We are all human beings, and our nationality is simply an accident of birth.
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
There are dances that have elements in common, even though they are from different countries. Alunelul from (Romania) is a very popular children's dance.. Here the grown-ups have taken over. Video #1 includes instruction and a translation of the lyrics. This version is instrumental; for the vocal check out Video #2.
Vocal version with sing-along lyrics:
Video #3 is Podaraki, a dance from Greece with similar steps. The music sounds more like something from Bulgarian Dobrudja than Greece. Must be the accordion and the stamping.
I do love brash pop music. It's fun.
Romey Madley Croft
I never knew of the Eurovision Song Contest until I moved to Germany. My friends had everyone over to watch the show, which took place Saturday night in early May. It was a social event, something like the Super Bowl here in the States. We ate, drank and critiqued the songs. I remember it as a mix of mostly sappy love songs with a few humorous ones thrown into the mix.
Songs in a foreign language don't tend to go over well in the States, with few exceptions because people don't understand the lyrics. In Europe, children in elementary school learn at least one foreign language so they grow up multilingual. In the United States, young people don't usually learn a second language until high school.
Today's theme is the use of Balkan folklore in Eurovision. The theme for the year 2017 was "Celebrating Diversity." I didn't find any good songs for 2017, but here are some from years past with a strong folklore flavor.
Video #1 is the Bulgarian entry for 2013, Samo Shampioni(Only Champions) by Elitsa and Stoyan. Back in 2007 they had made it to fifth place with the song Voda (Water).
There are several folklore elements: the gaida player with the mask, the three women in the background with elaborate embroidered costumes, and Elitsa singing in the style of the Shope region.
This song placed 12th in the semi-finals; why I don't know. I give it a "thumbs up" for energetic performance (at one point it looked like a duel of the drums) and the use of Bulgarian folk motifs.
The Serbian entry for 2010 features brass band music, very popular in Serbia.
Ovo je Balkan (this is Balkan) is the name of the song. I detected a kolo rhythm at 1:14 and several times throughout the song. This is a dynamic performance, a bit crazy and fun to watch. You wouldn't know it from watching the performers, but this is a sexy love song. It finished 13th in the finals.
Video #3 is the Eurovision entry from 2013: Alcohol is Free, from Greece. During the intro, one of the musicians plays a tiny stringed instrument (tambouras), then all hell breaks loose after the drums and the trumpet play (at 0:41).
I found the lyrics in English translation (something always gets lost in translation) and what I got from them was a song about drunken sailors on a sea of whiskey (why not ouzo?) I give them points for a dynamic and fun presentation with the presence of Greek folklore. The band's name is Koza Mostra (a play on Cosa Nostra, maybe?) This is definitely not a love song!
The song placed 6th in the finals.
The Croatian entry for Eurovision 2006 was Moja štikla, (My High Heel) The dancing reminded me of the Greek Pentozali, the choral singing is pure Croatian.harmony.
The singer, Severina, really stands out in her red dress (she tosses it at 2:20) and her passionate performance, along with her backup (wearing folk costumes) was a pleasure to watch.
This song placed 12th in the finals. Maybe the judges and the audience just don't appreciate folklore and pop culture as much as I do.
The reason for that is that it's a blend of multiple cultures, and uses motifs from Greek, Turkish, Roma (Gypsy) and Bulgarian folk music to create a distinctly Macedonian sound, which is almost, but not quite, Middle Eastern. Macedonia was under Turkish rule from the 1400's until 1912.
One of my favorite folk ensembles is Tanec, from the Macedonian capital of Skopje. In this video, a musician plays the zurna (at 6.13) a double reed instrument which looks like a wooden horn with finger holes. It has a loud and piercing sound, and was used in Ottoman military bands (presumably for war dances and to intimidate enemies). Notice the "skirts" on the men (these are similar to the Greek folk costumes, and can be compared to the kilts worn by men in Scotland).
More information on male folk dress in the Balkans can be found here:
Some Macedonian folk music and dances are similar to Bulgarian and there is a bit of overlap in the border region of southwestern Bulgaria, Blagoevgrad Province, also known as Pirin Macedonia.
The languages of the two countries are very similar (much like the speakers of Spanish and Italian, they can understand each other), and both countries use the Cyrillic alphabet.
Here Tanec performs music from the Pirin region. The second song, Snoshti E Dobra, (at 1:45) is popular in Bulgaria, too.
Here is the same song performed by the Pirin Ensemble of Blagoevgrad.
In the next video, the Pirin Ensemble performs a very beautiful folk song: Glasat Na Pirina (Voice of Pirin). Pirin is a derivation of Perun, who is the Slavic god of thunder and lightning, and is also the name of the mountain range in this part of Bulgaria (remember, lightning always hits the tallest objects!)
There are several countries which include the name of Macedonia as part of their territory. Although I don't want to get too much into politics (and start World War III), there is a lot of contention regarding the use of the name "Macedonia". Back in the days before political borders, Macedonia included territory now in Bulgaria, Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. The area now in Greece is Aegean Macedonia, and the next video is a sample of the folk music of that region.
The Greek Macedonians and the Slavic Macedonians don't always get along, which is something I don't understand. But unfortunately the Balkans have always been a hotbed for ethnic tensions, even in modern times, and these disputes sometimes get played out on YouTube, which is why comments have been disabled on many Macedonian folk music videos.
As for me, I enjoy the music, and think that people should set aside their differences and get along.
If you enjoyed this you may also like Ten Reasons Why You Should Read My Blog
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!
