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World Folk/Traditional/Roots Music

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King Kang of Mu View Drop Down
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  Quote King Kang of Mu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: World Folk/Traditional/Roots Music
    Posted: 26-Jun-2008 at 17:20
Originally posted by xristar

If you speak the language would you mind to take time to tell me what they are singing about or what you think of it?
 
Πολυφωνικό Χιμάρας

This song is apparently sung by a man's perspective and roughly says "there were three beautiful girls, walking on the road alone. If someone went there he would take all three. I'd storm and take one, even if they cut my "wings" [not sure]. I'd storm and take two, even if they would cut my throat. I'd storm and take three, even if they put me to prison".

EDIT: Theodore, many of your links don't work.
 
Oh, my.....   You are serious about the song right?  Well it is kinda complement for those girls I guess.  They are so beautiful that, he wouldn't mind getting 'clipped' and prisoned for a brief moment of ill advised blissful transgression.  It is some what crude for 21st century modern sensibility but what culture doesn't have songs about boys drooling at the girls.  I mean, is Britteny Spears supposed to be more sanitary morally?
 
Anyway your translation remind me of this Bossa Nova song 'Girl from Ipanema' by Astud Gilberto and Stan Getz.
 
'Girl from Ipanema'
 
 
 
And you're right, Theodore Felix's links doesn't work for me either.  I thought it was just me. 
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  Quote Roberts Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26-Jun-2008 at 17:44
Here are some clips from Latvian Song Festival. It is most important event in Latvian culture and it takes place once in every 5 years with around 30000 participants.
The choir singing is the main event.

Saule, Pērkons, Daugava (Sun, Thunder, Daugava (largest river which crosses Latvia))
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baaX4-1_df0
Manai dzimtenei (for my homeland)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ddY5BDPaGU
Dziesma, ar ko tu sacies ( Song, how do you begin?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roZP8PNHsao&feature=related
Gaismas pils (Castle of light)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDhbvfvMd34
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  Quote Theodore Felix Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26-Jun-2008 at 17:55

EDIT: Theodore, many of your links don't work.


Im sorry, your going to have to copy and paste the links. I dont know why their not working when you click on them....
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  Quote vranakonti Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 26-Jun-2008 at 22:38
Originally posted by King Kang of Mu

Originally posted by vranakonti

This is the masterpiece of the Albanian polyphony(in my opinion).

Janino.
Live version,from a local group.
 
They are both excellent clips.  Thanks vranakonti! 
 
I don't exactly know what you meant by 'a local group' for the second clip but those men seemed way too refined to be just village folks.  I meant that as a complement like they should be professionals and revered like cultural idols.
 
The first clip was truly a masterpiece though.  I don't know if it was the difference in the audio qualities in both footages but the first clip had clear harmonic unison and better rhythmic syncopation.  But it's always easier to syncopate with less people.
Both seemed good example of the art form they represent.  Thanks for posting them.
The difference is exactly that,the first was recorded in a studio,by well-known singers ,instead the second is an amateur village band.But they are good enough,is all about practise,they start singing those songs from their childhood.
btw some info,thats a mourning song,at least 2 centuries old,and describes a revolt against Turks.
When ill have some time ill post a long post describing,more regional variants of our music.
 
 
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  Quote King Kang of Mu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27-Jun-2008 at 01:17
Originally posted by Roberts

Here are some clips from Latvian Song Festival. It is most important event in Latvian culture and it takes place once in every 5 years with around 30000 participants.
The choir singing is the main event.

Saule, Pērkons, Daugava (Sun, Thunder, Daugava (largest river which crosses Latvia))
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baaX4-1_df0
Manai dzimtenei (for my homeland)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ddY5BDPaGU
Dziesma, ar ko tu sacies ( Song, how do you begin?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roZP8PNHsao&feature=related
Gaismas pils (Castle of light)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WDhbvfvMd34
Cool, cool , Roberts.  Welcome to the thread.  That Latvian Song Festival seems really awesome  event.  It really showed the unity of the people.  It's also really cool that everyone was wearing what seems to the traditional Latvian attire.   And also evrybody in the stand seems to be the performers themselves.  That is really a cool concept.  Other than maybe some football games or some totalitarian regime mass games like North Korea I don't think I've seen anything quite like that.
 
But the songs themselves, they reminded me too much of traditional Western Classical music form, and the instrumentation sounded even more modern, it threw me off a little.  Nice songs regardless but I'm looking for more 'folky' music though.  I was drawn to the melodies of the second and the third clips though.  
 
In my opening post I tried to explain what is more 'folky' but I also looked for some Latvian examples my own.
 
PEPT 2007 - Latvian folk music Paurupe 
 
Also I couldn't mention Latvia without this footage.
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  Quote Roberts Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27-Jun-2008 at 02:53
Originally posted by King Kang of Mu

Cool, cool , Roberts.  Welcome to the thread.  That Latvian Song Festival seems really awesome  event.  It really showed the unity of the people.  It's also really cool that everyone was wearing what seems to the traditional Latvian attire.   And also evrybody in the stand seems to be the performers themselves.  That is really a cool concept.  Other than maybe some football games or some totalitarian regime mass games like North Korea I don't think I've seen anything quite like that.
 
But the songs themselves, they reminded me too much of traditional Western Classical music form, and the instrumentation sounded even more modern, it threw me off a little.  Nice songs regardless but I'm looking for more 'folky' music though.  I was drawn to the melodies of the second and the third clips though.  
 
In my opening post I tried to explain what is more 'folky' but I also looked for some Latvian examples my own.
 
PEPT 2007 - Latvian folk music Paurupe 

I see, in that case you have to listen to the Latvian folk songs performed by one of the best pagan heavy metal band in the world "Skyforger" Cheers Viking
They usually perform heavy metal songs with Latvian folk motives and sounds, but here is a nice exception.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VTMZqHQhvQ0


Also I couldn't mention Latvia without this footage.

Yeah, those were good times. Now the same coach who led us to EURO 2004 is back in charge of national team. We have rather easy qualification group for WC2010 with Greece, Switzerland and Isreal  - so see you in South Africa Big%20smile.
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  Quote King Kang of Mu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27-Jun-2008 at 03:19
Originally posted by Roberts


I see, in that case you have to listen to the Latvian folk songs performed by one of the best pagan heavy metal band in the world "Skyforger" Cheers Viking
They usually perform heavy metal songs with Latvian folk motives and sounds, but here is a nice exception.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VTMZqHQhvQ0
 
Wow 12th century warrior music?  That's so cool!  You know if you want to introduce more music from this band, especially more heavier, Folk Metal/Prog Folk type there is a perfect thread for them, 'In the Court of King Kang(New Music Needed)' thread.
 
But I really appreciate the clip you've posted because that was more like a Metal band playing a Folk song than just a Folk Metal song.  Thanks
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  Quote King Kang of Mu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27-Jun-2008 at 03:39
Originally posted by es_bih


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8K00dGSBAA
-------------------------------
This is Bosnian Sevdah - Perfomed in Turkey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiIfhpPihB0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSIBK-pSW38&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ufPA65Yels&feature=related
 
Alright, es_bih.  Back to the rest of your first post.
 
I'm gonna commenty on all four of them together because there are similarities in the production level.  There were kinda Eurovision like feel to these concerts, more modernized.  But it was still cool to see the traditional instruments in those settings, especially in the Turkey performance because they were a Ochestra of the traditional Sevdah instruments.  You can really feel the power of those instruments in numbers.
 
And it seems to me that the audience knew those songs well and captivated by the performances.  Also I don't know if any of those performances were of medley of songs but they seem to shift in and out of different tempo and instrumentation fluently.  The singers are really smooth too.  They were like young Frank Sinatras of Sevdah!
 
What's Hari Mata Hari mean?  Does that have anything to do with Mata Hari the female spy, or just names?
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  Quote vranakonti Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27-Jun-2008 at 05:16
This is also the remake of an old North Albanian epic song,probably very similar in its contents with that posted by Robert,it speaks about Jakup Ferri,warrior,and  heroe famous among other things for cutting 30 heads,however at the end he dies.Smile
 
this is the original.
90's  remake
recent remake
 
 
This instead are some some examples of Albanian music from South to North.
Albanian folk music

Albanian folk music falls into three sylistic groups, with other important music areas around Shkoder and Tirana; the major groupings are the Ghegs of the north and southern Labs and Tosks. The northern and southern traditions are contrasted by the "rugged and heroic" tone of the north and the "relaxed, gentle and exceptionally beautiful" form of the south. These disparate styles are unified by "the intensity that both performers and listeners give to their music as a medium for patriotic expression and as a vehicle carrying the narrative of oral history", as well as certain characteristics like the use of obscure rhythms such as 3/8, 5/8 and 10/8.

 

South Albanian music

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AHGMPF39GQ&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDyOltBCck0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLSrx32oDyc&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agj1uyuo3Eg&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXacSJbaSU0&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AHGMPF39GQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5xadGoDnV8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SP9NpyrlWgI&amp;feature=related

 

Polyphony

 

http://www.emusic.com/album/Vranisht-Kenge-polifonike-läbe-Albania-MP3-Download/10940041.html

 

Korca(city)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKeB7C4V0Ho&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zd_Kh5qE5M&amp;feature=related

 

instrumental Clarinet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pS2fBO-ibU&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bztTf8GlMTk&amp;feature=related

 

instrumental flaut

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsWj0fw8UFY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7diac1Qjxuc&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ3MTmEvT4M&amp;feature=related

 

Center Albania

 

Tirana(city)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPYcj2-R4oU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghfn4bexOh4&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5skV5TEy5qg&amp;feature=related

 

 

North Albania

 

Instrumental,mostly with cifteli(typical north Albanian instrument) and flaut,from different regions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhdu9TstjIg&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QAt47akzk0&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45CwRE9l71A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKOLvg5s5f8&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7fi6_7l0Dc&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oF6AJvAzoHo&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hPQR7cMMeg&amp;feature=related

 

Instrumental Lute.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ne6JjgjWMM&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXv18EaGRJU&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kNgpkdeMiA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe2F9O_1V4k&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ej4j0otpy2A&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11XjBSkJtmo&amp;feature=related

 

Shkodra(city)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EgBsSKlnPo&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgwLmQ_-XcI&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVuk3m0eI9w&amp;feature=related

 

Albanians in Italy

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0geWS1UDYdw&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qn7QHBY7MM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5LybloI4Yu8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6Afde_pAJw&amp;feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTXIEdFN2Ac&amp;feature=related

 

Ti Shqipri m ep nder...
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  Quote Guests Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27-Jun-2008 at 05:31
Originally posted by King Kang of Mu

Originally posted by es_bih


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8K00dGSBAA
-------------------------------
This is Bosnian Sevdah - Perfomed in Turkey
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiIfhpPihB0&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSIBK-pSW38&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ufPA65Yels&feature=related
 
Alright, es_bih.  Back to the rest of your first post.
 
I'm gonna commenty on all four of them together because there are similarities in the production level.  There were kinda Eurovision like feel to these concerts, more modernized.  But it was still cool to see the traditional instruments in those settings, especially in the Turkey performance because they were a Ochestra of the traditional Sevdah instruments.  You can really feel the power of those instruments in numbers.
 
And it seems to me that the audience knew those songs well and captivated by the performances.  Also I don't know if any of those performances were of medley of songs but they seem to shift in and out of different tempo and instrumentation fluently.  The singers are really smooth too.  They were like young Frank Sinatras of Sevdah!
 
What's Hari Mata Hari mean?  Does that have anything to do with Mata Hari the female spy, or just names?


The three there were performed in Turkey, its Bosnain sevdah music, there are a lot of Turks with Bosnian descent thus no surprise that a lotof the songs would be known.

It is just a name and a play on words his name is Hari.
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  Quote King Kang of Mu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27-Jun-2008 at 07:05

Wow, vranaknoti! you really went all out this time.  That's what I like to see, brother.   I see you included a whole section on an instrument called Lute, that's even better.  It's gonna take me even more time to get through all that though.  I will try what I can.  You know I would like to try a couple of times and be able say more than 'That's cool'.

I will take this opportunity to say I thank everyone who's been involved in this thread so far.  I think it had way better start than I expected, indeed it is overwhelming me a little in very positive way. 

Just like my other music thread I want this thread to be somewhat of an archival thread, so someone who's interested enough in folk music can stumble upon and be able to click on any page and find different kind of music from all over the world. 
 
Although I am really grateful to all of your participations and I will try to respond to them as much as I can but I'm just one man with little knowledge and much enthusiasm.  So feel free to introduce and post the sample clips as much as you can, but I also need some of you guys to start creating some comparative discussions with each other.  So feel free to check out each other's contribution and draw interests from each other.  That would help me out a lot to learn from you guys more and also give me more time to introduce more music and different cultural concepts. 
 
For example, many of you are interested in this Polyphonic music.  Although I'm learning more and more about it everyday, thanks to you guys, but I'm still very new to the concept.  So some of you who are more familiar with it can generate more discussion about it, I and others will learn lot more about it.
 
I don't know if what I just wrote even made sense at all.  Mostly I'm just complaining about my own limitation and I don't wanna disappoint you guys. 
 
Thanks again for this great start and let's share and learn more from each other!        
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  Quote King Kang of Mu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27-Jun-2008 at 08:33
vranakonti,
 
Just clicked on this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhdu9TstjIg&amp;feature=related rather randomly.  Amazing!
 
I'm assuming that small metal recorder looking instrument is Flaut?  I see an Oud also.  I don't think I see Cifteli in this footage though.  Maybe in other clips under this one.  I looked up some google image of Cifteli and it looked lot like Saz.
 
Cifteli
              Saz
 
I guess Cifteli is more Banjo like thinner and flatter body and Saz has mor pearlike shape and deeper and round body?
 
Anyway all your clips ao far has been great.  I can't wait to go through them all.
 
I'm excted about all those instruments.  I found this website that has pictures of bunch of different string instruments where I got that picture of Saz from. 
 
 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
 
Oud (Middle East)

The%20Oud,%20Er-Hu,%20Surpeti,%20Gembri,%20and%20SentirThe Oud is the most popular string instrument throughout the Middle East and North Africa. It is a short-necked, fretless instrument, which was brought back to Europe by the crusaders, where it influenced the development of the lute, which is the predecessor of the classical guitar. This instrument was originally called "Al-Oud" (which means "the wood"), a phrase that evolved into "Lute" in Europe and "Oud" or "Ud" in the Arab world. The earliest known Oud was discovered in a tomb from the reign of Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt, approx. 1500 B.C. Turkish Ouds (left side of photo) have a somewhat shallower body than Syrian and Egyptian Ouds (right side of photo.) The body is made of strips of hardwood, such as rosewood, walnut, maple and mahogany, usually in two contrasting colors. The peghead angles sharply back from the plane of the
neck and has ebony friction tuners. All Ouds have ivory filigree over the soundhole and the Arabic Ouds also have elaborate mother-of-pearl inlay (see close-up.) There are eleven strings, arranged in five double courses, with a single bass string. The standard Turkish/Armenian tuning is low to high: E, AA, BB, ee, aa, dd. The Arabic tuning is a minor third lower. The top four strings are generally tuned this way, but the two lowest strings can be changed, according to the "makam" (the scale or mode) that is being played. Traditionally, the strings were plucked with an eagle quill, known as a "mizrap". Today, most players use plastic plectrums.
* Hamza El Din, Hossein Behroozi-Nia, Munir Nurettin Beken, Munir Bachir, Simon Shaheen, Rahim Alhaj


Saz or Baglama (Middle East)

A popular, long-necked lute, played throughout Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. This is a seven-string instrument, divided into three courses, tuned, from low to high, Gg, Dd, Aaa. Like many Middle-Eastern string instruments, the Saz also has tied-on nylon frets. Unlike most plucked string instruments, the sound-hole is on the bottom instead of the top of the body.
* Kord Bayat, Talip Ozkan, Erdal Erzincan




Yali Tambur (Turkey)

Long-necked, bowed string instrument with six strings divided into three courses, tuned DD, AA, dd. The bridge rests on a skin head like on a Western banjo. Most of the melody is played on the high course of strings. This instrument is sometimes refered to as a bass banjo because of the low pitch of the strings. The neck has tied-on nylon frets, which are spaced for Middle-Eastern scales, which include quarter-tones. It is also possible to pluck the strings.
* Ali Jihad Racy


 

Tar (Iran)

The tar is the king of the plucked-string instruments in Iran. Like a lot of Iran's instruments, variations from this instrument are played throughout Central Asia. The body is carved out of a mulberry tree. The long neck is fitted with camel bone and has six strings in pairs, usually tuned Root, fifth, root. The bridge rests on a skin top which give the tar its characteristic sonority. The frets are nylon and tied on. They can be adjusted to get the notes used in Persian music between the notes in the western scale.
* Mohammad Reza Lotfi, Amir Koushkani, Hamid Montebassem

Setar (Iran)

The Setar (center of photo) is a small lute with a long neck. It has four metal strings. It has been mentioned in literature and poetry since the 12th Century. Like the tar, the setar has tied on frets made of nylon (see close-up.) It is plucked with the index finger and used extensively by Sufi mystics in Iran.
* Mohammad Reza Lotfi, Shahram Nazeri

Kamenchech (Iran)

This popular spiked fiddle is played throughout the Middle East. Similar instruments called Rabab in Egypt and Turkey and Ghijak in Central Asia are used in their classical and vocal musics. The four metal strings on the Persian instrument (left side of photo) can be tuned like a western violin G, D, A, E, or Root, fifth, root, fifth or root, fourth, root, fourth. It is held upright, resting on the player's left thigh, and the horse hair bow is made more or less taut by the players' fingers in order to heighten the sensitivity of touch in the course of playing. The instrument is turned on the pivot to access the strings while the bow is held in the same position. The bridge rests on a skin top (see close-up.)
* Kayhan Kalhor, Asghar Bahari, Sa'id Farajpuri

Fasil Kemenche (Turkey)

This three-stringed traditional violin (right side of photo) is used in the classical and Sufi religious music of Turkey. It is held upright on the lap and played with a bow. Like the Indian Sarangi, the left hand fingers don't press directly on the strings, but touch the string on the side with the fleshy part of the finger between the nail and the first joint.
* Tanburi Cemil Bey, Necdet Yasar Ensemble

Santur (Iran)

The Persian Santur is the original Santur. It is a three-octave dulcimer with 72 strings arranged in 4-string courses. It is played with very thin, wooden hammers with felt on the ends. It can be made out of various kinds of wood depending on the desired sound quality. Both instruments have adjustable bridges, allowing you to play three octaves on the Persian one. Though the Santur originated in Persia, it has universal appeal. The Greeks have a similar instrument called a Santoori; the Chinese have the Yang Chin; the Hungarians have the Cymbalon; and the Germans have the Hackbrett.

 

Sarangi (India)

For many centuries, the Sarangi has been the premier bowed instrument of India. It is held upright on the lap and bowed with the palm facing up. Instead of pressing the strings with the top of the fingers of left hand, the player presses the sides of the strings with the cuticle (see close-up.)  In earlier times, its primary role was to accompany classical vocal music, because of its voice-like quality. Today, it has been accepted as a solo instrument as well. There are three main playing strings tuned tonic (Sa), fifth (Pa) and tonic (sa). In addition, there are 30 to 40 resonating strings (see close-up.) All these strings pass through the bridge, which rests on a skin head. Some of these are tuned to the rag (scale) and some are chromatic. These tuners are at the top and along the side of the body.
* Ram Narayan, Sultan Khan, Ramesh Misra, Dhruba Ghosh

 

 

Santoor (India)

The Indian Santoor (29A), from the northern state of Kashmir, for centuries was an accompaniment to vocalists. Originally it was called a "Shata Tantri Veena," or the 100 string lute. The Santoor pictured has 93 strings arranged in 3-string courses. A standard Indian tuning has the Sa (or tonic) as the lowest note. The first octave is tuned to the Raga to be played. The rest of the strings are tuned chromatically. It is played with two relatively thick, wooden hammers.

 

 


Tamburas or Tanpuras (Ind

ia)

In traditional Indian music, the tamburas provide the drone, which delineates the key in which the solo instruments perform. The traditional tamburas come in two sizes, called the male (left side of photo) and the female (right side of photo.) They each cover a different range of keys in octave. These instruments can have four to six strings and are usually tuned to the tonic (Sa) and the fifth (Pa) of the raga (scale) being played. The large tuners at the top are for basic tuning. There are fine tuners at the bottom for more precise tuning (see close-up.) Sometimes, small pieces of thread are placed between the string and the bridge for more sustain and "buzzy" quality to the sound. These traditional tamburas are huge and delicate instruments, which are difficult to travel with. There are smaller versions, the Instrumental Tambura (left side of bottom photo) and the portable Vocal Tambura (right side of bottom picture.)
* Any traditional classical Indian music





Rubab (Afghanistan/Pakistan/Iran)

An instrument from the lute family, played mostly in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is a beautiful instrument, carved out of a single piece of mulberry wood. Originally from the Kabul-Ghazni region of Afghanistan, it is regarded as the predecessor of the Indian Sarod. The neck and upper body are hollow and covered with a thin piece of wood. The lower body is covered with skin. The three main playing strings are usually tuned a fourth apart. Though the key of a concert Rubab is usually D, the strings are tuned, low to high, C#, F# and B. In addition, there are 12 to 16 wire sympathetic strings, which are tuned to the scale the raga is in. The lowest and highest of these are on the same plane as the main plucked strings for rhythmic accents. It also has just three tied-on frets and the rest of the fingerboard is fretless. There are three sizes of Rubabs. The two in the picture are the middle and large concert size.
* Ustad Mohammar Omar, Homayun Sakhi, Aziz Herawi

Komuz (Kyrgyzstan/Uzbekistan)

The Komuz (left in photo) is the main instrument of Kyrgyz. It is a three-string fretless lute, usually made of apricot wood. It involves many playing techniques, mainly with the right hand including plucking, strumming and striking the string in various rhythmic patters with very stylized hand and arm gestures. The strings are generally all the same gauge but are tuned a, E, a.
* Nurak Abdrakhmanov, Namazbek Uraliev

 

Dotar (Uzbekistan)

The Dotar (right in photo) is popular throughout Central Asia and can be fretless or have tied-on frets like this one. It is also called Tambur or Dombra. Dotar is Persian for "two strings". They are tuned to the tonic and fifth. Traditionally, the body is made of mulberry wood and the neck of apricot wood.
* Abdorahim Hamidov


Pipa (China)

A string instrument from the lute family, dating back over 2000 years. The Pipa has a unique pear shape, with four large friction tuners. The four silk strings are tuned, low to high, A, D, E, a. There are bamboo frets glued to the belly of the lute. The traditional playing technique includes very fast tremolos, using all of the right hand fingers in succession. The higher quality Pipas have very ornate, hand-carved ivory head-stocks, on this instrument, a dragon (see close-up.)
* Wu Man, Tang Liangxing, He Shu-Feng

 

 

 

Er-Hu (China)

This is the most widely used bowed instrument in China. It became popular in the Sung dynasty, approx. 1,000 years ago. This instrument only has two playing strings that are suspended above the body. The bow goes between the strings and requires both sides of the hair to be rosined. The sound box is covered with snake skin (see close-up), which gives the instrument its distinctive tone. The more yellowish-beige pigment there is in the skin, the younger the snake was and the better the tone is considered to be. 
* Zhu Changyau, Liu Ying

 

 

Matouqin (Mongolia)

The Matouqin ("ma-toe-chin") is a two-string bowed instrument in the range of the Western cello. Traditionally a lot of the instrument was made from different body parts of a horse, including horsehair from the tail for the strings. The modern-day instrument is made of wood with bunches of thin nylon strands making up the strings. string instrument from the lute family, dating back over 2000 years. The Pipa has a unique pear shape, with four large friction tuners. The four silk strings are tuned, low to high, A, D, E, a. There are bamboo frets glued to the belly of the lute. The traditional playing technique includes very fast tremolos, using all of the right hand fingers in succession. The higher quality Pipas have very ornate, hand-carved ivory head-stocks, on this instrument, a dragon (see close-up.)
* Qinggele, Darima


 

 

Gu Zeng (China)

This beautiful instrument is made from a rare wood in China called zitan (gee-tan) with jade decorative flowers. This is the original Asian zither influencing similar instruments in Japan, Korea and Vietnam. The strings are plucked on the short side of the bridges. You can bend the notes by pushing on the left side of the strings. It is usually tuned to a pentatonic scale.
* Angela Jui Lee

 

 

 

Gu Qin (China)

The Gu Qin ("chin") is an ancient Chinese instrument renowned for its subtle, tranquil and deep qualities. It has seven strings which are plucked with the right hand as the left hand slides in and out of the melody notes. The entire top is the fingerboard with white position markers called huis ("ways".)

 

Zhong Ruan (China)

A plucked lute instrument with bamboo frets like the Pipa, but with a more guitar-like tone. It comes in three different sizes, this being the middle one. It is tuned G, D, g, d.
* Miao Xiaoyun




Charango (Andean region of South America)

This is a ten-string South American mandolin with a very small body. Traditionally, the body was made out of an Armadillo shell, but these days it can also be made out of wood. It has five courses, that are tuned gg, cc, EE, aa, ee. This is a popular instrument in Andean music.
* Sukay, Alejandro Camara, Gustavo Santaolalla

Ronroco (Bolivia)

The Ronroco is the "big brother" of the Charango family. It uses similar tunings to the Charango, but sounds an octave lower. This instrument, like the Charango, was built by Gamboa, one of the premier builders in Bolivia.
* Gustavo Santaolalla

Waylacho (Bolivia)

The Waylacho is the "little brother" of the Charango family. It uses similar tunings to the Charango, but sounds a forth higher.

 

 

Tiple (Venezuela)

This is a 12-string, small, guitar-like instrument (left side of photo) played mostly in the northern regions of South America. It has a triple-course set-up of the top four strings of a guitar (D. G, B, E). All the strings but the first one have a lower octave string in the middle of each course.

Requinto (Central and South America)

The Requinto (right side of photo) is also called an alto guitar. This instrument is tuned a fourth higher than a standard guitar. Mostly used for playing melodies in Mexican music. I like to play solo pieces on it.
* Jeff Linsky

 

 

Sonqo and Patasi Charango(Bolivia)

Sonqo (left side of photo) in Quechua (the language of Bolivia) means 'heart'. This instrument is a large Charango with one extra octave string in the center course. It is made out of a Bolivian wood called Naranjillo. The Patasi Charango (right side of photo) is a primitive instrument from the Patasi region of Bolivia. It has steel strings instead of the nylon strings of a traditional Charango.

 



South American Mandolin

This instrument (left side of picture) is similar in tuning and sound to the western mandolin. The main difference is instead of four double-course strings it has four triple-course strings.

Taro Patch Ukulele

A custom 8-string Ukulele designed by Joe Todaro (see Links) and built in Bolivia. It is a combination of a Ukulele with a Charango-type body, made out of Quinaquina wood, indigenous to Bolivia.

Quatro (Venezuela)

The Quatro (right side of photo) has a re-entrant tuning, which means the low strings are on the top and bottom and the high strings are in the middle. This enables the player to get a similar sound whether strumming up or down. The tuning is A, d, f#, B.

 

 


Valiha (Madagascar, Africa)

A tube zither, made out of a large, hollowed-out piece of bamboo, sometimes called a tube harp. It has metal strings, tuned in a two-octave, diatonic scale, that encircle the whole body. I tune mine to a G-maj/E-min scale. The individual strings are tuned with small, movable wooden bridges. The melodies are played by going back and forth between the hands, like a Kalimba (an African thumb piano.) The sound is very similar to that of an Irish folk harp.
* Justin Vali
Photos by Gary Jameson, Reno, NV (775) 825-8999

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Pretty freaking amazing stuff if you ask me. 
 
I'll try to go through more of your list soon.  Thanks a lot, vranakonti!


Edited by King Kang of Mu - 27-Jun-2008 at 08:39
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  Quote Menumorut Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27-Jun-2008 at 09:23
Romanian traditional music

The territory inhabited by Romanians was long time separated in three principalities, Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia. The musical traditions are very different in each region and in the case of Transylvania there is a total difference between the music of North, South, East (Szekler, Hungarian) and West.

Like in the costumes, it's almost impossible to trace some common characteristics for all Romanian regions.

There is only one elemenent, a type of song, which is common for all Romanians and not met at other people with the exception of Lituanians (this is a proof perhaps of Dacian related traditions of Baltics): Doina, a slow and unrythmed song commonly describing melancholic or sad feelings.

In the domain of dance songs, there is an extraordinary richness and finess. Like Doina, the roots of some melodic lines can trace back to Antiquity and even Prehistory, especialy those in the regions of Northern (mountainous) Wallachia and Northern Transylvania (Maramures). In the other provinces and regions can be distinguished the influences of neighbour peoples: Eastern Slavs in Moldavia, Hungarians in central Transylvania, Germans in Southern Transylvania, Turks in Dobruja, Serbians in Banat.

So the most archaic musical folklore is in Wallachia and Maramures, even if its very different one to other, but it shows an original substrate.


In Romania there is a big industry of folk music, there are hundreds of nationaly-known interprets and thousands local interprets and formations. Some interprets released over 40 albums.


The next are some famous songs or types of songs:

An instrumental Doina from Banat (South West Transylvania)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ3ujOAxiwY


Calusarii, a ritual dance with origins in the Roman army. It can be found in several parts of Europe, including Britain (the Morris dance)
In Romania Calusarii vanished from most regions (but are atested documentary in Moldavia and Transylvania) with the exception of Southern Romania
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChRmvtNNVSY


Crisana dances. Crisana is the West Transylvania, with the most rythmed Romanian songs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9ot0V8u4BU



Song from Southern Transylvania (Sibiu county)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laEUqxyAzhY


Two songs from Maramures
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u6XjKH8JeA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpTyvgEfMkU&feature=related



Hora (circle dance) from Bukovina (Northern Moldavia)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEgi84-PdfA


Song from Teleorman, Plain Wallachia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiYd-zg32QI



Turkish influenced song from Dobruja
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aLd9pXMask



Song from Oltenia (Western Wallachia)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuT2_ZriaE8



Edited by Menumorut - 27-Jun-2008 at 13:37

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  Quote vranakonti Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27-Jun-2008 at 10:10

Since you brought all that stuff about similar instruments,i can say that the closest parents of cifteli and lute,i know( geographically speaking)  are the Greek Bouzouki  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouzouki i and the Italian mandolin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandolin,

Basically the difference between cifteli and Lute is that the first is played with a plectrum and for the second is needed a bow.

This is an interesting comparison ,with their Japanese distant relations.

Japan, Kokyu ,played with a bow,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxTVX0y-_GU&amp;feature=related

Japan, Biwa ,played with a plectrum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJzJgqaovNU&amp;feature=related

 

 

About Polyphony ,here there is another European example, from Sardinia (Italy).

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsS9xYFKy6c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caNoshxc0b0&amp;feature=related

 

vranakonti,

 

Just clicked on this one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhdu9TstjIg&amp;feature=related rather randomly.  Amazing!

I'm assuming that small metal recorder looking instrument is Flaut?

 

I consider it amazing too,that’s why,it was first in its category,but music is a matter of personal, taste ,so im not sure non-balkanians would like that.About the instrument I think it can be considered a flaut,though its simpler ,in Albanian is called fyell ,or Bilbil ,that means literally whistle. 

 



Edited by vranakonti - 27-Jun-2008 at 12:16
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  Quote King Kang of Mu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27-Jun-2008 at 23:32
Originally posted by Menumorut


Calusarii, a ritual dance with origins in the Roman army. It can be found in several parts of Europe, including Britain (the Morris dance)
In Romania Calusarii vanished from most regions (but are atested documentary in Moldavia and Transylvania) with the exception of Southern Romania
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChRmvtNNVSY 
 
Hello, Menumorut!  Welcome to the thread.
 
When I started the thread with the Bulgarian Women's Choir, I had no idea that would tap into this rich tradition of Balkan culture from all over the region!  That's so wonderful!  Your entire post was very resourceful and enticing about the Romanian tradition.
 
In brief overview, I was really interested the traditional custom clothing in the footages right away.  I can see some Greek influence with the white base color and also similarity with Bulgarian ornamental patterns that I also noticed in Northern Europe namely Finnish, I think.  But I am not an expert on this area either though so don't quote me on it if I'm way off.  And definitely not claiming who influenced who.  And the Baltic connection you've mentioned is also very interesting.  I will look into that later also.  Those soldiers' uniform also remind me lot of the Cromwell era English Musketeers, especially the hat.
 
I will come back on the rest of the samples but I picked the above one for now because a couple of images really intrigued me with my Korean background.
 
At 0:33, there was picture of men seemingly spinning rather fast in squatting position.  I am aware of the Whirling Dance of Sufi tradition but this seemed little different.  It reminded me of this Korean peasants' harvest dancing.  But I'm going by a single frame of the picture so I know I could be way off.  But here is the Korean dance.  Especially check out when they start to spin at 0:46.  Even the colors in their clothing.
 
Second one is some sort of battle marching formation that had a guy standing on the shoulders of other men in formation in your clip which starts at 1:16.  OK the Korean footage I will compare is actually from the 1988 Seoul Olympics opening ceremony.  It's a folk game like mass imitation battle, chicken fight.
 
If you find anything similar or interesting please let me know. 
 
I will try to introduce more Korean Folk music and culture later.  I'm also planning on to introduce Mongolian and Tuvan Overtone Throat Singing, Indonesian Gamalan, Sufi Dervish Whirling Dance and more.  I just got caught in the Balkan traditions right now but I want to take my time and take them in as much as I can.  So I really appreciate all the contributions from Bosnian, Albanian, Greek, now Romanian contributions. 
 
Thanks guys. Clap
 
EDIT:  Oh yeah, didn't mean to forget the Latvian contribution from Roberts!  Thanks, RobertsClap
 
 
 
  
 


Edited by King Kang of Mu - 27-Jun-2008 at 23:44
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  Quote Menumorut Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28-Jun-2008 at 04:20
The costumes in that footage are basic male costumes from Southern Romania (the male costume is less differentiated across the territory than the woman one) with the exception of that hat and the crossed belts which are part of Calusari costume and which interestingly is found also at the British Morris dancers:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/CotswoldMorrisHandkerchiefs20040501_CopyrightKaihsuTai.jpg


The cut of the Romanian male costume is not of Greek influence, is the costume used from ancestral times in this (and not only) part of Europe by most of the peoples and is atested on the Column of Trajan in the costumes of Dacians (like the woman chemise too). Is found at Romanians, Bulgars, Serbians, Macedonians, Ukrainians etc. Is proper for this climate. The ornamentation is similar to the Bulgarian one because the two people (especialy the Southern Romanians) are neighbour and not excluded to be some ancient reminescences, knowing that both Romanians and Bulgars inherited a part of the Thracian spirit and customs.

The Baltic connection is something sure, the Lithuanians have the same type of song called dainos. Also, the linguists say that Dacian language was closest to Baltic languages.


The dancers spinning rather fast in squatting position may be a not old tradition and may be a coincidence is meet at other peoples. Or it may be something ancient.


About the man on the shoulders of others: after I wrote the message I found that the custom of Calusarii and Morris is pre-Roman, perhaps Dacian dance of fertility, so not a war dance:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C4%83lu%C5%9Fari




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  Quote King Kang of Mu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28-Jun-2008 at 04:25
Originally posted by vranakonti

 About Polyphony ,here there is another European example, from Sardinia (Italy).

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsS9xYFKy6c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caNoshxc0b0&amp;feature=related

 
Checked out Sardinian example.   First I would like to say, because the Cold War legacy and my own lack of understanding I always forget how close Italy is to Balkan Peninsula.  In other words, how narrow Adriatic Sea is.  I was just looking at the map again, from the back of the boot hill to the nearest coast of Albania, Wiki says, it's less than 72 km.  Also considering that Venice was one of the cultural and trading center of Europe, it would make sense that there are great cultural common denominator Italy and the west coast of Balkan Peninsula.
 
Having said that, Sardinia is in the other side of the Mediterranean Sea.  Now that got me even more interested.  I'm little more familiar of more modern history of Corsica because of Napoleon, and Sicily because of all those mob movies and Frederick II, but I really don't know much about Sardinia and their musical history.  So I looked up in Wiki.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
......Around the beginning of the nuragic age circa 1500 BC the island was first called Hyknusa (Latinized Ichnusa) by the Mycenaeans, probably meaning island (nusa) of the Hyksos, the people who had just been expelled by Ahmose I of Egypt circa 1540 BC. Sandalyon was another name, probably due to its shape, resembling a footprint. Its present name is Sardinia, after the Shardana (whose invasion of Egypt was defeated by Ramesses III circa 1180 BC).......
 
......Sardinia is one of the world's most interesting musical destinations. It is home to one of the oldest forms of Vocal Polyphony, generally known as Canto a Tenores; several big names of music have found it irresistible, including Frank Zappa, Ornette Coleman, and Peter Gabriel. The latter travelled to the town of Bitti in the central mountain region, and recorded the now world-famous Tenores di Bitti CD on his Realworld label. The guttural sounds produced in this form make a truly remarkable sound, similar to Tuvan (Mongolia) throat singing. Another polyphonic style of singing, more like the Corsican Paghjella and liturgic in nature, is also found in Sardinia and is known as Cantu a Cuncordu......
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wow that's sooooooooo freaky.  I've mentioned Mongolian and Tuvan Overtone Throat singing in my last post.  I've also mentioned that in my second post in this thread on the Bulgarian Women's Choir.  But back then, though it was only several days ago, I've just read about the concept of Polyphony and wondered about how the general meaning of the word 'Overtone' and 'Polyphony' are similar.  And after I tried vranakonti's samples on Sardinian Polyphony, I thought it sounded even more similar to Mongolian /Tuvan Overtone Throat singing only because the lower parts to seem come forward more developed.  Now I look up the history of Sardinia in Wiki because I know almost next to nothing about it, whoop there it is, Tuvan(Mongolian)throat singing!
 
How is that possible?  It's almost as if I knew about the connection already and planned it all along to arrive at this point.  Wow I gotta let this sink in more now.  I was gonna post more sample of Tenores Di Bitti but I just found out those are the same guys in vranakonti's samples already!  Wow! 
 
And this is bit off the topic, Ornette Coleman that is mentioned in above Wiki excerpts, one of my favorite Jazz musician and the father of Free Jazz.  Peter Gabriel and Frank Zappa?  Many of you already know that I'm a huge Prog Rock fan I have a thread for it called 'In the Court of King Kang(New Court Music Needed).  And this thread is actually inspired by from a discussion in that thread and I am approaching it with similar method as if these two are parallel thread. 
 
Wow I'm speechless.  Did I just walk into some Parallel Universe or what?  i assure you i did not plan this.  Well stop the rambling about my strange Wonderland and here are more Tenores Di bitti and other Sardinian Folk music and dance Until I let this sink in and get ready to formally introduce the Mongolian and Tuvan Overtone Throat singing.  Am I going crazy?
 
Tenores di Bitti "Mialinu Pira" in Beograd Serbia with Bilja
 
Tenores di Bitti Mialinu Pira in Hungary. Debrecen
 
 
 
Sardinian Folk music at Twys and Dani's wedding (be careful, this one is rather loud)
 
Elena Ledda - "Mi e La"
 
Ave Maria Sardinian Version
(I picked this one randomly again to show different style of Sadinian folk music with a song I recognize, and what do I see at 0:51?  A Korean Folk painting of Nativity scene!  I don't even know what's going on anymore.  I never did.)    
 


Edited by King Kang of Mu - 28-Jun-2008 at 04:32
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  Quote xristar Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03-Jul-2008 at 22:05

Defeat allows no explanation
Victory needs none.
It insults the dead when you treat life carelessly.
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  Quote King Kang of Mu Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06-Jul-2008 at 07:21
Originally posted by xristar

Some greek folk music:
Traditional carnival celebration, from the olympics of 2004 closing ceremony(Macedonia)
War dance(Pontos)

EDIT: a folk song from Pontos about the fall of Greece/"Romania" (or technically the Byzantine Empire)

 
That was cool to see the 2004 Olympics closing ceremony, I missed the first time around.  That golden spiral pattern is also really interesting.  I know it's supposed to be some sort of crop as the women were harvesting it, it seems, but why the spiral pattern?  Is it the Golden Ratio thing?  Reminds me of,
    Then again, it's rather an universal pattern.
 
 
 
Anyway this brings back to Greece before I can move on to Mongolian Tuvan Throat singing.  I wanted to do a brief introduction of Orpheus and Seikilos.
 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Orpheus (Greek: Ορφεύς; pronounced /ˈɔrfiəs/ (OHR-fee-uhs) or /ˈɔrfjuːs/ (OHR'-fews) in English) is a figure from Greek mythology born in the Rhodope Mountains of Thrace (now partly in Bulgaria), king of the Thracian tribe of Cicones. His name does not occur in Homer or Hesiod, but he was known by the time of Ibycus (c.530 BC). Orpheus was called by Pindar "the father of songs". He was a son of the Thracian river god Oiagros[1] and the Muse Calliope,[2] but as Karl Kerenyi observes,[3] "In the popular mind he was more closely linked to the community of his disciples and adherents than with any particular race or family."

The Greeks of the Classical age venerated the legendary figure of Orpheus as chief among poets and musicians, and the perfector of the lyre invented by Hermes. Poets like Simonides of Ceos said that, with his music and singing, he could charm birds, fishes and wild beasts, coax the trees and rocks into dance,[4] and even divert the course of rivers. He was one of the handful of Greek heroes[5] to visit the Underworld and return; even in Hades his song and lyre did not lose their power.

As one of the pioneers of civilization, he is said at various times to have taught humanity the arts of medicine, writing (in one unusual instance[6], where he substitutes for the usual candidate, Cadmus) and agriculture, where he assumes the Eleusinian role of Triptolemus. More consistently and more closely connected with religious life, Orpheus was an augur and seer; practised magical arts, especially astrology; founded or rendered accessible many important cults, such as those of Apollo and the Thraco-Phrygian[7] god Dionysus; instituted mystic rites both public and private; and prescribed initiatory and purificatory rituals, which his community of followers treasured in Orphic texts. In addition, Pindar and Apollonius of Rhodes[8] place Orpheus as the harpist and companion of Jason and the Argonauts.

His son was Musaeus, "he of the Muses".......

Death of Eurydice
Orpheus%20and%20Eurydice,%20by%20Federigo%20Cervelli
Orpheus and Eurydice, by Federigo Cervelli

The most famous story in which Orpheus figures is that of his wife Eurydice (also known as Agriope). While fleeing from Aristaeus (son of Apollo), Eurydice ran into a nest of snakes which bit her fatally on her heel. Distraught, Orpheus played such sad songs and sang so mournfully that all the nymphs and gods wept. On their advice, Orpheus traveled to the underworld and by his music softened the hearts of Hades and Persephone (he was the only person ever to do so), who agreed to allow Eurydice to return with him to earth on one condition: he should walk in front of her and not look back until they both had reached the upper world. In his anxiety he forgot that both needed to be in the upper world, and he turned to look at her, and she vanished for the second time, but now forever. The story in this form belongs to the time of Virgil, who first introduces the name of Aristaeus. Other ancient writers, however, speak of Orpheus' visit to the underworld; according to Phaedrus in Plato's Symposium (179d), the infernal gods only "presented an apparition" of Eurydice to him. Ovid says that Eurydice's death was not caused by fleeing from Aristaeus but by dancing with naiads on her wedding day.

The story of Eurydice may actually be a late addition to the Orpheus myths. In particular, the name Eurudike ("she whose justice extends widely") recalls cult-titles attached to Persephone. The myth may have been mistakenly derived from another Orpheus legend in which he travels to Tartarus and charms the goddess Hecate.

The descent to the Underworld of Orpheus is paralleled in other versions of a worldwide theme: the Japanese myth of Izanagi and Izanami, the Akkadian/Sumerian myth of Inanna's Descent to the Underworld, and Mayan myth of Ix Chel and Itzamna. The mytheme of not looking back, an essential precaution in Jason's raising of chthonic Brimo Hekate under Medea's guidance,[9] is reflected in the story of Lot's wife when escaping from Sodom. The warning of not looking back is also found in the Grimms' folk tale "Hansel and Gretel." More directly, the story of Orpheus is similar to the ancient Greek tales of Persephone captured by Hades and similar stories of Adonis captive in the underworld. However, the developed form of the Orpheus myth was entwined with the Orphic mystery cults and, later in Rome, with the development of Mithraism and the cult of Sol Invictus.......

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
I don't know how exactly all this fit into Polyphony and other Balkan musical traditions we've looked at.  But I do know his name and the myth has been engraved greatly in the psyche of the Western Classical Music.  Here is one rather famous;
 
Jacques Offenbach: "Orphée aux Enfers" Can can
 
I don't know how 'Greek' that was but in musical or many other cultural sense being 'Greek' is being 'Classical Europe' ain't it?  But I do want to dig little deeper and here comes something that could have played in the days of Orpheus.
 
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The Seikilos epitaph is the oldest surviving example of a complete musical composition, including musical notation, from anywhere in the world. The song, the melody of which is recorded, alongside its lyrics, in the ancient Greek musical notation, was found engraved on a tombstone, near Aidin, Turkey (not far from Ephesus). The find has been dated variously from around 200 BC to around AD 100.

Also on the tombstone is an indication that states:

I am a tombstone, an icon. Seikilos placed me here as an everlasting sign of deathless remembrance.

While older music with notation exists (for example the Delphic Hymns), all of it is in fragments; the Seikilos epitaph is unique in that it is a complete, though short, composition.......

......

There is a tradition of music notation older than the Greek system. A corpus of music fragments recorded on cuneiform tablets goes back to about 2000 B.C. See ancient music.

Some scholars believe that an extant corpus of Chinese music, first recorded in the Tang dynasty (618-907 AD), predates this work as well as the earlier fragments of Greek music. This is based on the implausible conjecture that because the recorded examples of Chinese music are ceremonial, and the ceremonies in which they were employed are thought to have existed "perhaps more than one thousand years before Christ" (J. A. Van Aalst), the musical compositions themselves were performed, even in 1000 BC, in precisely the manner prescribed by the sources that were written down in the seventh century AD. (It is based on this conjecture that Van Aalst dates the "Entrance Hymn for the Emperor" to c. 1000 BC.) Even allowing for the hypothesis that the Emperor's court musicians transmitted these melodies with complete fidelity over sixteen centuries, there is no material evidence to date the composition, or any other piece of Chinese music, to earlier than the Tang dynasty (Pan). This leaves the Epitaph of Seikilos the oldest complete musical composition that can be reliably dated.

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Without further ado here is the oldest recorded music in the world.
 
SEIKILOS EPITAPH 2nd c. AD
 
Ancient Greek Music by Seikilos
 
THE OLDEST COMPLETE PIECE OF MUSIC IN HISTORY!
 
ANCIENT GREEK MUSIC - "First Delphic Hymn to Apollo"c.138BC
 
I don't know if that moved Trees and rocks to dance but the myth illustrates the power of music and its importance in our lives.
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Chieftain
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  Quote Slayertplsko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 16-Aug-2008 at 08:48
Originally posted by King Kang of Mu

Hmmm, I didn't know that there was such 'dark' history to the song.  Another thing about my childhood memory is also that since Korean language does not have 'F' in their alphabet, 'F' becomes 'P'.  That would make 'Folk' music, 'Po K' music and 'Polka' music becomes 'Po Ka' music.  Now I think about it as I write actually, is the word 'Folk' and 'Polka' related, Etymologically?  That would make sense wouldn't it? 


Well, Polka literally means 'Polish woman' (Polak - 'Polish man') in Polish, Slovak and Czech. The word 'folk' is a common Germanic word and a related Slavic word is 'pluk' (regiment). If we consider Grimm's law of Germanic languages (IE p changes to Germanic f), 'polak' could be related, but I can't find anything that would support it. BUT...

The problem is that the root of 'folk' is just 'folk' itself (Germanic fulka) and the root of polka is just 'pol', whilst the 'k' comes from the suffix. The Polish tribe that gave name to Poles and Poland is called Polanie in Polish. So probably not.

There is one more possible etymology - 'polka' also means 'half' in Slovak and půlka in Czech (what is the meter of polka?Smile). But it probably has nothing to do with people, folk. A folk song is called 'ľudovka' in Slovak, 'lidovka' in Czech (lidová píseň in fact, I'm not sure if they use the short form), 'ludowka' in Polish (muzyka ludowa).

Sorry for this little linguistic postBig%20smileCheers
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