Misirlou
Misirlou is a song originally written as Rembetiko to accompany the Tsifteteli dance, which soon enjoyed great popularity in the Middle East beyond Greece and which became famous again in 1994 through the film Pulp Fiction .
The title Misirlou ( Greek Μισιρλού ) means Egyptian girl , from Ottoman-Turkish misirlu , in modern Turkish mısırlı : Egyptian. This word in turn can be traced back to the Arabic name of Egypt, Misr .
The first recording from 1927 is from Tetos Demetriades. Text versions exist in Arabic and Turkish. Seymour Rechzeit (later known as Seymour Rexite ) recorded the song in Yiddish ( RCA Victor V-9085).
Misirlou experienced worldwide success with the surf rock version of Dick Dale from 1962. Since then, various other artists have recorded the song, for example the Beach Boys . In 1994, Dale's instrumental variant was used as the opening theme in Pulp Fiction .
dance
The Misirlou is a dance that was created in 1945 in the USA at Duquesne University, Pittsburgh , by Brunhilde Dorsch using the Greek dances Syrtos , Chasapiko and Chaniotikos . It is danced in an open circle to the song of the same name, Misirlou. Outside of Greece, it is often referred to as a traditional Greek dance.
Sound material
The sound of the piece, perceived by many as "oriental", is due to the scale used in the main theme, which in Greek popular music is called Hitzaskár .
literature
- Alkis Raftis: Encyclopedia of Greek dance. Greek Dance Theater "Dora Stratou", Athens 1995, ISBN 960-7204-11-5 .