If you think of exercise as a 60-minute commitment 3 times a week at the gym, you're missing the point completely. If you think that going on a diet has something to do with nutrition, you don't see the forest through the trees. It is a lifestyle. I know it sounds cliche, but you have to find things you love to do.
Brett Hoeble
Today's post features some Serbian dances that I've done at one time or another. They are fun and fast and get the heart rate going. Who needs aerobics when there's kolo?
The first one is a bouncy little number that is often played early in the evening because it's a relatively easy dance to follow: DivčibarskoKolo. It has something called "ethnic symmetry", which means the same footwork in both directions.
Rokoko Kolo is a hybrid dance from Vojvodina. It's a Serbian dance that sounds Croatian because of the tamburitza music. The accordion is the national instrument of Serbia, but in Vojvodina they are more into tamburitza. The heel clicks are common to Hungarian dances because a sizable Hungarian minority lives in this part of Serbia. Political borders in the Balkans don't always align with cultural ones.
Polomka is a medley of several Vlach dances with lots of stamping. Except for the last figure this dance is fairly easy to follow.
Brass music is popular in Serbia, too. Every year in August there is a festival called Guca where bands all from all over Serbia (and some from outside the country, like Zlatne Uste), compete. This year it was from August 3 to August 9. If you missed it there's always next year.
Here's Polomka as it's done in the "village" of Maribor, in Slovenia:
Today's theme is several variations on tunes with the name Hora Lautareasca.Lautareasca is an adjective which describes folk music from Romania played by groups of Roma (Gypsy) musicians, called "lautari." It comes from lăută, the Romanian word for lute. As you will see (and hear) in the following videos, lautareasca music includes a wide variety of instruments, including brass and woodwinds.
First, let's have a look at the first Hora Lautareasca, performed by the Dunav dancers of Jerusalem in Israel. This was the only version I could find on YouTube with a dance attached to it.
Version two is performed by a brass ensemble very popular in Romania, Fanfare Ciocarlia. My Friday night group does a dance named Coconeasa to this tune; they have it on their master list as a Vlach dance from Bulgaria. The country of origin doesn't matter; music and dance in the Balkans have this thing for crossing borders. I like it very much, and so do the commenters on YouTube. One mentioned that this was so beautiful she would like it played at her funeral. Another described this piece as "music for weddings and funerals."
Here's another brass rendition of Hora Lautareasca. performed by the group Fanfare Transilvania. Transylvania is the region of Romania best known for the infamous vampire, Dracula. He was an actual person (his real name was Vlad Tepes), and had a reputation for impaling his enemies on stakes. Dracula, the vampire, was based on Balkan vampire legends, and was a fictional creation of the Irish author Bram Stoker.
I guess the term "lautari" can also include brass bands as well as traditional instruments. Traditional instruments in Romanian bands include violins, panpipes, cimbalom, and accordion. Some are more traditional than others.
Version four is the one my group dances to on Sunday nights. This one has a number of folk instruments: if you listen carefully, there's a trombone, violin, accordion, and cimbalom. The full name of this piece is Hora Lautareasca Din Dolj. Dolj is a region in southern Romania.
Unfortunately I couldn't find a video of the dance; the music will have to do.
K.D. Brown: Visionary, a photo created with Bulgarian textile cloth
Light in Nature creates the movement of colors.
Robert Delaunay
Today's post was inspired by the Bulgarian National Radio. They had a program recently on color symbolism in Bulgarian folklore several weeks ago and you can find the link here:
Red is mentioned quite often in Bulgarian folk songs, often in connection with wine. A powerful, attention getting, and vibrant color (see photo above), red is the color of fire, passion, wine and blood. I've noticed lots of red in Bulgarian folk costumes as well. It is considered a lucky color.
Rusi Kosi is a song about a blonde who has no comb, and no powder for her white face (by the way, white has several meanings in Bulgarian, and in this case a white face is a beautiful face). She wonders when her mother will find her a man to marry who will buy her the comb and the powder. The girl's name is Elena, and she has to bring the red wine and two red apples. The translation comes from Bulgarian by way of German and it's from the Songbook for Nearsighted People, a compilation of international folk song lyrics by Birgitt Karlson.
The full moon rises, red, orange, and then white in the song Izgryala e Mesechinka while the young woman picks a colorful bouquet in the moonlit garden. This is a modern version of a beautiful Bulgarian folk song played on a gadulka and a guitar, and the lady who plays the gadulka, Hristina Beleva, has a very pretty voice. The dance in the video is a rachenitsa, the national dance of Bulgaria, with the irregular rhythm of 7/8 (apple-apple-pineapple).
The next video is so colorful it will draw you right in. The song is Dunave, Beli Dunave, which means White Danube. Most people associate the Danube with the color blue, maybe because it rhymes so well (in English and in German), however when I actually saw the river, it was a totally different group of colors (more like green, gold, and gray). In the video, however, it looks blue and sometimes white.
I often wondered why there were several Bulgarian folk songs on this topic; until I found out that white can also mean beautiful. White in Bulgarian folklore has a lot of symbolism, according to the Bulgarian National Radio: "the white color also means joy, grandeur and beauty", as well as purity and innocence.
The River of Many Names is also very colorful, and in addition to the aforementioned colors, it can also be white on foggy days. In Oriahovo, where the was video was taken, the performers had to wait two hours for the fog to burn off so they could shoot it. By the way the composer Diko Iliev lived for many years in this town, and the piece Dunavsko Horo composed there. The reason brass music is so popular in northwestern Bulgaria is due to the influence of Diko Iliev.
The dancers wear colorful and elaborate embroidered costumes; this and the brass band music are a treat for the eyes and ears. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the translation for the song, if anyone can tell me where to find it, please post it in the comments section.
The eyes have it in this video, with a very attractive dark-eyed woman who flashes those orbs around while pouring the wine. The singer is Daniel Spasov, who co-hosts a weekly folklore show on Bulgarian television, Ide Nashenskata Muzika, along with Milen Ivanov.
If you enjoyed this you may also like:
The "Flavors" of Bulgarian Rachenitsa (parts 1 and 2)
Part 1: About rachenitsa, the national dance of Bulgaria
Part 2 Masculine, Feminine and Flirty (rachenitsa as a courtship dance)
The River of Many Names (parts 2 and 4) features folk songs and dances from Bulgaria about the Danube. It's a very colorful excursion into the world of Bulgarian folk music.
I'm not certain, but I have a little gypsy blood in me. And my mother always told me that her grandma could give someone the evil eye, and I'd better not cross her because she had some of that blood in her. Mother always believed that she could predict the future, and she had dreams that came true.
Sam Raimi
One of the reasons I'm fascinated with Gypsies (the politically correct name for them is Roma) is that they live a lifestyle outside of mainstream society. Music making, fortune telling, and horse trading were their traditional occupations. They were a wandering people who, unfortunately, experienced discrimination wherever they went.
The Roma were originally from India. They made their way westward, and a sizable population of them live in Eastern Europe. They found they could make a living as musicians, and they were very good at it.
The first video is a really old black and white broadcast from Austrian television (do any of you remember the days when there was no color TV? If you are over 50, you probably do.) This is Esma Redžepova early on in her career, she began performing at the age of 14. The song is Romano Horo from the album Songs of A Macedonian Gypsy: (yes, despite the political incorrectness of this word, she is very proud of her heritage, calls herself the Queen of the Gypsies, and has been very much involved in humanitarian work in her homeland, Macedonia).
The second video took place in 2002. Esma has an enormously powerful stage presence and a very big voice! Her co-star is Toše Proeski, who was a very popular Macedonian singer and a superstar in his own right. His repetoire consisted of love songs, folk songs and pop music. Unfortunately he died much too soon; in a car crash five years ago. Check him out on You Tube, he was quite the performer. He knew how to work his audience, and the two combined are pure energy.
for more on Toše Proeski and Esma Redžepova click:
If you've been following this blog regularly you'll recognize Daniel Spasov, who was featured on The Alien Diaries about a month ago. The next two videos are from the album Ide Duhovata Muzika (Here Comes the Brass Band). Brass music is very popular all over the Balkans, and many of the musicians who play in these ensembles are of Roma origin. The song, Ciganko, is about a man in love with a gypsy girl.
This video caught my attention because of the colorful costumes and how the well the symbol for the Roma people (an Indian chakra resembling a wagon wheel) was cleverly worked in here (check out the wagon wheels). They are having quite the party here along the Danube, River of Many Names. The song is Eh, Ti Druzhe. Unfortunately the very end of the song was cut off, but this is still worth a look.
If you enjoyed this, you may also like:
People Are Afraid of What They Know Little About (about the situation of the Roma in Eastern Europe, along with some music).
If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water.
Loren Eiseley
To live is to be musical, starting with the blood dancing in your veins. Everything living has a rhythm. Do you feel your music? ―
Michael Jackson
World Water Day is tomorrow, so this post will be about Bulgarian folk songs related to a body of water, the Danube, the river which forms the boundary between Bulgaria and Romania.
For information on World Water Day, click on the following link:
There is definitely something a little bit magic about the Danube, the River of Many Names. Judging from the number of songs and instrumental pieces written about this river, it is an important source of inspiration for musicians (as well as artists in general).
Today's post features two Bulgarian folk songs that I found during one of my forays in the Universe of YouTube.
The first song (and dance) is a lively, feel-good piece from northern Bulgaria, accompanied by a brass ensemble, and sung by Ilian Mihov. Brass music is very popular in this part of Bulgaria (composer Diko Iliev was also a native of this region and he wrote some very well-known pieces for brass, the most well-known being Dunavsko Horo.)
According to a review I read (via translation) on signal.bg, this performance took place in Oryahovo, a town where Diko Iliev lived for many years and where he found the inspiration for Dunavsko. Here's a excerpt from the website. A little is lost in translation, but not much.
Video for Dunave is realized in Oryahovo and it involved local dance group "Spring" community center "Hope 1871" and the brass band from Lovech - birthplace of the singer. Much fog proved an obstacle to the pictures, but the participants patiently waited for 2 hours. The picture completely meets the elevated mood of the song. The presence of different age participants passing ships, fishermen and boatmen, visually complement the song.......
Dunave is entirely a piece of copyright Ilian Mihov the rhythm of the White Rose.(note: the song White Rose бяла роза is a popular Bulgarian pop-folk song, in the rhythm of the dance Devetorka). Song is a typical sound of the Danube region. Idea of text are pleasant feelings and childhood memories near the majestic river and its strong attraction. "I think the Danube is our river and we have to sing, like all peoples who live along it. tried to make contemporary Bulgarian song in the spirit of folk music that is respectful to the population of the Danube region, which I think the authors are obligors. I hope it becomes part of the celebrations of the people and the dance attracts young and old....."
Anyway, this video is a delight to watch with the scenery, the music (the band is very good!), and the dancers in colorful folk costumes. By the way, the dance is a Devetorka, very popular in the Balkans, with an odd time signature, 9/8.
If you're interested in complex Balkan and Middle Eastern rhythms, check out this website.
The next song, Dunave, Beli Dunave caught my attention because it's also in an asymmetric rhythm, the Pajduško. By the way there are other Bulgarian folk songs with this title, and you will find them on this blog (see one of the links listed at the end of this post). Pajduško is a dance very popular in the Balkans and has an odd time signature, 5/16. (quick-slow).
I couldn't find a writeup or the lyrics of this song. The title means "White Danube" and from what I've seen on the Internet (as well as personal observations) the Danube is a river of many colors as well as many names. Go figure out this one. I can understand blue, green, gold or even gray, but white? If you have an answer for me, please post it in the "comments" section. Inquiring minds want to know :)
Since I understand only a few words of Bulgarian, from what I could gather, this is probably a love song and something in a completely different mood than the previous video. The slideshow is very well put together, and some of the photos look like they were taken during flood season, when Dunav goes wild, destroying everything in its path.
If you enjoyed this you may also like The Travels of Pajduško Horo:
Brass music is a multicultural and multiethnic phenomenon. The reason it's so popular around the world is that it's dynamic and exciting, and it's hard to sit down while listening to it.
Brass orchestras or bands are usually accompanied by a percusssion section, and often woodwinds, such as clarinets and flutes. They play music that makes you get up and move, such as marches and dances, unlike a symphony orchestra, in which the primary purpose of the music is to be listened to in a concert hall.
I grew up with the Latin rhythms of Tito Puente. He popularized salsa and mambo back in the 1960's and 1970's, to the point this music eventually became mainstream. His parents were born in Puerto Rico. Tito Puente himself was a native of New York City and grew up in Spanish Harlem. The world lost a great musician when he died in the year 2000. Check out the brass and percussion in this performance, it's great!
Brass music is very popular in Germany. When I lived there, I couldn't get enough of it, especially at the Munich Oktoberfest. This music is native to Bavaria, in southern Germany, and goes well with beer and pretzels :), the name of the song is The Happy Woodcutters.
After I returned to the States, I took up Balkan dancing. At the place where I danced, the Zlatne Uste Balkan Brass Band did one of their first gigs. Back in the mid-1980's this kind of music was virtually unknown in the States, although it's very popular in Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Romania. Here's a bit of their history from the trailer to their upcoming film: Brasslands: (Note, Brasslands was filmed in Serbia during the summer of 2010, and is scheduled to be released sometime this year.)
This is the first band from the United States to compete at the Guča Festival in Serbia. These New Yorkers have come a long way and Zlatne Uste is known way beyond the borders of the five boroughs. They hold a Golden Festival every January that's become so huge that that they had to move their venue to Brooklyn. The festival lasts for two nights, with bands playing simultaneously on four stages.
The next video is that of a Balkan Brass Band workshop, led by the members of Zlatne Uste. Turn up the volume on this one, it will blow you away!
Diko Iliev, a Bulgarian composer, who lived from 1898-1984, popularized brass music in his homeland. His speciality was marches and folk dances,and his birthday falls on February 15. This piece is a Daichovo, a dance from northern Bulgaria.
For more on Diko Iliev and some of his delightful music, read:
If you love Balkan music and dance you have come to the right place! The Alien Diaries began in February 2010 and is updated at least twice a month.
This blog is dedicated to the memory of my cat Fatso (see avatar), who passed away on April 9, 2011 from congestive heart failure. He was the inspiration for several of my early posts.
Don't forget to check out my second blog, Light and Shadow, for some humor, satire, photos and poetry!
