Beethoven With a Bulgarian Accent; Mozart goes Greek

Freude, schoener Goetterfunken, ,
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum.
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Was der Mode Schwert geteilt
Bettler werden Fuerstenbrueder
Wo dein sanfter Fluegel weilt.

Friedrich Schiller, An Die Freude, first stanza
used by Ludwig Van Beethoven in the last movement of his Symphony #9 in D minor

About a year and half ago I wrote a post on classical composers inspired by Balkan folk music.  Today you will hear the opposite: Balkan folk music with allusions to Beethoven and Mozart.

The first video is the music for the Bulgarian folk dance Opas, played by the Orchester Sabor at a performance in Trier, in Germany.

By the way Trier is a very lovely city.  I have been there many times to shop, visit the Roman ruins, the museums, and drink wine.  The best known structure is the Porta Nigra (Black Gate) which has stood over the city for over 2000 years.  Also, you can see the remains of what were Roman baths. The Roman bridge over the Mosel River carries traffic to this day. There is even a house where Karl Marx once lived; it is now a museum.

Porta Nigra in Trier, by KDB

What makes this version of Opas unique is that the band uses a bit of Beethoven's Ode to Joy from the 9th Symphony. It has a unique sound played on the gaida and the accordion (violins are more typical symphony orchestra instruments.)  The Beethoven starts at 2:58, but the whole piece is worth a listen.    You can even dance to it (looks like the gaida player wants to give it a try, but I imagine it's difficult to dance and play a bagpipe at the same time).



The next piece is a Hasapiko, which during the Middle Ages was the dance of the Greek Butchers' Guild.  There are many versions of Hasapiko done to different tunes.

This one is based on  Mozart's Symphony #40 in G minor, first movement, and sung in Greek.  I have no idea what the words mean, if someone could post a translation in the "comments" section, it would be much appreciated!

The group is from Hong Kong. If you're a regular here you know that Balkan folk dance is very popular in China!



If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Classical Composers Inspired by Balkan Folk Dances

Two Variations on a Bulgarian Folk Dance: Opas

Allusions, Musically Speaking

Classical Musicians Play Folk Music from Bulgaria and Romania



This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Why We Like to Dance: Informal Folk Dance Groups from Around the World

I like to think dance is an international language that all people can appreciate. Paul Taylor

Today's post will feature popular Balkan folk dances performed by informal groups from around the world. Folk dancing is lots of fun and has numerous benefits: you make new friends, it activates new pathways in the brain and it provides plenty of aerobic exercise. Nothing like spending an evening of getting high on endorphins!

The first group is from the United States, KoloKoalition. They have many videos posted on the Universe of YouTube; their specialty is intermediate and advanced line dances from the Balkans. This cute little number is Prekid Kolo from Serbia accompanied by live music. Dancing to live music can be a little tricky, since the musicians will play something slightly different than the recordings.



You will recognize this "Bonding Folkdance Class" from China, especially if you read The Alien Diaries regularly. This dance is Berovka, from the Republic of Macedonia.



The Dunav group from Israel has been featured on this blog numerous times. Joc Batrinesc, a graceful dance from Romania, is popular with my dance group, as well. We do it almost every week.



Vienna may be the land of the waltz, but once in a while they'll try something different, like this dance from Bulgaria, Sadi Moma. The Tanzgruppe Bäckerstrasse also has a social networking site for dancers, Dancilla, which is bilingual (German/English). It features a wide variety of dances from all over the world. If you like folk dances from Germany and Austria, they're the place to visit.

http://dancilla.com/



Balkan music has its fans in Canada. The Burnaby International Folk Dancers of Burnaby, British Columbia do a dance from Albania, Valle e Dardhes.



The Always on Sunday Group dances in Wethersfield, Connecticut, and I go to their dances from time to time because I love their live music events. This video features Kabile, a band from the Thracian region of Bulgaria. I recorded a few numbers from that evening, the rest of the night I spent dancing.

I don't know the name of this piece, but the dance to it is a lesnoto, and it's some of the most beautiful music I've ever heard on this planet.



If you enjoyed this you may also like Folk Ensembles Named After Dances

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2012/01/folk-ensembles-named-after-dances.html

Bulgarian Folk Dance Around the World:

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2012/01/bulgarian-folk-dance-around-world.html

A One of a Kind Club for Folk Dancers:

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2012/02/one-of-kind-club-for-folk-dancers.html

On Ethnic Dance and Exercise
(why it's good to get off the couch and away from that TV)

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2010/12/on-ethnic-dance-and-exericise.html


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

More Odds and Ends from the Universe of YouTube

The unusual, the different and the quirky: I love them all. Especially when it has to do with Balkan folk music.

The first video takes place in New York, about sixty miles north of New York City near a town with the Dutch name of Poughkeepsie. The Dutch were the first Europeans to explore (I refuse to say discover because the natives were there first!) the area surrounding what is now the thriving metropolis of New York City. In 1664, the British took New Amsterdam from the Dutch and renamed it after the Duke of York, they have been speaking English there ever since (plus a couple of hundred other languages.....)

The celebration depicted is the reopening of a bridge, years ago it had originally carried freight trains across the Hudson River; then it was abandoned when the line was no longer profitable. An organization called Walkway Over the Hudson revitalized the bridge, creating a way for pedestrians and bicyclists to cross the river. Next time I'm in upstate New York I have to check out this bridge; it has some pretty amazing views.

The Raya Brass Band from Brooklyn inaugurated the opening of the Poughkeepsie Bridge back in 2009. They led the way with an odd cast of characters: stilt walkers, hoopers, unicyclists and...aliens? The music played by the band is a Romani tune from Bulgaria, Ciganko.



For more about the Walkway Over the Hudson (also known as the Poughkeepsie Bridge):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poughkeepsie_Bridge

The next video was emailed to me by a friend. This is a very large group performing two Macedonian folk dances in the downtown area of Pecs, Hungary. I wonder if this was a flash mob video, not only does everyone know the steps, but it looks like the entire town is there. The second song is one very popular amongst folk dancers, Dimna Juda; the name of the dance is Kopacka.



The translation for Dimna Juda can be found here:

http://www.dunav.org.il/lyrics/kopacka.html

The last video in today's lineup is of twin sisters, the Duo Stoyanova, playing a Bulgarian folk dance, Radomirska Kopanitsa, on classical guitars. The guitar is not native to Bulgaria, and it is usually associated with music from Spain. One of the comments on YouTube mentioned (in Spanish) about how replacing the tambura, a Bulgarian folk instrument, with guitar gave this piece a Spanish accent. These two ladies did a really good job with it.



For more on the Duo Stoyanova, in German, English and Bulgarian click this link:

http://www.duostoyanova.com/

If you enjoyed this you may also like:

Folklore and Pop Culture: Odds and Ends from the Universe of YouTube

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2011/11/bits-and-pieces-more-folklore-and-pop.html

The Tambura in Macedonian, Bulgarian, and Croatian Folk Music

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2012/05/tambura-in-macedonian-bulgarian-and.html


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Allusions, Musically Speaking

Words are illusions.
Bodhidharma

First of all, let's begin with the definition of allusion. Most people confuse allusion with illusion. They are two totally different things, although the quote above states that "words are illusions." If you think about it, have you ever listened to a really good story that was the product of a crazy imagination? Most likely it was illusion and allusion at work.

Literary types would define it as a reference to something else in a written work, usually subtle or implied. An illusion, well, that's an idea that's taken up residence in your imagination, or something that you see when you've had too much to drink :)

Of course, to understand a literary allusion, you have to go back to the item it was originally written about. It's the same with music.

Today's post is about allusions in Balkan folk music. If you listen hard enough you will find them :)

The first video is of Gori More, a dance song which came from Serbia via Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Hidden somewhere in the music is an allusion to another folk song, which leads me to believe the composer knows something about Macedonian folk music. (Hint: it's at 1:38). Listen carefully, because it's short, maybe about 20 seconds.



Now listen to the song Zajko Kokorajko, from Macedonia. The story behind this song is about a rabbit and his surprise bride (the fox who wants to eat him). The dance is Arap.



Berkovksa Duhova Muzika, a brass ensemble from Bulgaria, crosses the line between traditional and modern. They use an allusion to an American pop song in this rendition of their signature piece, Chichovo Horo, a folk dance from northwestern Bulgaria. This time it's up to you to find it. It's somewhere in the middle, and very well woven into the musical fabric.



Here's the original song, a one hit wonder from the 1950's on the original 78 rpm record.



If you are over 50 you probably remember 78's. If you're younger, your grandparents or parents may have a few gathering dust in the basement.

They were big clumsy things, 10 inches in diameter, made from vinyl and played on a turntable with a stylus. The sound came from the needle moving along the grooves as the record turned. You could get about three minutes of music on each side. They skipped when they got scratched, which was often, which is where the expression "you sound like a broken record" came from.

By the way, if you're interested in Tequila, click this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tequila

If you enjoyed this, you may also like Bulgarian Folklore and Pop Culture

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2010/11/bulgarian-folklore-and-pop-culture.html

And if you didn't get enough of pop culture and folklore, here's more:

http://katleyplanetbg.blogspot.com/2011/11/bits-and-pieces-more-folklore-and-pop.html


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.