Mme. Marie: Recovering the Story of an Incredible Armenian American Singer Who Sang in Thirteen Languages but Recorded Only in Arabic on Maloof
Mme. Marie Bashian Bedikian
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A publicity photo with printed stage name, likely used to sign autographs. Courtesy of Gina A. (Granddaughter of Marie Bashian Bedikian).
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Our interest in 78 rpm records of the Syrian/Lebanese
diaspora stem from the three estate sales-worth of records we located here in
La Crosse, Wisconsin, and the one estate of records from Janesville, Wisconsin.
What is fascinating about Janesville and La Crosse compared to, say, Milwaukee
or other cities in the United States is that there were few if any co-existing
Greek or Armenian communities in La Crosse or Janesville. They were, with one
or two exceptions, Arab American communities that existed in much larger German American or Norwegian American communities.
Some of the musicians on Arab and Arab American 78s identify
as culturally Arab, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Druze, but we had not come
across any Armenian or Armenian American 78s or artists from among the over 200
Middle Eastern discs we’ve come to own until we made a dash over to Baraboo, Wisconsin, a
few years ago and located a few.
Curiously, there seems to have been few Arab American women
musicians who recorded in the early twentieth century on Macksoud and Maloof.
In fact, none recorded on Macksoud, and on Maloof, of course, there's Fedora Kurban, and Latify Abdou
remains elusive and difficult to pinpoint (there are two or three
possibilities). The only other recognizable women’s name that appeared on
Maloof was the mysterious and vaguely noted, -- “Mme. Marie.” So, who
was Mme. Marie? How does someone even begin to find a person who didn’t use her
last name?
If one simply searched for “Mme. Marie” and “Maloof,” one of
the results would likely be reference to the same recordings listed in Dick
Spottswood’s voluminous Ethnic Music on Records. A more thorough search
reveals that the only Marie to sing soprano and work with Alexander Maloof was the
Armenian American singer Marie Bashian Bedikian.
What’s curious is that Marie Bashian Bedikian, unlike Armenian
American soprano Zabelle Panosian (1891-1986), never seems to have commercially
recorded in the Armenian language. Marie Bashian Bedikian performed live
in Armenian, English, Arabic, Italian, Russian, Bulgarian, French, Greek,
Polish, Czech, Ukrainian, and Lithuanian. She recorded, however, in Arabic.
Marie Caroline Bashian was born to Muqurdich Bashian
and Asanet Telfeyan on 1 May 1894 in Constantinople (today Istanbul, Turkey). According
to some sources, Marie attended Constantinople Women’s College. The Bashians
and their three children: John, Yevnige, and Marie, fled a collapsing Ottoman
Empire and escaped to the United States. Marie, her mother, and two siblings
arrived in 1915. Her father arrived three years later. As Armenian Christians,
it turns out, they dodged the onslaught of the Armenian genocide. Prior to 1908, Armenians
ethnic minority status helped exempt them from military service. Many supported
the Young Turks and the CUP with promises of equality. With the Balkan Wars of
1912-13, a dramatic decline in Ottoman held territory. Later, fear that Russia
would overtake eastern Anatolia and fear that Armenians would side with Russia
led to an intolerant expression of nationalism that excluded certain groups. By
the time the Bashians left, Armenians were subject to the draft in an Ottoman
government holding on to an uncertain future when they had been one of the
world’s most dominant empires. By then, the overall treatment of Armenians shifted.
The government disarmed and segregated Armenian men, forced them into work
groups, and women and children faced relocation and forced marches into the Syrian
desert. The Ottomans also allied with
Germany in World War I. The combination of war, starvation, and genocide
ravished much of eastern Anatolia and Greater Syria. The subsequent fighting between Greece and Turkish
nationalists led to further deaths and destruction.
The Moslem World, 9:4 (October 1919): 349-350.
In the United States,
where many former Ottoman subjects immigrated, issues concerning race and
naturalization occupied considerable amounts of the court’s time. Between 1880 and 1944, some thirty-six cases
sought to resolve if Hawaiians, Arabs, Japanese, East Indians, Filipinos, and
Afghanis were white. If considered Asian, or of some racial group other than
white, the 1790 Naturalization Law prohibited them from becoming US citizens. Roughly, 82,000 Armenians immigrated to the United States between 1890 and 1930. Two cases sought to resolve how to racially classify Armenians.
Considered Asian by some, the courts in the Halladjian case of 1909 and
the Cartozian case in 1925, drew from “scientific evidence,” legal precedent,
and “common knowledge” to declare Armenians white and eligible for
naturalization. The Johnson-Reed Act of 1924, however, restricted Armenian immigrants to approximately 130 per year.
Arab Americans, Armenian Americans, American Turks, Greek
Americans, Jewish Americans, American Christians, and Muslim Americans all
contributed to Near East Relief efforts. Among those who made the greatest
contributions, were artists – especially musicians who held concerts for which
the proceeds went to relief efforts.
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| Recital poster allowed the date, place, and time to be typed and written in for each performance. Courtesy of Gina A. (Granddaughter of Marie Bashian Bedikian). |
After a few more years of formal training, this is the route
Marie Bashian took with performances in Armenian, English, Greek, and Arabic. Some
sources suggest that shortly after her arrival in the United States, she
studied at Barnard College and the Boston Conservatory. In May 1917, Marie stood out as one of
Charles Kitchell’s thirteen students to perform in a school recital. Over a
year later, several Brooklyn churches held Committee for Armenian Relief
meetings where US Ambassador to Turkey, Abram Isaac Elkus and Rev. Dr. S.
Parkes Cadman, offered the keynote addresses; Marie sang at the Central
Congregation Church’s Eramus Hall on 12 December 1918. In January 1919, the
Acorn Club, an Armenian American social group, sponsored a music recital for the
Armenian Relief Committee of the Emergency Aid where Marie Bashian spoke on
behalf of Armenian orphans and performed a concert in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. In April, as the sixth installment in the Festival of Liberty series
at Wanamaker Auditorium, Marie Bashian sang a few selections and provided the
entertainment for the evening as did fellow Armenian violinist Haig
Gudenian. A concert of “Armenian Folk
Songs” and lecture about the suffering of relatives and friends left behind
featured Marie Bashian on 12 November 1920 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
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| News clipping describes performance early in Mary Bashian Bedikian's career. Although married she used Bashian as her stage name. Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 13 November 1921. Courtesy of Newspapers.com |
On a more personal note, Marie Bashian married Antranig
Bedikian on 2 June 1919. He, too, came to the United States in 1915 and took up
residents with the Bashians after he and Marie wed. He was nine years Marie’s senior and served
as a minister in the Armenian Evangelical Church in Manhattan.
A “Music of the Near East” concert in February 1921 led to a
rare opportunity to record in 1922, despite a solidly booked schedule for the next two
years. The concert, sponsored by the Music League of the People’s Institute
featured “Marie Bashian, Armenian soprano; Constantine Nicolay, Greek basso;
and Alexander Maloof, Syrian pianist.” Two months later, for reasons unknown,
Marie cancelled an appearance at the Greek Theater in Oakland, California. A
benefit for the Congregational Church in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, held at the
YWCA Camp Auditorium secured Bashian as the main attraction in July 1921.
Ironically, or perhaps not, we bought the two “Mme. Marie” discs we own at the
Melan estate sale in Janesville, Wisconsin, just thirty miles west of where
Bashian performed in 1921 (George Melan married Rose Maloof in New York). In November,
she gave a rousing performance at Stanford University in Palo Alto to raise
funds for Armenian college students who survived the genocide, but proved to be
resilient enough to have miraculously continued their studies in US colleges and
universities. For this particular concert, Bashian “divided her program into
three parts:” English ballads, which included “Golden Slumbers,” Charlie is My
Darlin’,” and “The Lass with the Delicate Air”; Russian folk songs, such as
“Volga Boatman’s Song” and “The Red Sarafan”; and Armenian folk songs compiled
by the renowned Armenian bishop and composer, Komitas Vardapet. For each set of
ethnic songs she sang, Bashian dressed in costumes associated with the
particular ethnic group whose song she performed in the moment. This became a
hallmark of her concerts. The press showered Marie Bashian with extensive
coverage and one particular short biography in February and March 1922 appeared
in dozens of newspapers from Washington and New York to Oregon. Civic
organizations, such as the Buffalo Commission on Hospitals in Cilicia, raised funds for medical supplies to be delivered to Armenian refugees, booked Bashian in March 1922
also. Bashian spent the remainder of
1922 on tour raising money for the Near East Relief campaign. “Costume Recital:
Folk Songs from the Orient and Occident” read ads for this particular tour
which took Bashian to Norwich, Vermont, Washington, DC, up-state New York, and
the Knickerbocker Field Club in Brooklyn. On 10 August 1922, she collaborated
with Alexander Maloof and Salim Doumani on two Maloof recordings “Hal-Eesho
Killa Murrah” Pts. 1 & 2 and Maloof #209 A/B “Zabyatal Unsi,” Pts 1 &
2. She also recorded #101 A/ B “Ya Khalti” on an unknown date. Taken as a whole, these three discs mark the
only known commercial recordings made by Marie Bashian Bedikian as “Mme. Marie.”
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| One of three known recorded performances by Mme. Marie on Maloof #101 A/B "Ya Khalti" (Oh Auntie). From the collection of Richard M. Breaux. https://soundcloud.com/user-356929609-75127210/mme-marie-ya-khalti-maloof-101a |
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| Second of three known recorded performances by Mme. Marie this is also one of two with Salim Doumani on Maloof #209 A/B "Zabyatal Unsi" (A Human Version of a Dear of Mine). From the collection of Richard M. Breaux. https://soundcloud.com/user-356929609-75127210/salim-doumani-and-mme-marie-zabyatal-unsi-209-a-maloof |
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| News clipping from New York Tribune Sun, 27 February 1921, shows Marie Bashian and Alexander Maloof not only knew one another - they performed together. Courtesy of Newspapers.com |
Late fall 1922 brought Bashian back home to New York where
she did not perform because she and Antranig were expecting a baby. The joyful
parents welcomed Gloria Beatrice Bedikian into the world on 10 January 1923.
Marie limited performances to extremely special events. By summer 1924, the
entire family, Marie, Antraniq, and Gloria left the United States to attend the
British Empire Exposition of 1924-1925 at Wembley. The event showcased the power, culture, and colonies
of the empire. After a visit to the Exposition, Marie spent time studying in
France, and subsequently touring in Italy, Austria, and Bulgaria. The exposition
ran from 23 April 1924 to 31 October 1925.
Whether Marie performed at or played any part in the exposition remains
unclear. They family left in July 1924 and Marie and Gloria did not seem to
return to the United States until July, 1926, when they sailed from La Harve to
New York City.
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| Profile photograph of Marie Bashian Bedikian. Courtesy of Gina A. (Granddaughter of Marie Bashian Bedikian). |
Nineteen twenty-seven appears to have been a slow year, but
Marie Bashian’s regular concerts resumed by 1928. Most stories in the 1927-press about Bashian
were stock AP stories about her general concerts and nothing about specific
shows she performed. The YWCA of the Moravian Seminary booked Bashian for a
concert in April 1928 and people filled the venue to capacity. Showing off a
broader repertoire of music, Bashian performed in French, Russian, Armenian,
and Bulgarian. Some selections like “The Volga Boatman” and “The Plowman’s
Song” remained a part of her set, but she added others “At the Village
Fountain” and “The Moon Rose High.” The audience appreciated the authenticity
of Bashian’s costumes because they believed her dress “added a form of realism
to her interpretation.” Smaller gigs in smaller venues, such as the concert for
the Patterson, New Jersey YWCA on 15 November, filled much of the year, then
Brooklyn Institute of the Arts and Sciences hosted its annual Christmas series
and on Tuesday, 18 December 1928, Marie Bashian presented her much-anticipated Christmas
Carol concert. It was at this event that she sang in a stunning eight
languages.
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| One can see by looking at her 1928 Christmas Carol program, at least eight of the languages in which Marie Bashian Bedikian sang. Brooklyn Life and Activities of Long Island Society, 15 December 1928. Courtesy of Newspapers.com |
The new year started on a more serious note with a
collaboration about life in pre-War and post-War Turkey. On 7 January 1929, Madame
Halide Edib offered an informative and engaging keynote address after a shortened
concert and lecture by Marie Bashian. Also, in January, the Hartford,
Connecticut Tuesday Morning Women’s Club treated its members to Bashian’s
costume recital. Miss Mary Olivia Robinson provided Piano accompaniment. In March,
off to Ottawa, Canada, she travelled for a recital at the Little Theater
sponsored by Ottawa Morning Music Club.
Concerts and recitals for civics groups, women’s club,
charitable organizations, and church groups filled Bashian’s scheduled through
the 1930s, even as the country entered the worst years of economic depression. In
March 1930, she performed in Ithaca and December 1930, her Folk Song of the
Balkan States concert was the “second in a series of winter musicals” sponsored
by a local civic organization. The Central New Jersey YWCA’s annual meeting
also hired Marie to perform at their funding raising dinner. The Moravian
Seminary and College for Women also booked her for several concerts. On occasion,
Bashian posted ads in the Bergen Evening Record newspaper. October of
1936, found Bashian in Burlington, Vermont, as entertainment for the Klifa Club.
Regular bookings came from the various women’s groups at Leonia’s Calvary
Lutheran Church and the city’s Presbyterian church who sponsored benefit concerts starring Bashian in March 1935, October 1937, and April 1939.
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| One of several publicity photos of Marie Bashian Bedikian used in the press to report on recital and concert performances. Courtesy of Gina A. (Granddaughter of Marie Bashian Bedikian). |
Marie Bashian continued to perform into the 1940s, although
she turned her attention to voice instruction which she taught out of her home
studio. As Gloria came of age, she too, proved to have a beautiful singing
voice. Marie encouraged and supported Gloria and hosted a recital at the family’s
Crescent Avenue home in 1940. Gloria performed with Nancy Bogert. A number of
friends and family attended as did two of the music faculty from Finch Junior College
in Manhattan. Marie held similar recitals for her other pupils like Florence
Washburn in May 1943. Customarily, ten to twenty noted guests attend the
recitals and came from areas nearby such as Patterson, Englewood, Palisades
Park, and Manhattan.
When not performing or addressing the needs of Antranig’s
congregation, the Bedikian’s worked as peace/ human relations ambassadors. One
of the events they hosted in September 1944 was a Russian dinner to promote
greater peace, co-operation, and cultural understanding between the United
States and Russia.
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| Marie Bashian Bedikian in one of her many costumes. Photo courtesy of Gina A. (Granddaughter of Marie Bashian Bedikian). |
In 1952, the Leonia Men’s Club sponsored a “hobby night” at
the Leonia Presbyterian Church so local resident might discover new hobbies by
having the opportunity to speak to and learn from “amateurs and professionals”
in their respective fields. The event included painters, sculptors, actors, singers
and voice coaches, pianists, jewelry makers, and instrumentalists who played
trombone, violin, trumpet, organ, and flute players. The Leonia Board of
Education co-sponsored the event. Marie, of course, discussed her singing
career.
After the demands of her singing career faded, Marie appeared
in the press as Bedikian rather than Bashian. The Leonia Women’s Club hosted “The
Story of Christmas” through pictures and music in December 1956. Marie Bedikian
provided music and picture curation to those who attended the events. Still,
with just as much life and vigor, Marie and her daughter, Gloria remained busy
locally. In a January 1962 public library and Women’s Club collaborative, operatic
production of Hansel and Gretel, Marie narrated the story and Gloria
(contralto), married to Dr. Levon Fred Ayvazian since 1947, appeared opposite
Ankin Bertelsen’s Gretel as Hansel. The opera version of this classic story
included “pantomime, dancing…vocal solos and duets.” Marjorie Elmendorf played
accompanying piano.
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Photograph of Marie Basihian Bedikian in costume. Courtesy of Gina A. (Granddaughter of Marie Bashian Bedikian).
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If you thought Marie Bedikian slowed down in her years as a
septuagenarian and an octogenarian – think again. Working with her daughter,
who helped organize her shows, Marie made elaborate “single needle laces”
displayed in art exhibitions in the Maurice Fine Public Library in Fair Lawn, New
Jersey, and other libraries throughout the state in 1977, 1978, and 1979. Some of her creations were made to be “decorative
hangings, traditional bridal headgear, and utilitarian pieces.” Making laces
had been a tradition undertaken by Armenian and Arab women for centuries and
carried throughout the Armenian and Arab diasporas. These pattern-free
creations helped women generate an income for their families at the turn of the
twentieth century. Married women made laces that they themselves or their husbands, who worked as peddlers and small businessmen, sold on their routes or
in storefronts.
On 17 February 1980, after sixty years of marriage to Marie,
Reverend Antranig Bedikian died. His tenure at the Armenian Evangelical Church in
New York City lasted from 1915 to 1953. Over the years, Rev. Bedikian edited an
Armenian American newspaper, The Gotchnag, published a book, The
Golden Age of the Armenian, served as director of the Armenian Missionary
Association of America, and worked as a member of the National Association for
Armenian Research and Study.
Marie Bashian Bedikian lived to be 94. Her granddaughters
remember her fondly, and lovingly speak about her singing career with much pride. They had neither heard about her few
recordings on Maloof, nor were they terribly surprised at all by what their grandmother
accomplished during her lifetime. They have most of the original photos that once
accompanied newspaper stories about their grandmother and they are all equally committed to the arts and cultural awareness and appreciation.
Special thank you to Gina A. and Andrea A.
Richard M. Breaux
© Midwest Mahjar
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