whom helped him in his career...
- San ton Samouil sto Kougi (Like Samuel in Koughi, Greek: Σαν τον Σαμουήλ στο Κούγκι) by Tzimis PanousisTzimis PanousisTzimis Panousis is a Greek musician and stand-up comedian born in Athens on February 12, 1954, where he has spent most of his life. His fans often refer to him as “Tzimakos”...
- Sto retire (In the penthouse, Greek: Στο ρετιρέ) by Angelos Axiotis, sung by Antonis Kalogiannis
- Ta mesimeria tis Kyriakis (Sunday afternoons, Greek: Τα μεσημέρια της Κυριακής) by Giorgos Hatzinasios and Yiannis Logothetis, sung by Manolis Mitsias
- Graphic novel Rébétiko by David Prudhomme (Futuropolis, 2009)
External links
- The Markos Vamvakaris Archive
- Vamvakaris Biography and Discography (in Greek)
- The Markos Vamvakaris Museum
There is a 2001 documentary made of his life and times, entitled "I Like Hearts Like Mine", by George C. Zervas, in Greek with English subtitles. http://www.der.org/films/ilikeheartslikemine.html