Country in south-east Europe. Modern Romania corresponds roughly to the Roman province of Dacia (106–271 ce), and its people are of Latin stock. After the withdrawal of the Romans the area was successively overrun by Goths, Huns, Bulgars, Slavs and, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Turks. Romania was formed in 1859 by the unification of Wallachia and Moldavia, to which Transylvania, formerly part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was added in 1918. It became a people’s republic in 1947 and a socialist republic in 1965. An uprising in 1989 led to the establishment of a non-communist administration.
OCTAVIAN COSMA (I), ADRIANA ŞIRLI (II), SPERANTA RADULESCU (III, 1, 3), ANCA GIURCHESCU (III, 2)
There were Greek colonies in Pontus in ancient times, and the whole of present-day Romania was part of Trajan's empire. The area then gained its religious institutions and practices from the Byzantines, and music flourished at the monastery schools of Putna, Neamţ, Suceava, Bucureşti (Bucharest), Tîrgovişte and Curtea de Argeş. Among important musicians were, in the 15th and 16th centuries, the protopsaltes Eustaţie (author of a songbook at Putna dated 1511), Ioasaf and Dometian Vlahul, in the 17th and 18th centuries Filotei Sân Agăi Jipei (whose Psaltichi romănească, with texts in Romanian, dates from 1713), Şărban and Ion Radu Braşoveanul, and in the 19th century Macarie Ieromonahul, Anton Pann, Dimitrie Suceveanu and Ion Popescu-Pasărea.
The influx of Western European music began in the 14th century, with the arrival of organs in Catholic churches in Transylvania and the Banat. The Transylvanian Valentin (or Bálint) Bakfark (1507–76) was a lutenist of international repute and activity. Towards the end of the 16th century Italian music began to be favoured at the court of Karlsberg (Alba Julia), and there were centres of Western music too at Kronstadt (Braşov) and Hermannstadt (Sibiu). Musicians who worked there included Hieronimus, Georg Ostermayer, Gabriel Reilich (?1630–77), Daniel Croner (1656–1740) and Petrus Schimert (1742–85), the last a Bach pupil who was conductor and organist at Hermannstadt. An important early collection of Protestant music is Odea cum harmonis (Kronstadt, 1548); the Catholic tradition too continued. Johann Sartorius (1712–87) and his father, also Johann, were responsible for numerous lieder and cantatas, and instrumental academies began to perform around this time.
Meanwhile the southern and eastern bulk of Romania was under Ottoman rule, and musical life was affected accordingly. Dimitrie Cantemir (1673–1729) was a virtuoso on the tambura, composer of maqāmāt and theorist of Ottoman music.
In the early 19th century, after the withdrawal of the Turks, Romanian composers began to look west, and to create piano pieces based on folk melodies. The musicians concerned included Philipp Caudella, François Rouzischi, Ion A. Wachmann and Karol Miculi, while Alexandru Flechtenmacher wrote works for the theatre. Then in the second half of the century, the Romanian national school entered full strength, buttressed by new institutions and specialist magazines. The Teatrul Italian opened in Bucharest in 1843, and conservatories were founded in Cluj (1825), Iaşi and Bucharest (both 1864). In 1868 Eduard Wachmann established a symphony orchestra in Bucharest, the Societatea Filarmonică, and in 1885 George Stephănescu created the Opera Română, also in the capital. (A similar venture started in Cluj in 1920.)
The composers of this period, all born in the 1840s and 1850s, followed a common practice of using folktunes in works of western European style and genre. Stage works included Alexandru Zissu's opera Magdalena (1861), Ciprian Porumbescu's operetta Crai nou (‘The New Moon’, 1882) and Eduard Caudella's opera Petru Rareş (1889). Stephănescu's Symphony in A (1869) has the distinction of being the first Romanian symphony. Among choral works are Iacob Mureşianu's oratorio Mănăstirea Argeşului (‘The Argeş Monastery’, 1884) and compositions by Gheorghe Dima and Gavriil Musicescu. Constantin Dimitrescu wrote six string quartets.
Thus the ground was laid for the work of George Enescu (1881–1955), who followed his predecessors in such early pieces as his Poema română (1898) and two Rapsodi română (1901) but went on to expand his stylistic range enormously, while continuing to draw on Romanian folk music (for example in his Third Violin Sonata of 1926). His example, and his direct stimulus, contributed enormously to the 20th-century development of Romanian musical life.
During this time Romanian musicians began to exert themselves in many directions. Conductors included George Georgescu, Jonel Perlea and Constantin Silvestri; there were the pianists Dinu Lipatti, Clara Haskil and Valentin Gheorghiu; among singers were Hariclea Darclée (the first Tosca), Traian Grozăvescu and Viorica Ursuleac (the creator of several Strauss roles); and there was a renaissance of Romanian musicology, especially in the study of folksong and old sacred music, spearheaded by Constantin Brăiloiu, T.T. Burada, I.D. Petrescu, George Breazul and M.G. Posluşnicu (and also Bartók in the field of ethnomusicology). In 1913 the Enescu Prize for composition was founded, followed in 1920 by the Society of Romanian Composers, and the appointment of Alfonso Castaldi as composition professor at the Bucharest Conservatory encouraged such younger composers as Ion Nonna Otescu, Alfred Alessandrescu, Filip Lasăr and Marcel Mihalovici.
With Enescu an international figure, the period between the wars was dominated within Romania by a pleiad of composers, all of them drawing on folk music. Sabin Drăgoi was responsible for the psychological music drama Năpasta (‘The Calamity’, 1928) and Marţian Negrea for the opera Marin Pescarul (‘Marin the Fisherman’, 1932), as well as symphonic suites that are descriptive and modal in character. In his ballets La piaţa (‘The Marketplace’) and Intoarcerea din Adâncuri (‘Returning from the Depths’) Mihail Jora brought to life subtle and vibrant characters with a touch of the grotesque and dramatic. Dimitrie Cuclin and Mihail Andricu composed numerous symphonies of traditional form, with a sensitive handling of folk particularities. Lipatti, more famous as a pianist, was also a member of this composing school, his works including the suite Şătrarii (‘The Gypsies’). Theodor Rogalski's music abounds in cariacture, while Paul Constantinescu's oratorios are marked by Byzantine melody. Also important are such other works of Constantinescu as his Sinfonia concertante and musically forward-looking opera O noapte furtunoasă (‘A Stormy Night’). He was Enescu's principal heir.
After World War II the network of institutions grew considerably. All the major urban centres came to have orchestras and opera companies; the audience grew in numbers and sophistication, and growth was prompted at the conservatories in Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca. The Society of Romanian Composers was transformed in 1949 into the Union of Composers and Musicologists, under new leadership and with a new aesthetic programme. Socialist realism was enforced, and many foremost musicians – including Enescu, Perlea, Lipatti and Silvestri – preferred exile. The composers who remained were constrained (Cuclin), marginalized (Jora) or called to account under humiliating circumstances (Andricu). But despite the oppression, new composers joined the ranks, among them Ion Dumitrescu, Sigismund Toduţă, Zeno Vancea, Gheorghe Dumitrescu, Alfred Mendelsohn and Tudor Ciortea.
In the 1960s a younger generation arrived, with a more modernist viewpoint, and some were able to study at Darmstadt. This new wave included Anatol Vieru, Pascal Bentoiu, Teodor Grigoriu, Stefan Niculescu, Tiberiu Olah, Cornel Tăranu, Aurel Stroe, Wilhelm Berger, Adrian Raţiu, Dan Constantinescu, Dumitru Capoianu and Myriam Marbe. Others, such as Liviu Glodeanu, Mihai Moldovan, Dan Corneliu Georgescu, Nicolae Brînduş and Ede Terényi, continued to base their work on folk music. Later composers, coming to maturity under conditions of greater political and aesthetic freedom, include Octavian Nemescu, Costin Miereanu, Adrian Iorgulescu, Călin Ioachimescu, Doina Rotaru, Dan Dediu, Liviu Dănceanu and Adrian Pop.
Musicology has also flourished since 1945, in the work of, among others, Romeo Ghircoiaşiu, George Bălan, Viorel Cosma, Vasile Tomescu, Gheorghe Firca, Tiberiu Alexandru, Emilia Comişel, Gheorghe Ciobanu and Barbu Bucur Sebastian. Prominent performers have included the conductors Sergiu Celibidache, Sergiu Comissiona and Christian Badea, the pianist Radu Lupu, and the singers Ileana Cotrubas and Viorica Cortez. Roman Vlad and Marius Constant are among composers of Romanian origin to have made their careers abroad.
With the coming of capitalist democracy in 1989, Romanian music entered into a new epoch. Composition was not much altered, since ideological bonds had long been relaxed, but institutions had to adapt to new ways, sometimes with difficulties. Nevertheless, there was optimism, as signalled by the foundation of the New Music Week in Bucharest each May.
I.D. Petrescu: Arta artelor sau elemente de istoria musicei (Bucharest, 1872)
T.T. Burada: Istoria teatrului în Moldova (Iaşi, 1915–22)
C. Bobulescu: Lăutarii noştrii (Bucharest, 1922)
M.G. Posluşnicu: Istoria muzicei la Români (Bucharest, 1928)
G. Onciul: Istoria muzicii (Bucharest, 1929–33)
T. Brediceanu: Istoria muzicii româneşti în Transilvania (Bucharest, 1938)
P. Niţulescu: Muzica românească de azi (Bucharest, 1940)
G. Breazul: Patrium Carmen: contribuţii la studiul muzicii româneşti (Craiova, 1941)
S. Mărcuş: Thalia română (Lugoj, 1946)
R. Ghircoiaşiu: Contribuţii la istoria muzicii româneşti (Bucharest, 1963)
A. Benkő: ‘Date privind prezenţa unor instrumente şi instrumentişti în viaţa oraşului Bistriţa din secolul XVI’ [Information on the presence of instruments and performers in the life of Bistriţa in the 16th century], LM, ii (1966), 233
V. Cosma: ‘Archäologische musikalische Funde in Rumänien’, BMw, viii (1966), 3–14, 87–96
V. Cosma: ‘Aspects de la culture musicale sur le territoire de la Roumanie entre le XIVe et le XVIIIe sičcle’, Musica antiqua Europae orientalis I [Bydgoszcz 1966], ed. Z. Lissa (Warsaw, 1966), 403–18
V. Herman: ‘Aspecte şi perspective ale înnoirii limbajului muzical’ [Aspects and perspectives of contemporary musical language], LM, ii (1966), 133
D. Popovici: Muzica corală românească (Bucharest, 1966)
G. Breazul: Pagini din istoria muzicii româneşti (Bucharest, 1966–74)
E. Comişel, ed.: Constantin Brăiloiu: Opere (Bucharest, 1967–74) [in Rom. and Fr.]
V. Cosma: ‘Inceputurile teatrului muzical românesc’ [The beginnings of Romanian musical theatre], Muzica, xvii/3 (1967), 26
R. Ghircoiaşiu: ‘Dezvoltarea creaţiei simfonice româneşti in secolul XIX’ [The development of Romanian symphonic composition in the 19th century], LM, iii (1967), 125
A. Colfescu: ‘Opereta ieri, astăzi şi mîine’ [Light opera, past, present and future], Muzica, xviii/1 (1968), 27–32
M. Jora: Momente muzicale (Bucharest, 1968)
C. Tăranu: ‘Etape post enesciene’ [Post-Enescu trends], LM, iv (1968), 25
F. Zagiba: ‘Musik in Südosteuropa’, NZM, Jg.129 (1968), 34–8
Z. Vancea: Creaţia muzicală românească: secolele XIX–XX [Romanian musical compositions of the 19th and 20th centuries] (Bucharest, 1968–78)
P. Brâncuşi: Istoria muzicii româneşti (Bucharest, 1969)
G. Ciobanu: ‘Les manuscrits musicaux en notation byzantine dans la République populaire roumaine’, Musik des Ostens, v (1969), 23–4
V. Cosma: ‘Cultura muzicală românească în epoca Renaşterii’, Muzica, xix/12 (1969), 29–35
G. Firca: ‘Principes et traits de style communs ŕ la littérature, aux arts plastiques et ŕ la musique pendant la Renaissance roumaine’, Musica antiqua II [Bydgoszcz 1969], ed. J. Wisniowski (Bydgoszcz, 1969), 241–66
V. Bickerich: ‘La musique d'orgue dans notre pays’, Muzica, xx/11 (1970), 40–48 [A history of organ music in Transylvania]
V. Cosma: Muzicieni români: compozitori şi muzicologi (Bucharest, 1970)
C. Ghenea: ‘Documente cu privire la viaţa muzicală de pe teritoriul României în Renaştere’ [Documents concerning musical life in Romanian territory during the Renaissance], Muzica, xx/1 (1970), 14–19
D. Popovici: Muzica românească contemporană (Bucharest, 1970)
G. Bărgăuanu: ‘Educaţia muzicala’, Studii de muzicologie, vii (1971), 175–89
T. Moisescu, ed.: Valori şi tendinţe ale muzicii româneşti, 1921–1971 (Bucharest, 1971)
M. Voicana and others: George Enescu (Bucharest, 1971)
P. Brâncuşi andN. Călinoiu: Muzica în România socialistă (Bucharest, 1973)
O.L. Cosma: Hronicul muzicii româneşti (Bucharest, 1973–91)
V. Tomescu: Histoire des relations musicales entre la France et la Roumanie (Bucharest, 1973–)
T. Alexandru: Muzica populară românească [Romanian folk music] (Bucharest, 1975; Eng. trans., 1980)
G. Ciobanu: Izvoare ale muzicii româneşti [sources of Romanian music] (Bucharest, 1976)
V. Cosma: Două milenii de muzică pe pămîntul României (Bucharest, 1977)
V. Tomescu: Musica Daco-Romana [Music of Romano-Dacia] (Bucharest, 1978–82)
The Romanian’s Dacian ancestors began to convert to Christianity during the first centuries ce through contact with Greek missionaries and after the Roman conquest and occupation. However, it was not until the 14th century that the organization of the Romanian Church (like the state) was complete; its model was the Bulgarian Church, whose own organization reflected that of the Byzantine Empire. Among Orthodox Christians, the Romanians are the only Latin people, but until the end of the 17th century the language of the Romanian Church was Slavonic (Slavonic and Greek alone were regarded as sacred languages); there is no evidence of the use of Romanian in the liturgy before the 17th century, and the language was not officially permitted until 1863.
In the 14th century Romania was divided into three principalities: Transylvania, Wallachia and Moldavia (they were not unified into a single state until 1918). Although Orthodoxy was the state religion of Wallachia and Moldavia, it was merely tolerated in Transylvania, which had been conquered by Hungary. Nevertheless, supported by the Wallachian and, particularly, the Moldavian princes and metropolitans, Transylvanian Orthodoxy survived both Roman Catholic and Reformed proselytizing and came to symbolize national unity. Very little of Romania’s ecclesiastical heritage has survived, however, owing to the appropriation and destruction of monasteries during periods of repression, and a ruling that churches be built entirely of wood. No Romanian Transylvanian musical manuscript from before the 18th century exists.
After the second half of the 16th century, the great impact made by the Reformation on the Saxon population also influenced the Romanians (in particular in Transylvania), stimulating the work that had already begun of translating Slavonic liturgical books, including the oktōēchos (without musical notation), and issuing them in print. Although contact with Wallachia and Moldavia was maintained, the practice of Byzantine chant in Transylvania generally followed oral tradition, which no doubt accounts for the folk influences evident in the music. In Wallachia and Moldavia, Greek and Slav ecclesiastical dignitaries often occupied important positions in the Romanian Church hierarchy, thus allowing direct contact with Constantinople and Mount Athos, the most significant centres of Byzantine chant. Relations became closer after the fall of the Bulgarian and Byzantine Empires, in 1396 and 1453 respectively.
The Romanian Church adopted the Byzantine rite, whose musical repertory, notation and general development it followed closely. The texts of notated musical manuscripts were in Greek and Slavonic, although it is not clear why priority was accorded to one or other of these languages (the practice probably varied from one principality or period to another). In all extant manuscripts up to the 18th century, the Psaltikē technē (music theory) appears in Greek, no doubt more for the sake of pedagogical precision than linguistic exclusivity. After the 1550s Slavonic fell into disuse in government administration, religious literature and historiography alike. This may explain why the first Wallachian liturgical compositions, which date from about 1400, had Slavonic texts, whereas the 16th-century musical manuscripts from the monastic school of Putna in Moldavia show a noticeable preponderance of Greek texts over Slavonic. The introduction of Romanian into the liturgical chants is attested from the second half of the 17th century. Paul of Aleppo, archdeacon to Patriarch Makarios of Antioch, travelled in Moldavia and Wallachia from 1653 to 1658 and remarked on the bilingualism of the antiphonal chants in metropolitan Romanian churches – Greek on the right lectern, Romanian on the left. The evidence of the chants themselves suggests that the path to linguistic emancipation was by no means straightforward.
The earliest Romanian chants are 20 short troparia (called pripela) for Orthros (the morning Office) written in about 1400 by Filotei the Monk, former chancellor to the Wallachian voivode Mircea the Old (1386–1418). They were widely distributed both in the Romanian territories and in the Orthodox Slav countries, for Filotei had written the texts in Slavonic and their melodies in accordance with Byzantine tradition. The texts alone have survived, in 24 manuscripts of the 15th to 17th centuries; the melodies were transmitted orally. However, the most remarkable musical phenomenon of the feudal period was the Putna monastic school, which flourished in the 16th century (see Putna). The manuscripts and original compositions produced in this centre are clear evidence of the high quality of its chants and scriptorium. The names of several copyist-psaltēs and three composers are known, including that of Evstatie, domestikos and protopsaltēs, author of a considerable number of liturgical compositions (see Evstatie of Putna).
Over the following centuries, an increasing number of manuscripts of sacred music testify to the closeness of Romania’s relations with centres of the former Byzantine Empire. Polychronia (acclamations) were dedicated to Romanian princes and metropolitans, and the names of copyists and, above all, composers are documented. Among 17th-century composers Giobascos (Iovascu) the Vlach (fl c1660–c1700) was a pupil of Germanos of New Patras and is mentioned later as protopsaltēs at the Wallachian court. His compositions were obviously popular, since they continued to be copied up to the beginning of the 19th century.
The most significant figure of the 18th century was Filothei Sin Agăi Jipei, hieromonk at the Wallachian court. He was responsible for the first adaptation into Romanian of the chants for the entire liturgical year. His Psaltichie rumânească (‘Romanian psaltikē’) of 1713 gives the melodic versions in use in the Greek Church together with the theory of music in Romanian; some of the author’s own compositions are also included. Several complete and partial copies of this work were made before 1821, in particular for the Romanians of Transylvania. Other musicians, such as Mihalake the Moldo-Vlach, through their translations and compositions, further contributed to new developments in the chant. However, the installation of the Phanariote princes by the Sublime Porte – in Moldavia in 1711 and in Wallachia in 1716 – brought an end to this ‘nationalist’ impulse until 1821.
Towards the middle of the 18th century, Greek and Oriental secular songs began to influence the chant. Liturgical manuscripts from this time reveal the development in style and notation that would culminate in the Chrysanthine reform that began in the early 19th century. This reform was introduced (in Greek) into Romanian territories in 1816 by Petros Ephesios in his school in Bucharest. The first printed books of chant in Chrysanthine notation were the anastasimatarion and doxastarion-triōdion of Petros Peloponnesios (Bucharest, 1820). Through the work of Macarie Ieromonahul (Makarios the Hieromonk, ?1780–1836) and Anton Pann (1796–1854), pupils of Dionysios Photinos and Petros Ephesios, the Romanian translation of the new repertory and music theory was soon to follow, resulting in the adoption of Romanian as the language of the Church throughout the three principalities. The theoretikon, anastasimatarion and heirmologion were printed in Vienna in 1823; other books appeared during the course of the 19th century, some of them in several editions. Dimitrie Suceveanu (1816–98), Gheorghe Ucenescu (1830–96), Ştefanache Popescu (1824–1911) and Ion Popescu-Pasărea (1871–1943), among others, ensured that the tradition continued. At the same time, there was throughout the 19th century intense activity by Romanian copyists (and sometimes composers), notably at Mt Athos, a centre for cultural exchange where the Chrysanthine system was firmly established.
In the 19th century, on the other hand, a new and parallel development took place in liturgical chant (in Moldavia through the influence of Russia, and in Wallachia and Transylvania through that of the West), namely, harmonization. At first this involved the arrangement of existing melodies, but original compositions followed that were inspired by Byzantine and traditional folk tunes. Such music entered the repertory of the metropolitan choirs, but also of the choral societies and associations, which became increasingly numerous and active in towns as well as in rural areas from the 1860s onwards. Chant thus spread beyond the confines of the Church: performed at concerts along with traditional songs, it became an active part of the nationalist cultural movement. The sacred element was also be the inspiration for more complex musical works, including chamber music, oratorios, cantatas and concertos. Among the most representative composers of this tradition were Ioan Cartu, Gavriil Musicescu, Gheorghe Dima, Eusebie Mandicevschi, Ion Vidu, Dumitru Kiriac-Georgescu and Gheorghe Cucu. They were followed in the 20th century by Dimitrie Cuclin, Ioan D. Cirescu, Sabin V. Drăgoi, Nicolae Lungu, Zeno Vancea and Paul Constantinescu, among others.
After 1865, with the introduction into music academies and theological seminaries of harmonized chant and Western notation as a replacement for traditional monophony within the educational repertory, the two systems finally underwent a process of mutual adaptation.
N. Moldoveanu: ‘Les manuscrits musicaux byzantins anciens dans les bibliothčques de Roumanie’, Congrčs d’études byzantines XIV: Bucharest 1971, 551–5
S.P.H. Kodov, ed.: Starob'lgarski muzikalni pametnici [Old Bulgarian musical monuments] (Sofia, 1973)
N. Moldoveanu: ‘Manuscrisele muzicale vechi bizantine din biblioteca palatului patriarhal şi a Sf. Sinod’ [Old Byzantine musical MSS in the patriarchal library of the Holy Synod], Glasul bisericii, xxxiv (1975), 806–12
S. Barbu-Bucur: ‘Manuscrits roumains et bilingues du XVIIIe sičcle, en notation koukouzélienne’, Muzica, xxvii/11 (1977), 39–47
G. Ciobanu, M. Ionescu and T. Moisescu, eds.: Şcoala muzicală de la Putna: manuscrisul 56/544/576 I: antologhion (Bucharest, 1980)
S. Barbu-Bucur, ed.: Filothei sin Agăi Jipei: Psaltichie rumănească, i: Catavasier (Bucharest, 1981); ii: Anastasimatar (Bucharest, 1984); iv: Stihirariul-penticostar (Bucharest, 1992)
G. Ciobanu, M. Ionescu and T. Moisescu, eds.: Şcoala muzicală de la Putna: manuscrisul I–26, Iaşi: antologhion (Bucharest, 1981)
G. Ciobanu, M. Ionescu and T. Moisescu, eds.: şcoala muzicală de la Putna: antologhionul lui Evstatie, protopsaltul Putnei (Bucharest, 1983)
G. Ciobanu, M. Ionescu and T. Moisescu, eds.: Şcoala muzicală de la Putna: manuscrisul 56/544/576 I – P/II: stihirar (Bucharest, 1984)
H. Trebici-Marin, ed.: Anastasimatrul de la Cluj-Napoca (MS. 1106) (Bucharest, 1985)
A. Şirli: Repertoriul tematic şi analitic al manuscriselor psaltice vechi (sec. XIV–XIX), I: Anastasimatarul [Thematic and analytical repertory of old liturgical musical MSS] (Bucharest, 1986)
G. Ciobanu, M. Ionescu and T. Moisescu, eds.: Şcoala muzicală de la Putna: manuscrisul 12/Leipzig: antologhion (Bucharest, 1992)
E. Kałuzniacki: ‘Beiträge zur älteren Geheimnisschrift des Slaven’, Sitzungsberichte der philosophisch-historischen Classe der kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, cii (1893), 287–308
A.I. Jacimirskij: ‘Kirillovsaja notnyia rukopisi s’glagoličeskimi tajnopisnymi zapisjami’ [Cyrillic musical MSS with coded glagolitic marks], Drevnosti: trudi slavjanskoj Kommisii imperatorskago moskovskago arxeologiceskago obščestva, iii (1902), 149–64
R. Pava: ‘Cartea de cîntece a lui Evstatie de la Putna’ [The songbook of Evstatie of Putna], Studii şi materiale de istorie medie, v (1962), 335–47
E. Turdeanu: ‘L’activité littéraire en Moldavie de 1504 ŕ 1552’, Revue des études roumaines, ix–x (1965), 97–142
A.E. Pennington: Music in Medieval Moldavia (Bucharest, 1985)
G. Ciobanu: ‘Şcoala muzicală de la Putna’, Muzica, xvi/9 (1966), 14–20
S. Barbu-Bucur: ‘Naum Râmniceanu’, Studii de muzicologie, vi (1970), 99–133
G. Panţiru: ‘Şcoala muzicală de la Putna, 1: manuscrise muzicale neidentificate; 2: un vechi imn despre Ioan cel Nou de la Suceava’, Studii de muzicologie, vi (1970), 31–67
M. Velimirović: ‘The “Bulgarian” Musical Pieces in Byzantine Musical Manuscripts’, IMSCR XI: Copenhagen 1972, 790–96
S.A. Lazarov: ‘A Few Pages from the History of Bulgarian Music’, Studies in Eastern Chant, iii, ed. M. Velimirović (London, 1973), 98–111
S. Barbu-Bucur: ‘Ioan sin Radului Duma Braşoveanu’, Studii de muzicologie, x (1974), 161–222
G. Ciobanu: ‘Muzica bisericească la români’, Studii de etnomuzicologie şi bizantinologie, i (Bucharest, 1974), 278–86
G. Ciobanu: ‘Les manuscrits de Putna et certains aspects de la civilisation médiévale roumaine’, Revue roumaine d’histoire de l’art: série théâtre, musique, cinéma, xiii (1976), 65–77
G. Ciobanu: ‘Manuscrisele muzicale de la Putna şi problema raporturilor muzicale româno-bulgare în perioada medievală’ [The musical MSS of Putna and the question of Romanian-Bulgarian relations in medieval times], Studii de muzicologie, xii (1976), 98–118
T. Moisescu, ed.: Macarie Ieormonahul: Opere, I: Theoreticon (Bucharest, 1976)
G. Ciobanu: ‘Muzica instrumentală, vocală şi psaltică din secolele XVI–XIX’ [Vocal and instrumental music and music theory of the 18th and 19th centuries] (Bucharest, 1978), 125–236
G. Ciobanu: ‘Pripelele lui Filothei monahul’, Studii de etnomuzicologie şi bizantinologie, ii (Bucharest, 1979), 269–92
S. Barbu-Bucur: ‘Invaţămîntul psaltic pînă la reforma lui Hrisant: şcoli şi propedii [Theoretical teaching up to the Chrysanthine reform: schools and propediai], Biserica ortodoxă română, xcvii (1980), 481–509
D. Conomos: ‘The Monastery of Putna and the Musical Tradition of Moldavia in the Sixteenth Century’, Dumbarton Oaks Papers, xxxvi (1982), 15–28; repr. in A.E. Pennington: Music in Medieval Moldavia (Bucharest, 1985), 221–67
Romania, §III: Traditional music
Music found in Romanian villages at the end of the 20th century is a mixture of traditional songs (both new and old), religious music (Romanian Orthodox or Greek-Catholic), suburban music, popular musics of native and foreign origin, romantic ballads, choral music for schools and children’s songs. The production of these alternates with or overlays the consumption of ‘folkloric’ music: the official version of the authentic article, broadcast by the media. In recent years the unfettered consumption of these diverse forms has prevailed over the production of traditional music.
Production itself is in large part entrusted to professional musicians, the lăutari, the majority of whom are Gypsies. They may be local or may travel from outside the village in order to perform. In everyday life, musical events occur relatively infrequently. Certain events in village life still bring traditional music to the fore. These are nunta (marriage, înmormântarea (burial), botezul (baptism), colindatul (wassailing/carol singing), certain fertility rituals related to the starting and finishing of agricultural work, invocation and prolongation of rain and the changing of the seasons. Participants in these events succumb easily to the atmosphere generated by this music, but its influence is felt only as long as the occasion lasts. These ceremonies have obligatory songs with specific significance, performed in places and at moments which are predetermined. There also exist sets of pieces from which people choose, during the more relaxed moments of the ritual, those they consider more appropriate for the situation.
During mourning and the more important Christian holidays (Easter, Christmas and the days of Sts Peter, Paul and Mary) singing was forbidden (now it is simply not recommended practice). By contrast, during many holidays, even if music and dance are not obligatory, they are still considered the most appropriate employment of the villagers’ time. Dancing to instrumental music is reserved almost exclusively for men. Laments are the preserve of women.
Everyone may sing, but only in certain circumstances, depending on age, gender and marital status. Young boys and men sing in the village streets; the girls in the pastures, in gardens, in wedding processions and among themselves; women at their work and singing lullabies to their children; old people, less often, in the home. People remain aware of the norms of musical performance, even if it inconveniences them. It is expedient to know what is required to maintain good relations with the community and to be a villager worthy of respect.
Romanian traditional music is monodic. The only forms of heterophony used in the 18th and 19th centuries have been the drones of the cimpoi (bagpipe) and the double flute and that resulting accidentally from unison or antiphonic ritual singing. Villagers make use of groups of lăutari. These groups are known as tarafuri (sing. taraf, a small ensemble of musicians, with or without vocalists). The tarafuri fit their melodies into a Western European influenced harmonic backdrop. They have enriched the relatively limited timbral range of Romanian music with instruments imported, via mostly urban channels, from the East and the West, e.g. the violin, cobza (kobsa) and ţambal (zither/dulcimer).
Vocal and instrumental musics are performed separately or in various combinations: e.g. voice with, or alternating with, an instrument (commonly flute or violin); a group of voices (male, female or mixed) and an instrument; and voice or voices with instruments (taraf). Alternation and superimposition are possible, through shared structures for both vocal and instrumental musics. It would be unwise to attempt to quantify vocal in relation to instrumental music. It is evident, however, that in the regions in which traditional music is more seriously affected by urbanization, the performance of vocal music has virtually ceased, while the instrumental forms have continued with much greater vigour. Instrumental music has even taken over some of the material previously belonging to vocal music, saving it from extinction. People still use traditional instrument, albeit less often than in the past (see §(iv) below).
The perpetuation of traditional music is greatest in the tarafuri and by the lăutari. Instrumental music appears to have greater persistence, or inertia, despite the fact that vocal music possesses the advantage of being available to all. In certain areas, however, the use of musical instrument is forbidden during significant moments of a ceremony (to do with marriage, death or agriculture). There the rural community takes on the task of resolving the everyday problems of existence through song.
(vii) State-sponsored ‘folkloric’ music.
Romania, §III, 1: Traditional music: General
Romanian music appears to possess features of both Slavonic areas and the Balkans, retaining, however, its own distinct style. In each of the historical provinces of the country – Muntenia, Oltenia, Dobrudja and the Banat in the south, Moldavia and Bukovina in the east and north-east, the central region of Transylvania and Maramureş in the north-west – people fuse elements representative of regional culture with those of a wider, specifically Romanian, character. The common elements (among which the Balkan ones are prevalent) determine the overall stylistic framework and identity of Romanian music.
In present-day traditional music several historical strands co-exist and intermingle. The older elements are somewhat weakened and are less frequently manifest, but they have a distinct coherence and consistency. They are characterized by the use of closely stepped modes, some of which are variable; a narrow melodic range; a limited number of motifs, phrases and movements; and a pronounced variability in the production of melodic figures. New layers of influence have pervaded almost the whole of Romanian traditional music. The music reflects the disintegration of traditional rural communities and the absorption of outside elements resulting from an urban society which is still in a state of flux.
There are strong regional diversities in Romanian music. Each province, region and village exhibits its own stylistic devices, songs and even its own specific genres. This diversification must have happened relatively recently, as the oldest forms (particularly pastoral music and some that pertain to rituals) are more homogeneous. By contrast, regional differences in music of the second half of the 20th century have tended to blur in favour of a new ‘unity’, the result of generalizing stylistic influences, in turn based on a common origin.
Around World War I, Romanians from the southern Danube area, the Aromanians, settled in Muntenia and Dobrudja. They speak their own dialect and practise a music which is in essence Balkan, with characteristic features. For example, the Aromanian fârşiroţi practise a complex vocal polyphony, similar (but not identical) to that used by the peoples deriving from the same cultural area (Albanians, southern Serbs and the Greeks from Ipeiros).
Depending on the function it performs, Romanian music divides into non-occasional and occasional (or ritual) music. These two categories are not clearly delimited. In the majority of situations, a piece of music performs not one function, but a group of functions (in the case of a colind, ‘carol’, its group of functions include expiation, appeasement, exorcism, social bonding or reinforcement and entertainment). One or more of these functions has a dominant role (in this case of expiation, appeasement and exorcism). Functions are grouped in a flexible hierarchy (the ritual functions may or may not be dominant) and are always linked to distinct musical forms, building the essential elements of each genre. A particular song, however, is apt to drift from one genre to another.
Both vocal and instrumental music share a fundamental structure which is trochaic octosyllabic. A trochee is a succession of two beats in which the former is accented, but is not necessarily lengthened (ex.1). A second phrasal system, the hexasyllabic, is produced by a succession of three trochees. In practice, however, this occurs rarely and tends to be absorbed into the octosyllabic structure (ex.2). The octosyllable (as well as the hexasyllable) may be preceded, followed or intersected by syllables of completion and/or by refrains (ex.3). The universal structure of eight beats means that any vocal melody can be transposed to an instrument and any instrumental melody can be ‘vocalized’ (through association with texts).
The metric system of eight beats allows text and melodies to detach from each other and recombine, apparently at the whim of the performer. However, this interchangeability is in inverse proportion to the strength of the link between the melodies and verse and the circumstances of the event; in general, ritual melodies and verse are more firmly connected to each other, while those of the non-occasional class are more ‘detachable’.
Possibly the most active force for change in genres is variability. Like any music of oral tradition, Romanian folk music is not based on written music but on variations and versions of a score in the mind of the performer, a score which he or she reproduces according to an implicit grammar. Romanian variability is manifested through melody, rhythm and timbre (dynamic range and variation of intensity are little used). Generally this variability is most pronounced in the performances of older occasional pieces, often played parlando rubato and more restricted in the case of newer occasional pieces. Variability allows the structural transformation of melodies, even as far as changing genres.
Romania, §III, 1: Traditional music: General
There are two modal systems dominant in Romanian music, both extremely old, possibly with differing origins: the anhemitonic pentatonic and elliptical pentatonic systems (the latter, according to Romanian researchers, came earlier) and an ‘uncertain mode’, with mobile third, fourth and seventh notes.
Anhemitonic pentatony was identified by Brăiloiu, who postulated that it was universally widespread (1973). He identified it as having a final note on the fifth degree (ex.4). Brăiloiu’s theory attracted attention because, in musical practice, the spaces between the two compact trichordal segments are described as being filled with pieni (mobile sounds with fluctuating, sometimes indeterminable pitch).
There are pieces which are based on three or four steps of the anhemitonic pentatonic scale (ex.5). Some of them, however, can make use of the whole pentatonic scale, of the uncertain mode or even of Western major and minor scales. The genres that use the pentatonic system and its variants are: the lyric song, the lament, colind (carol) and other ceremonial songs.
The ‘uncertain mode’ has several mobile steps in the scale (the third, fourth and seventh, sometimes even the sixth and second). Variations of the same melody can bring to the fore a particular mode, or, by contrast, generate modal indeterminacy (ex.6). The uncertain mode lies at the foundation of the doină, a large group of lyric songs, many ritual songs and dance melodies. Conventionally notated with the final note as the second degree, the uncertain mode displays some contact points with the pentatonic scale. In practice, the two systems – pentatonic and modal – succeed each other or mix in one and the same genre or even the same piece of music. Both demonstrate affinities with scales and modes from the entire Balkan region and both have in recent years been forced to undergo modifications to adapt to the accompanying instruments employed in the tarafuri.
Romanian melodies draw on one or other of five rhythmic and metrical systems, which co-exist in a state of mutual influence. Three of them, giusto syllabic, aksak and the children’s rhythm, were defined by Brăiloiu (1973 and 1984). The fourth, parlando rubato, apparently the most complex, has not yet been studied in depth. The last is that of Western European art music.
The giusto syllabic rhythm is founded on a trochee in the proportion 2:1, usually notated as a crotchet and a quaver (ex.7). The giusto syllabic rhythm predominates in carols, other vocal ritual songs and laments (see ex.11). However, it can also be seen in cântec (song), doină, epic song, etc., even if there it is clouded by ornamentation and rubato.
The aksak rhythm (the term, from Turkish, is accredited to Brăiloiu, 1973 and 1984) is of two metrical units, in the ratio 3:2, usually notated as a dotted quaver and a quaver. A musical phrase (vocal or instrumental) strings together four of these elements. Theoretically, these two binary aksak formulae could combine into numerous eight-beat patterns. However, in Romanian traditional music the bichronic aksak formulae are repeatable, which narrows the possibilities for their combination (ex.8). The children’s rhythm is born from a metric scheme of eight units which covers all the metres found in children’s scanning games and dances.
Parlando rubato is an under-researched rhythmic system. It is probably very widepread, like those already mentioned. In Romanian music there are a number of musical pieces whose rubato interpretation is not the result of this distinct rhythmic system but of the relaxation of other rhythmic systems (giusto, aksak and divisionary). Parlando rubato predominates in the doină, lyric song (in local instrumental or vocal variations), declamatory-prose lament, lullaby and the alphorn signal.
Romania, §III, 1: Traditional music: General
The vocal register employed by singers depends on the circumstances. In public singers prefer to sing in a higher register, which is considered more expressive. In more familiar, intimate surroundings people sing at a lower pitch with the implicit reduction of intensity. Preferences have emerged in certain areas for particular vocal modes and styles. For example, in Oaş (in northern Transylvania) the men, as well as the women, sing at a very high pitch, the actual song being preceded by high-pitched shrieks called ţipurituri (‘little screams’). In the outlying districts of Bucharest some lăutari sing with a small, controlled head voice. Others have adopted a vigorous and emphatic style, unusually expressive for Romanian music. In the south and east of Romania – Muntenia, Oltenia, Moldavia and Bukovina – one can find, in a romanianized form, many of the vocal styles employed throughout the Balkans and the Middle East.
The basic genres of non-ocasional music are: the lyric song; doină (or long song); dance melody; counting and scanning (rote recitation) songs for children; the epic song; the dirge or lament; and the lullaby (listed here as a non-occasional genre, it is in reality on the margin between non-occasional and ritual).
The lyric song is characterized by the number of its potential functions: the number and diversity of situations in which it may be performed; the variety of actual forms of performance (vocal, instrumental, vocal-instrumental, soloist or group); the varied ages of its musical forms; and the diversity of poetic motifs of which it makes use. Themes of the lyric song include love, dor (desire, pining, loss), sorrow, alienation and nature.
The musical structure is based on the flexible reiteration of strophes. The strophe contains between two to six different melodic phrase-lines, joined by a pause after the first or second phrase. Older pieces are densely ornamented and evolve freely in terms of rhythm; modern ones are simpler and their rhythms are more precisely measurable. In certain circumstances a lyric song may assume functions which are primarily ritual, at the same time being subject to structural adaptations which move it towards other genres. Its most recent manifestation is the cântec de joc (dance song), a heterogeneous but well-represented category which includes vocal song melodies with a dance rhythm, as well as dance melodies adapted for singing. The lyric song is heard throughout virtually the whole country. However, it is probably a relatively newly developed genre which in the last few centuries has gradually replaced the doină.
The doină is a lyric song, defined musically by its flexible structure, rubato rhythm and dense, complex ornamentation. Brăiloiu termed it the ‘long song’ (inspired by native terminology). The singer repeats the variable length verse, omitting or including phrases at will. These are subject to intense variation of rhythm and melody. As a consequence, in a variation or in different variations of the same doină, the verse is transformed by compression or expansion by structural, rhythmic and melodic modifications. However great these modifications may be the verse may not transgress the strict order of its components (ex.9): the introduction (an ascending arpeggio of some form); the initial section (a recitative of two adjacent notes); the melodic recitative; the final section (melodic recitative based on the tonic). The dominant themes of the doină are love, sorrow and the invocation of nature, even hero-outlaws are occasionally celebrated.
In the past the doină was found throughout Romania. Today it survives in Muntenia, Oltenia and to a lesser extent in Bukovina and the north of Transylvania (Năsăud and Maramureş). In the rest of the country its vestiges have been incorporated into the structure of some lyric songs. Most provinces of Romania preserve only one doină type (two in Muntenia and Oltenia). The verses of the lyric songs of a region were versions and variations of a single melody and were known to all the performers of that region. Differences between regions are those of differences to the basic melodic structure.
The best represented doină extant today is the doină de dragoste (love song) from Muntenia and Oltenia. It is almost exclusively performed by a vocal and instrumental ensemble, by lăutari during wedding festivities. Dragoste develop during the course of collective improvisations, in a ‘dialogue-contest’ between the singers of the taraf, a dialogue encouraged and appreciated by the wedding party.
Children’s scanning songs (counting, incantations, rules of games etc.) have simple melodic lines, often masked by their parlato execution. They come under the children’s rhythmic system outlined by Brăiloiu (1973 and 1984).
Epic song (known as cântec bă trânesc, ‘old person’s song’, or baladă, ‘ballad’) is found throughout the country in two forms, the ‘old’ and the ‘modern’. Old epic song today survives only in Muntenia and Oltenia, performed particularly by lăutari. It is sung at the head table during wedding celebrations, after midnight for the benefit of older dinner guests. It consists of episodes (punctuated by musical interludes), composed from variable length strophes similar to those of the doină. The usual elements of the strophe are the introductory, medial and final forms, the melodic recitative and the recto tono (or parlato) recitative. As little as 30 to 40 years ago the epic song was preceded by an instrumental prelude entitled the taxim and the song itself was interrupted by dance melodies or lyric songs. The epic song texts were usually long, their performance taking several hours. Nowadays the average duration of an epic song is 15 minutes. This reduction is due to the omission of the taxim, the dance melodies and lyric songs and the elimination of some of the episodes of the tale.
The narratives divide roughly into fantastic, heroic and short-story forms. Many of the core themes of the epics are known throughout the Balkan area and even further afield. An epic song which is considered exclusively Romanian is micriţa (the confession-testimony of a shepherd who awaits his own murder, accepts his death and envisages the preparation of his burial in the form of a cosmic, hallucinatory wedding).
The amateur versions of the classic epic song are performed vocally or instrumentally on the same occasions as the lyric songs or the doină. They are shorter, they have rigid structure and omit the parlato recitative. In a given area the relationship between the musical and poetic components of an epic song remains stable over time. The ‘modern’ epic song is the result of the combination of well-known epic verses with the melodies of carols (in Transylvania), the doină (in Muntenia) or other songs (in the rest of the country).
The cântec de leagăn (lullaby) is a genre which possesses its own musical structure: a strophe of two to three simple phrases, performed slowly with a free rhythm, sometimes with verse referring to the falling asleep of the child. At the cradle, however, women often also sing melodies from other genres (lyric song, doină, etc.) which assume the function of a lullaby.
The bocet (lament) is the funeral song performed by women during the first three days following the death of a member of their family. It is performed in the home, at the crossroads, in the courtyard, en route to the cemetery and during the burial. The verse celebrates the deceased, the circumstances of his or her life and death, the relatives gathered around and the journey towards ‘the white world’. The lament is also performed on the occasion of visits to the cemetery and on the days designated by the Orthodox Church for the celebration of the dead (e.g. moşii de vară, ‘the old men of summer’, moşii de iarnă, ‘the old men of winter’, prima zi de Paşte, ‘the first day of Easter’).
There are two forms of lament. The bocet of strophic form is built up from the repetition of two or three (maximum) distinct musical phrases. Its poetic text is improvised in the octosyllabic type, on the basis of a set of pre-existing motifs. This form of lament is found in the whole of Transylvania, the Banat, Oltenia, parts of Muntenia, of Moldavia and of Bukovina. Its melodies are characterized by a sober melodic profile, limited range and giusto syllabic rhythm (ex.10). In most of Transylvania each village has its own strophic bocet melody.
The ‘melopoeic’ (Suliţeanu, 1976) prose or declamatory bocet is constructed from prose phrases, half recited, half sung, strung together into a sonorous construction which lacks predictable form. During its performance the melodies and words submit only haphazardly to the octosyllabic metre-rhythm. The declamatory bocet is met most frequently in Muntenia.
The category of occasional or ritual songs is especially large. It includes those pieces whose significance make their performance obligatory. These can be songs for weddings, burials, the blessing of the new agricultural year (from the ritual, tânjaua), blessing of the harvest (the cununa and drăgaica rituals), invocation of rain (paparuda and caloianul), the driving away of rain, etc.
In terms of their musical structure, ritual songs also divide into ‘old’ and ‘modern’. Old ritual songs are performed monodically, or antiphonically, in a group at precise moments of the ceremony. Their melodies are based on a limited number of scales, simple architecture and giusto syllabic rhythm. Each ritual has its own dedicated song, but generally all of them are related in structure. Of them the most formulaic is the colind (also called colindă, corind), a ritual song for expressing good wishes and the exorcism of evil spirits from village households, performed throughout Romania on Christmas Eve. The colind is sung by groups, either monodically or antiphonally. In the Maramureş (northern Transylvania), it is accompanied by violins, guitars and drums. The colind consists of strophes (which are repeated) which include two to four improvisatory melodic phrases, sometimes extended by the addition of refrains (some of which are long and metrically complex). They adhere strictly to a giusto syllabic rhythm (ex.11).
The wedding displays the greatest range of ritual songs. For example, the cântecul miresei (bride’s song), cântec al ginerelui (groom’s song), cântecul bradului (fir tree’s song), cântecul steagului nupţial (song of the wedding banner), cântecul naşei (godmother’s song), cântecul găinii (hen’s song) and cântecul verzei (cabbage song). These songs display great diversity. In Transylvania some of these songs are performed by groups of women (only rarely by men). In Muntenia, Oltenia, Moldavia and Bukovina nuptial songs have been entrusted exclusively to the lăutari and now bear the imprint of that style.
In the modern ritual songs, obligatory verses become associated with the melodies of other genres: lyric song, dance melodies and laments. In this category there are numerous wedding songs, songs marking the young men’s entry into the army etc. An important addition to the category of ritual songs is that of ritual dance (see §2 below). Among these, the most significant are connected with weddings and căluş (the ritual of renewing the agricultural year, performed in Oltenia and northern Muntenia).
Romania, §III, 1: Traditional music: General
Melodia de joc (‘dance melody’) is today the best represented of all genres. The village dance occurs on Sundays and on saints’ days from the Orthodox and Greek-Catholic calendars, at weddings and at the closing party of most ritual events and family celebrations. Some male participants emit strigături (dance calls), lyric verses recited in octosyllabic metre. The verses of the callers are dance commands, remarks addressed to girls of the village or whatever they please. However, the dance melody can become independent of the choreography of the dance and assume the functions of a lyric song. As such, a melody may then be performed in almost any situation, on the flute, jew's harp, violin or other instrument.
The genre has an impressive number of distinct melodies, the majority being limited to specific regions. These forms fall into a number of metric, rhythmic and choreographic categories, among which the most important are: hora (ex.12); sârba (ex.13); brâu; geampara (or geamparale); purtata; învârtita (ex.14); and fecioresc (see also §2 below).
Romania, §III, 1: Traditional music: General
Romanians make use of many instruments in the production of traditional music. One of the principal distinctions appears to be whether an instrument is local or of non-Romanian origin. This distinction brings to light important differences in repertory and style of interpretation. In general, differences in repertory are connected with older musical forms, while interpretative differences are associated with more modern styles and pieces, or those which have been modernized to include accompaniment.
The bucium (alphorn) is a one- to two-metre conical tube with a bell of varying size (called the tulnic in central Transylvania, trâmbită in Maramureş and Oaş and bucium in Moldavia). The semnal de bucium (alphorn signal) is a rubato recitative, punctuated with notes from the 6th to the 16th harmonic. The signal is usually produced by shepherds for the driving out of evil spirits, driving of sheep out to pasture and their return to the fold, for milking, and to aid the curdling of milk for cheese. In sheep-rearing villages the signal is also used during the funeral ceremony, on the day of burial and the two preceding days, at the home of the deceased and on the road to the cemetery. In central Transylvania the bucium (there called tulnic) is played by women. In some areas, it has been replaced by the bugle or other brass instruments of military origin.
Cimpoi (bagpipe) can have one or two chanters and a variable number of finger-holes. The fluier (flute or whistle), of which there are 17 varieties, may be single or double, transverse or lateral, open both ends or with one end stopped, with five to eight finger-holes, with no finger-holes (the tilincă) and large, small or medium sized (see also Kaval). Other aerophones include the frunză (‘leaf’, pear, plum etc.), solz de peşte (fish scale) and fir de iarbă (blade of grass).
The drâmbă (jew’s harp) is an instrument on the verge of disuse. In Maramureş at the turn of the century it was played especially by women. The buhai is a friction drum whose sounds are obtained by rubbing a hank of horsehair which passes through a perforated membrane. It is used during the Christmas and New Year festivities.
Instruments of Turkish origin used by professional musicians in the south-east of the country include: the zurnă (replaced in the 19th century by the taragot, a straight, single-reed brass instrument); dairea (tambourine); nai (panpipes, in the past practically unknown in rural areas); cobză (ten-string lute of the ’ud family); ţambal (small dulcimer of the santūr family, with two possible stringings, ‘Romanian’ and ‘Hungarian’); and tobă mare (large drum) also called the dob, in place of which the lăutari now use the Western bass drum and/or various other medium-sized drums.
Other
instruments of non-Romanian origin came from Western Europe. The vioară
(violin), sometimes modified, is bought in urban centres or built by local
craftsmen. Variations include: the violin without resonating body, which is
replaced by a metal horn, used in Bihor (local name higheghe); a very
high-pitched violin from Oaş, with an angular bridge; the five-string
violin from Maramureş-Chioar; and the violin found in southern Moldavia
which uses sympathetic resonating strings. The viola (usually ‘prepared’ and
played with a short, thick bow) and the cello and double bass (both called the gordon
in Transylvania, also made by local craftsmen) are also widespread. The
accordion with chromatic keyboard type is found, as are the clarinet in B
and E (the latter was used in the past in
folk brass bands). The most recent Western instruments to have been adopted are
the trumpet, flugelhorn, tuba and guitar (acoustic and electric), various
drums, cymbals and electronic keyboards.
New instruments are constantly being created through the ‘improvement’ of extant models or their remodelling during repair: in recent years, for example, the buhai, worked by a crank instead of friction, a set of whistles arranged in a circle all blown with the same breath and a drâmbă (jew’s harp) with several tines and a form of resonator.
Romania, §III, 1: Traditional music: General
The Romanian vocal-instrumental music known as taraf originated in the courts of boyars and princes, at wayside inns and in towns, probably towards the end of the Middle Ages. In Muntenia and Moldavia taraf music was the preserve (although not exclusively) of Gypsy musicians. In villages they appropriated the music of the locals and began performing for village dances (hore), weddings and other celebrations (see §3 below). Two to eight instruments go to make a taraf, among which are: the violin, clarinet, cobza (kobsa, lute), ţambal mic (small dulcimer, in Muntenia and Moldavia), a second violin and viola (Translyvania), guitar (Oltenia and Maramureş), drum (Bihor, Banat and Moldavia), double bass (most regions) and in more recent times the accordion, electric guitar of various types and the electric organ. In Muntenia, Oltenia and Moldavia one or more of the lăutari in the taraf (in any event at least the leader, called the primaş) is at the same time the vocal soloist of the group.
The predominant genres of the taraf are the cântec (song), doină, melodia de joc (dance melody) and ritual wedding songs (in Muntenia, Oltenia and Moldavia). However, the genres to which they have brought a new brilliance are dance music, the classic epic song and the doină de dragoste (‘love doină’). As villagers have become comfortable with them and have entrusted a large part of their music to the lăutari, the taraf has become today the principal source of music in the Romanian village.
Romania, §III, 1: Traditional music: General
With the installation of the communist regime the Romanian state encouraged the establishment of professional folk ensembles similar to those in the USSR. Through its exponents (party activists, cultural educators and conductors), the state oversaw the ideological orientation of the repertory of these ensembles. Their ‘folk’ style was characterized by rigidity, conformism, ethnic purity, technical perfection and bombast. Their repertory was filled with pieces which were politically ‘inoffensive’, optimistic and exultantly elegiac towards their country and leader. Folkloric music was widely promoted in all media (including festivals and contests with the declared objective of the exaltation of the communist state). The idea simultaneously gained credence that folkloric music was related to traditional music. After the removal of the communist regime, folkloric music did not perish, rather it was put to use in the promotion of certain nationalist causes.
Romania, §III, 1: Traditional music: General
The study of Romanian traditional musical culture began at the turn of the 20th century, through the work of T. Brediceanu, D.G. Kiriac and, most importantly, Béla Bartók. In the 1920s and 30s Constantin Brăiloiu, a student at the Bucharest School of Sociology, laid the foundations of the Society of Composers’ Folklore Archive. This quickly became, with his collection of 15,000 cylinders, one of the largest in the world. He subsequently emerged as the leading light of the modern school of folklore. In the West where he settled (1943–58), Brăiloiu continued to conduct systematic and monographic studies which established him at the forefront of European ethnomusicology. Some of his contemporaries and students, remaining in Romania – G. Breazul, I. Cocişiu, P. Carp, T. Alexandru and E. Comişel – number among the founders of the Institute of Ethnography and Folklore in Bucharest, which took over and extended the archives of the Society of Composers. The principal activities of the Romanian folklore school have been monographs, the classification of genres (undertaken in the series Colecţia Naţională de Folklor), organology (T. Alexandru), case studies and the attempted synthesis of regional styles. The Romanian school has distinguished itself particularly for the thoroughness and pertinence of its fieldwork and its use of musical notation. The newer generation of researchers – M. Kahane, G. Suliţeanu, Anca Giurchescu, C.D. Georgescu and S. Rădulescu – have transformed the field of music folklore into modern ethnomusicology. Important ethnomusicological studies have also been carried out in Romania by A. Lloyd (UK), A. Briegleb-Schuursma, M. Beissinger, R. Garfias (USA), and J. Bouët and B. Lortat-Jacob (France).
Romania, §III: Traditional music
Romanian dance traditions combine group formations, existent in south Romania and the Balkans with the couple dances historically associated with Central Europe, which are predominant in Transylvania. The dance repertory is almost exclusively instrumental, unlike that of the Balkans where song-dances are still common. The few women's song-dances found in central and northern Transylvania are related to Central European traditions. The main round and chain dance categories are hora, sârba and brâu, each comprised of many types, historically and geographically differentiated. The common hora is performed by men and women, holding hands in a mixed circle, which serves ritual functions at weddings, funerals and căluş. Sârba is a shoulder holding chain dance with a tripodic movement pattern (ex.1 Sârba). The brâu, originally a men's dance of the Carpathian area, is characterized by a great variety of syncopated movement patterns.
The Men's group of jumping dances is an important category comprised of: the shepherds' group dances characterized by stamping steps and heel clicks; leaping dances over sticks (hat, bottle, etc.), which also exists elsewhere in Europe; the particularly energetic and difficult stick dances of the ritual căluş; and fecioreşte (‘lads’’ dances) of central and south Transylvania, derived from central-east European dances, and characterized by slapping various parts of the legs in a moderate or fast tempo.
The couple dance category is comprised of: the double column ardeleana of north-west Transylvania; purtata, a circular promenade of central and east Transylvania; and the widespread învârtita which combines, in an improvised succession, turning sequences, pirouettes, stamping and slapping movements in syncopated or asymmetric rhythms. Solo dances are primarily represented by zoomorphic and anthropomorphic masked dances performed at New Year.
In southern Romania the village repertory is comprised of some 25 dances, which can be reduced, however, to a few types. Conversely, in Transylvania and Banat three to six dances of the local repertory can represent as many different types. During an event these dances are fused in fixed suites based on historical, social and/or compositional criteria. The relationship between dance and music is primarily of a rhythmic nature. The duple rhythm and syncopation are characteristic of Romanian traditions. The aksak rhythms 3 + 2 + 2 or 4 + 3 + 3 may be indigenous and occur in the brâu of Banat and învârtita. Other asymmetric rhythms such as 2 + 3 (rustem), 2 + 2 + 3 (geampara), and 1 + 1 + 1 + 2 (şchioapa) common in the Danube Valley, are of Balkan origin. They tend to be progressively transformed into ordinary duple and triple rhythms. The simultaneous occurrence of different rhythmic patterns of movement, of the music and of the rhythmically versified shouts, create an exciting polyrhythm. In Transylvania and north Moldavia, dancing is accompanied by shouted or chanted verses (Maramureş, Oaş, Crişana). Some are commands or incitements to dance, others, often improvised, have poetic content.
The relationship between melody and dance is less consistent. Thus a large number of different melodies may accompany one dance type, while one single melody may be played for several dance types. Predominantly dances of the Danube Valley are characterized by non concordant or semi-concordant relationship between the dance and the structural units of the music.
Although village dancing has gradually lost its periodicity it is still much alive in Romania, especially at weddings and on important holidays. The dance tradition is in a constant process of transformation: repertories are reduced and mixed with modern ballroom dances, group formations tend to split in couples, subtle movements and rhythms are simplified while the tempo speeds up. Increased mass media communication and numerous festivals contribute to progressively merge the specific traits of regional styles, and to transform native performers into consumers of staged spectacles.
Romania, §III: Traditional music
The first evidence of Gypsies in Romania dates from the 14th century when Gypsies were either nomadic or serfs belonging to monasteries, nobility or princes. As serfs they were also the servants of horsekeepers, blacksmiths, shoemakers, cooks, brickmakers and later court musicians. During the period of the 1848 revolution, Gypsies were given their freedom and received property on the outskirts of villages. As a result Gypsy settlements and districts began to appear. At approximately the same time, other members of the nomadic population were ordered to settle down in a fixed place and adopt the life style of the majority of the population. During this process of change, many Gypsies began to lose the ability to speak Romany, their own language. In the cities, Gypsy musicians were engaged by meterhanele, court orchestras, or offered their musical services to inns and small businesses. During the 17th century professional guilds began and by the 19th century, musically gifted Gypsies were recruited into the first Romanian symphony orchestras.
In a more urban environment, Gypsy musicians began to assume the role of professionals providing music by singing and playing instruments, either individually or in taraf bands (see §II, I(vi) below), at weddings, christenings, village dances, other celebrations and ceremonies. A result of this professionalization was the gradual replacement of the monodic instruments specific to rural agrarian and pastoral culture by instruments of Western and Eastern origin acquired in urban centres leading to the development of harmonic accompaniment with a tonal structure.
Little is known about the private music that both nomadic and sedentary Gypsies make only for themselves: in particular domestic and everyday music has not been studied. In contrast the music performed for Romanian, Hungarian and Jewish communities, which has been adopted to a great extent as the main repertory has been well researched. Many scholars have suggested that Gypsies bring to this public music in which their own distinctive style is strongly evident, at other times less so, depending on the practices of the respective communities. For Romanians, Gypsy lautari (fiddlers) play ritual wedding songs, lyric songs, doina (adapted to their own use with, on occasion, lyrics translated into their own language), dance music, marches, romantic songs and light music. Gypsies are fond of epic songs, and their creativity and mastery in interpreting this genre is considered unrivalled. At the funerals of young people or musicians (whether Romanian or Gypsy), lautari from Transylvania will play a special cintari mortesti (a slow piece with funereal verses).
At their own parties, Gypsies usually perform the same types of music as in public. These pieces are interpreted in a tiganesti (Gypsy) manner, possibly with verses sung in Romany (usually translated from Romanian), distinguished by a sensuality underlined at times by a style of grandiloquence with rhythmic incisiveness. At the same time as Lortat-Jacob has pointed out, it is difficult to make a clear distinction between Romanian (Hungarian, Jewish etc.) and Gypsy music (1994). Lautari have what appear to be two contradictory characteristics: they happily absorb musical innovations (including instruments, melodies and styles), while at the same time conserving older traditional pieces from the older stratas of the tradition. While these characteristics have been attributed to their Gypsy origins, they are qualities observed by professional musicians in most oral music traditions.
Gypsies form a minority of the Romanian population: the 1991 census statistics reported 400,000 people acknowledging a Gypsy heritage. While the actual number of Gypsies is certainly greater, according to Romanian demographers it is far below the estimated figure of 3,000,000 indicated in some Western reports.
While for the most part Gypsies are often regarded with suspicion and even looked upon as inferior, the lautari are an exception: considered as the tigani de matase (‘silk Gypsies’), such status enables them to gain more acceptance, and they are treated with consideration and friendliness in proportion to their professional standing and degree of social integration.
At the beginning of the 21st century Gypsies are more widely encouraged to express their identity. In this climate, the lautari have begun to learn and re-learn Romany, to compose songs with Gypsy verses in Romany, and to redefine their own particular musical style. Within this process they have shown their strong eclectic and synthetic tendencies, exhibiting a preference for musical elements whose origins lie in the Balkans, the Middle East and the eastern Mediterranean region.
Romania, §III: Traditional music
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I. Cosisiu: Cântece populare românesti [Romanian lyric songs], ed. T. Alexandru and M. Siminel-Fusteri (Bucharest, 1963)
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E. Comişel: Folclor muzical (Bucharest, 1967)
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C.D. Georgescu: ‘Dialogue: revue d'etudes roumaines et des traditions orales méditéranéennes’, Musique tsigane et paysanne, ed. J. Bouët (Montpellier, 1984), 12–13
S. Rădulescu: Taraful şi acompaniamentu armonic în muzica de joc [The folk ensemble and the accompaniment of dance tunes (Bucharest, 1984) [Eng. Summary]
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M. Kahane and L. Georgescu: Cantecul zorilol si bradului, tipologie muzicala [The day break and fire song, a musical typology] (Bucharest, 1988) [Eng. summary]
A. Giurchescu: ‘The Dance Discourse, Dance Suites and Dance Cycles of Romania and some other European Dance Cultures’, ed. R. Lange, Dance Studies, xiv (1990), 47–63
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B. Bartók: Volksmusik der Rumänen von Maramures (Munich, 1923); repr. in B. Bartók: Ethnomusikologische Schriften: Faksimile Nachdrucke, ii, ed. D. Dille (Budapest, 1966), and in B. Bartók: Rumanian Folk Music, v, ed. B. Suchoff (The Hague, 1975)
C. Brăiloiu: ‘Despre bocetul de la Drăgus (Jud. Făgăras)’ [On the lament in the village of Drăguş (Făgăraš district], ‘Note sur la plainte funčbre du village de Drăgus (district de Făgăras’, Arhiva pentru ştiinţa şI reformă socială, x (1932),
B. Bartók: ‘Melodien der rumänischen Colinde (Weihnachtslieder)’ (Vienna, 1935); repr. in B. Bartók, Ethnomusikologische Schriften, Faksimile Nachdrucke, ed. D. Dille (Budapest, 1968); B. Bartók: Rumanian Folk Music, iv, ed. B. Suchoff (The Hague, 1975)
B. Bartók: Scrieri mărunte despre muzica populară românească [Some short writings about Romanian folk music], ed. C. Brăiloiu (Bucharest, 1937)
C. Brăiloiu: Bocete din Oas [Laments from Oas County] (Bucharest, 1938)
M. Friedwagner: Rumänische Volkslieder aus der Bukowina (Würtburg, 1940)
O. Bîrlea: ‘Conservatorul de lăutari din Rociu’ [The popular conservatory of the village of Rociu], Dîmbrovnicul, o plasă din judeţul Arges (Bucharest, 1942), 61–7
E. Comişel and others: Antologie folçlorică din ţinutul Pădurenilor (Hunedoara) [Folk music anthology of Pădureni County] (Bucharest, 1959)
C. Brăiloiu: Vie musicale d'un village: recherches sur le répertoire de Drăgus (Roumanie) 1929–1932 (Paris, 1960)
P. Carp and A. Amzulescu: Cîntece şi jocuri din Muscel [Songs and dance tunes from Muscel County] (Bucharest, 1964)
P. Bentoiu: ‘Câteva aspecte ale armoniei în muzica populară din Ardeal’ [Some aspects of harmony in Transylvanian folk music], Studii de muzicologie, i (Bucharest, 1965), 147–214
B. Bartók: Rumanian Folk Music, i–v, ed. B. Suchoff (The Hague, 1967–76)
C.D. Georgescu: Melodii de joc din Oltenia [Dance-tunes from Oltenia] (Bucharest, 1968)
G. Ciobanu: Studii de etnomuzicologie şi bizantinologie (Bucharest, 1974)
G. Suliţeanu: Muzica dansurilor populare din Muscel–Arges [Music of the folk dances from Muscel–Arges County] (Bucharest, 1976)
I. Szenik: ‘Aspecte bilingve în bocetul din Câmpia Transilvaniei’ [Bilingual aspects of the lament of the Transylvanian plain], Samus, ii (1978), 173–8
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T. Jurjovan: Folclor muzical românesc din Ovcea (Ovcea, 1983)
N. Frecile: Vokalni muzicki folclor Srba I Rumuna u Vojvodini [Vocal folk music of the Serbians and Romanians from Voivodina County] (Novi Sad, 1987)
J. Bouët: ‘Elasticité de la forme et renouellement musique de danse pour violin, pays de l'Oach (Roumanie)’, Improvisation dans les musiques de tradition orale (Paris, 1987), 221–34
E. Comişel: Studii de etnomuzicologie, i–ii (Bucharest, 1991–2)
Revista de folclor (1956–64)
Revista de etnografie şi folclor (1964–)
C. Bobulescu: Lăutarii noştri, din trecutul lo (Bucharest, 1922)
I. Chelcea: Ţiganii din România [Gypsies from Romania] (Bucharest, 1944)
G. Ciobanu: Lăutari din Clejani [Musicians of Clejani] (Bucharest, 1969)
J. Bouët: ‘Les violinistes et l'exécution violonistique dans le milieu de tradition orale roumain’, Studii de muzicologie, ix (1973),
J. Bouët: ‘Fioritures et accompagnements dans les faubourges et les villages’, Dialogue: revue d'etudes roumaines et des traditions orales méditéranéennes, xii–xiii (1984), 63–80
B. Lortat-Jacob: ‘Le métier de lautar’, Dialogue: revue d'etudes roumaines et des traditions orales méditéranéennes, xii–xiii (1984), 13–31
M.H. Beissinger: The Art of the Lăutar: the Epic Tradition of Romania (New York, 1991)
B. Lortat-Jacob: Musique en fęte: Maroc, Sardaigne, Roumanie (Nanterre, 1994)
C. Juhasz: ‘Chants et musiques tsiganes collectés dans les Balkans’ Etudes tsiganes (1994),
E. Pons: Les Tsiganes en Roumanie: des citovens ŕ part entičre (Paris, 1995)
S. Rădulescu: ‘Gypsy Music Versus the Music of the Others’, Martor, i (1996), 134–45
V. Achim: Ţiganii în istoria României (Bucharest, 1998)
Cîntece bătrineşti (balade) [Songs of olden times (ballads)], Electrecord EPD 1065–6 (1960) [incl. notes in Rom. and Fr. by T. Alexandru and A.A. Amzulescu]
The Traditional Folk Music Band, i–vi, various pfmrs, rec. 1930–84, Electrecord (1982–4) [incl. notes by S. Rădelescu and C. Betea]
Musique et fętes en Roumanie, Le Chant du Monde LDX 4846/47 (1983) [incl. notes in Fr. and Eng. by B. Lortat-Jacob and J. Bouet]
Roumanie: musique des Tsiganes de Valachie, les lăutari de Clejani, Ocora C 559036 (1988) [incl. notes in Eng. and Fr. by L. Aubert]
Roumanie: musique de noces de Valachie [Wedding music from Wallachia], Auvidis CD B6799 (1994) [incl. notes in Eng. and Fr. by S. Rădulescu]
Romanian Gypsy Music, Music of the World CDT–137 (1995) [incl. notes by S. Rădulescu]