Gabi Luncă (16 October 1938 – 2 April 2021) was a Romanian-

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

lăutar musician. Born in Vărbilău, Prahova County, Romania, she was also a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

singer.

Life

Her father was also part of the ''lăutari'', a very respected

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ist because he was a "notist" (he knew how to read music). Her mother died when she was very young and this left a major impression on her life; many of her songs deal with the "mother" theme. She was a favorite of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

's communist ruler

Nicolae Ceaușescu Nicolae Ceaușescu ( , ; – 25 December 1989) was a Romanian communist politician and dictator. He was the general secretary of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989, and the second and last Communist leader of Romania. He ...

and his wife

Elena Elena may refer to: People * Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician * Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet Geography * Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...

. In the later part of her life, Gabi Luncă converted to

Pentecostalism Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

and started singing exclusively religious music. She was married to the great accordionist Ion Stan-Onoriu. Gabi Luncă died of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

, at the age of 82.

References

Jurnalul Național ''Jurnalul Național'' is a Romanian newspaper, part of the INTACT Media Group led by Dan Voiculescu, which also includes the popular television station Antena 1. The newspaper was launched in 1993. Its headquarters is in Bucharest Buchare ...

- Gabi Luncă collection edition - April 16, 2007 * Jurnalul Național - Gabi Luncă collection edition - June 23, 2008
Biography

External links

Video recording from the archives of the television - Gabi Lunca singing "My mother is a florist"
1938 births 2021 deaths People from Prahova County Romanian folk singers Lăutari and lăutărească music Romanian Pentecostals 20th-century Romanian women singers 20th-century Romanian singers 21st-century Romanian women singers 21st-century Romanian singers Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania Romanian Romani people Romani singers {{Romania-singer-stub