String music of Transylvania

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Category: General History
Forum Name: Historical Arts and Architecture
Forum Discription: Discuss arts, literature, and architecture before the 19th century
URL: http://www.allempires.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=18670
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Topic: String music of Transylvania

Posted By: Dan Carkner
Subject: String music of Transylvania
Date Posted: 18-Mar-2007 at 23:58

I'm learning violin and I have been looking up various styles of string music online, and I found that my favorite that I have found is the music of Transylvania. I don't know much about it but here are some interesting videos I have found. To me, it sounds completely unlike the music of the surrounding countries.

Sz�szcs�v�s Band (1994?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckWYZHIdRBY - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckWYZHIdRBY
http://www.egt.bme.hu/csavas/ - http://www.egt.bme.hu/csavas/
(Website of this band)

S�rm�si 1 & 2 (Transylvanian village music from Sărmaşu (Nagys�rm�s))

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3Dsz60g23s - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3Dsz60g23s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiFH7_exHy0 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiFH7_exHy0

Zerkula Janos: Gyimes Fiddle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXuRrG4wmUo - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXuRrG4wmUo

And from the website of an ethnomusicologist who has a wealth of different music, especially from Romania:

Music of Salaj, Romania (Transylvania)
http://real.irc.uci.edu/rgarfias/mp3/salaj/salaj.html - http://real.irc.uci.edu/rgarfias/mp3/salaj/salaj.html
Music of Bihor (Transylvania)
http://real.irc.uci.edu/rgarfias/mp3/bihor/bihor.html - http://real.irc.uci.edu/rgarfias/mp3/bihor/bihor.html

Replies:

Posted By: Guests
Date Posted: 19-Mar-2007 at 00:35

I wonder. Dracula played the violin?

Posted By: Hellios
Date Posted: 19-Mar-2007 at 23:54

Menumorut will like this thread!

Posted By: Menumorut
Date Posted: 20-Mar-2007 at 19:27

This is Hungarian traditional music from Transylvania, which I know little.

Hungarian music of Transylvania is quite homogenous on the whole territory, I mean there are not big differences between regions.

Romanian music from Transylvania is very different from region to region. The main regions of Romanian music are Southern Transylvania (with several subzones), the Apuseni Mountains, the Cluj county, Bistrita county, Banat, Crisana, Salaj, Maramures, each of these being a different "vein" of musical manner. The music in Cluj county as well as the Salaj and Bistrita regions are influenced by the Hungarian sonorities.

The music of Szekler (Szeklers are a branch of Hungarians numbering ~700.000 people, half of the Hungarian population of Romania) has Moldavian influences. The music of Csango (Hungarian and Romanian speaking Catholic population in some zones of Moldavia) is almost identical with Moldavian music.

Hungarians are using much the string.

Romanians too are using. For example, look these videos of bugle-violin, an instrument particular in Bihor, Crisana (West Romania, at the border with Hungary)::

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IqzREG8NzA - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IqzREG8NzA ,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7qOVsbpANw - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7qOVsbpANw

Violin has an important part in Maramures music too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycDvZ-sM9Ew - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycDvZ-sM9Ew

About Dracula: he never existed. I have a bad opinion about Bram Stoker's fiction which gived Transylvania an undeserved image.

Other videos:

A Hungarian band from Palatka (a village center of Hungarian folklore):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1iFsSRkwSQ - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1iFsSRkwSQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIH57LZn2P4 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIH57LZn2P4

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Posted By: Dan Carkner
Date Posted: 20-Mar-2007 at 21:42

thanks ;)

Posted By: Ovidius
Date Posted: 21-Mar-2007 at 12:24

About Dracula: he never existed. I have a bad opinion about Bram Stoker's fiction which gived Transylvania an undeserved image.

you should make a thread about this.

The Romanian national Anthem was created in Transylvania... Smile

Having listened to a lot of this music, I still cannot listen too it!

bugle-violin, an instrument particular in Bihor, Crisana (West Romania, at the border with Hungary)::

I have seen these before. What exactly are they? Do you know anything more about them?

Posted By: Menumorut
Date Posted: 21-Mar-2007 at 13:26

you should make a thread about this.

I will, imediately.

he Romanian national Anthem was created in Transylvania...Smile

Having listened to a lot of this music, I still cannot listen too it!

The text of the Romanian Anthem is a poem by Transylvanian Andrei Muresan.

But the song is composed by Anton Pann, a Roma (Gipsy) from Bulgaria, refugied in Wallachia at the begining of 19th century. You can read and listen it here:
http://romania-on-line.net/essentials/anthem.htm - http://romania-on-line.net/essentials/anthem.htm

I have seen these before. What exactly are they? Do you know anything more about them?

I dont know but look what I found with Google:

It was invented by Englishman Augustus Stroh but is not sure if the instrument used in Bihor is derivating from this or is original in Bihor. It represents the Bihor county.

http://horinca.blogspot.com/2006/10/vioar-cu-goarn-or-if-hendrix-played.html - http://horinca.blogspot.com/2006/10/vioar-cu-goarn-or-if-hendrix-played.html
http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vioar%C4%83_cu_goarn%C4%83 - http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vioar%C4%83_cu_goarn%C4%83

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Posted By: Dan Carkner
Date Posted: 21-Mar-2007 at 15:21

There is an article on English Wikipedia about this kind of violin, too:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroh_violin - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroh_violin

I only heard about it the other day after watching some of those videos online. It's a pretty strange looking instrument! But I guess all unfamiliar ones are.. While I'm learning the violin, I already sound loud/scratchy enough, my roommate would probably strangle me to death if I was learning on one of those, haha!!

Posted By: Tar Szer�nd
Date Posted: 02-Apr-2007 at 02:50

On the Gyimes fiddle video they are dancing/playing in Szil�gys�gi style, on Menumoruts links in Szov�ti style. (I can dance both styles:-)

Dan, won't you learn to play on the caval (long moldavian flute)? It sounds better than violin:-)

TSZ

Posted By: Dan Carkner
Date Posted: 02-Apr-2007 at 19:54

I'm not very good at instruments you have to blow into, but then again I'm not good at violin either so I probably have an equal chance of making everyone leave the building ;)

Posted By: Don Quixote
Date Posted: 21-Mar-2012 at 01:56

[TUBE]4qrFMnU_dpU[/TUBE]

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Posted By: Don Quixote
Date Posted: 22-Mar-2012 at 04:52

[TUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLig4uePuv8[/TUBE]

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Posted By: Don Quixote
Date Posted: 22-Mar-2012 at 23:54

[TUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXuRrG4wmUo[/TUBE]

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Posted By: Don Quixote
Date Posted: 25-Mar-2012 at 18:46

[TUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgG27mUKQxA[/TUBE]

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Posted By: Don Quixote
Date Posted: 27-Mar-2012 at 01:10

[TUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dn94_kM2sD0[/TUBE]

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Posted By: Don Quixote
Date Posted: 30-Mar-2012 at 00:48

[TUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTd03elVYr8[/TUBE]

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Posted By: Don Quixote
Date Posted: 06-Apr-2012 at 02:00

[TUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qeLSOJblgg[/TUBE]

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Posted By: Don Quixote
Date Posted: 11-Apr-2012 at 03:19

[TUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8oDYwO8ZII&feature=related[/TUBE]

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Posted By: Don Quixote
Date Posted: 02-May-2012 at 22:25

[TUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrsKqBuLN7E[/TUBE]

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