Kipps Horn

Lecturer, Department of Industry, Professional and Adult Education, RMIT, Victoria, Australia

Fifty Years of Rebetika Music Amongst the Greek Diaspora in Melbourne, Australia

Abstract

The roots of rebetika lie in the passionate life experiences of Greece's urban lower classes in the late 19th century. During the first six decades of the 20th century the music evolved, changed and found acceptance amongst the middle classes and has now become part of a Pan-Hellenic music experience. In many ways it parallels the evolution of other popular urban musics such as the tango in Argentina, fado in Portugal and flamenco in Spain. Rebetika is also a music of migration in that it has travelled with its musicians during periods of forced and voluntary migration. Thus rebetika can be heard wherever the Greek diaspora has been established.

This paper discusses how the music and its transmission, has played an important role in the evolution of senses of identity for three generations of Greek-Australians over a period of 50 years. Using a phenomenographic methodology, I show how perceptions of rebetika amongst Melbourne's Greek Australian community relate to a spectrum of social, historical and musical experiences which I classify into three hierarchical sections referred to as categories of relevance. The first group of categories include perceptions of tradition, identity and migration. The second group of categories include notions of education, akousmata, differences in generational experiences of rebetika, the influence of converging cultural influences, the musical instruments, modes and performance context. The third group of categories include detailed issues of rebetika performance and its social and political contexts.

Learning experiences associated with the evolution of rebetika in Melbourne are fundamental to how musicians and audiences have developed a sense of what it means to be a Greek Australian.

Presentation Type
30 min. paper

Presentation Equipment Requirements
OHP
CD player

Speaking Date/Time Restrictions

Country
Australia