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Music 63 - Music of the Peoples of the World

Listening list #3: Eastern Europe

Click here for class syllabus.
Track Country/Region Title Instrumentation Notes Performance recorded Timing

I. Instrument examples
1 Bulgaria Example of gadulka Gadulka (3- or 4-string fiddle found throughout Eastern Europe) and voice. This excerpt is from Zhalna goro, zhal mi e za tebe, a piece performed while guests are seated for a wedding feast.
See Music of the Peoples of the World, p. 118 fig. 8.9		 0:55
2 Bulgaria Example of kaval Kaval (a rim-blown notch flute held diagonally from the mouth) This excerpt comes from a piece called Triti Puti.
See Music of the Peoples of the World, p. 117 fig. 8.8		 1:05
3 Bulgaria Example of gaida Gaida (a folk bagpipe common, with different names, throughout rural areas of Eastern Europe) and voice This example comes from a piece called Lichkoljo glaven Lichkojo.
See Music of the Peoples of the World, p. 118 fig. 8.10		 1:16
4 Bulgaria Example of zurna and tupan The zurna loud double-reed with a bell-flare like those in the Middle East or Western Europe in the Middle Ages (shawm). The tupan is a large cylindrical drum. This excerpt comes from a piece called Koinali.
See Music of the Peoples of the World, p. 117 fig. 8.8, left		 1:07
5 Bulgaria Vetar Vee [The Wind Blows] (Example of singing style) 2 voices. This brief duet of women singers is a good example of some distinctive characteristics of Bulgarian singing: a bright, almost harsh tone; improvised polyphony including dissonant seconds; the use of glottal stops and sliding pitches; and the provikvaniya, a yell-like ornament heard at the end of the selection. Translation of lyrics:
The wind blows
and the forest is swaying.
and the forest is swaying.		 0:37
6 Lithuania Example of kankles Kankles (a 5- to 10-string plucked zither, similar to those in many other areas of Eastern Europe) and voice. Kankles are often played in ensembles in the Baltics and Belarus. This example comes from "In the Woods," a folk song arranged for an ensemble of kankles and singer using modern harmonies.

For a similar instrument, see Music of the Peoples of the World, p. 122 fig. 8.13

 0:54
7 Lithuania Example of skudakai Skudakai (a set of end-blown wooden pipes) Often played by an ensemble of 3 to 6 players. Each pipe can play only one note, so melodies have to be formed by precise alternation playing. This excerpt comes from a piece called Grandmother Herds the Billy-Goat. 0:48

II. Hungarian and Romani music
8 Romania Sirba Nuntasilor Gypsy orchestra An example of the "gypsy" style played by urban bands in Eastern Europe.
See Music of the Peoples of the World, p. 113-114, fig. 8.4		 Ion Albesteanu (violin) and his orchestra. 3:13
9 Hungary Harom Magyar Nepdal Folk orchestra, including violins, cimbalom, clarinet, and other instruments A traditional song in a modern arrangement that demonstrates both the parlando-rubato and tempo giusto styles of traditional Hungarian songs.
See Music of the Peoples of the World, p. 114		 Szöllössi Erzsébet (voice), with the folk music group Maros 3:18
10 Hungary Aj ke sostar mange [What is my young life for?] See Music of the Peoples of the World, p. 116 Rézmüves and Balog Families (Hungariton Records) 5:14
11 Hungary Béla Bartók -- Movement 4 from Music for Strings, Percussion, and Celeste (1936) Orchestra Béla Bartók was a leading modern composer of the 20th century and also a pioneering ethnomusicologist. He applied his study of Eastern European music to his art music compositions such as this one. BRT Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Rahbari 8:31

III. Bulgaria
12 Bulgaria Krivo Horo [Crooked Dance] Gadulka, tambura, kaval, gaida, and tupan. See Music of the Peoples of the World, p. 117-118 Bitov orchestra 1:51
13 Bulgaria Dilmano, Dilbero Chorus and folk ensemble See Music of the Peoples of the World, p. 119-120 Koutev National Folk Ensemble (JVC International records) 1:37
14 Bulgaria Polegnala e Todora [Theodora is sleeping] Chorus In this love song, Todora reproaches the wind for waking her. She was dreaming of her lover bringing her flowers to celebrate their engagement. This is a modern arrangement by the "father of the Bulgarian concert folk music tradition," Philip Koutev (1903-1982). Bulgarian State Radio and Television Female Choir. 3:10

IV. Russia
15 Russia Play, Skomoroshek Chorus A Russian formula song sung as a lamentation at weddings.

See Music of the Peoples of the World, p. 123-124

 Dmitry Pokrovsky Ensemble 2:01
16 Russia Excerpt from Svadebka [The Wedding] (1917-21) by Igor Stravinsky Chorus, pianos, percussion. This work was the culmination of Stravinksy's period of interest in Russian folklore. It sets bits of dialogue and song from traditional Russian peasant weddings in a stream-of-consciousness manner. It is scored for solo singers, chorus, four pianos, and percussion. In this section that ends the 23-minute work, we hear scenes from the wedding feast, where the bride's father is teased for "selling" his daughter for drink (see track #14), the bride and groom are toasted, and then finally sent to bed with ritual wedding night song. As the bride and groom disappear into the bedroom, the church bells toll in the distance.
See Music of the Peoples of the World, p. 122		 5:42