Transylvania, a historical province in present-day
Romania, has been historically and culturally more closely linked to
Central Europe than
Southeastern Europe, and its music reflects those influences. Inhabited by
Romanians,
Székelys
The Székelys (, Székely runes: 𐳥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗), also referred to as Szeklers,; ro, secui; german: Szekler; la, Siculi; sr, Секељи, Sekelji; sk, Sikuli are a Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. ...
and other
Hungarians,
Germans,
Serbs,
Slovaks
The Slovaks ( sk, Slováci, singular: ''Slovák'', feminine: ''Slovenka'', plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history and speak Slovak.
In Slovakia, 4.4 mi ...
,
Gypsies, and others, Transylvania has long been a center for folk music from all of these different cultures.
Bartók and
Kodály collected many folk songs from Transylvania early in the 20th century. Kodály's ''
Székelyfonó
''Székelyfonó'' (''The Spinning Room'') is a one-act theatre piece with music by Zoltán Kodály from Hungarian folk songs. The work is described as ‘Daljáték egy felvonásban’, folk songs in one act. First created in 1924 as a short cabar ...
'' (The Spinning Room) uses folk tunes from the area. In our days,
Deep Forest included folk songs from Transylvania on their albums.
Violin,
kontra and
double bass, sometimes with a
cimbalom, are the most integral ensemble unit. They are used to play a wide variety of songs, including numerous kinds of specific
wedding songs A wedding song is a song sung as wedding music
* Wedding music in general
* A musical epithalamium
(The) Wedding Song may refer to:
Books
* Wedding Song (novel), a novel by Naguib Mahfouz
*''Wedding Song'', a 1994 romance novel by Vicki Lewis Tho ...
.
Hungarians from Transylvania, which make up around 20% of the population of the region, are known for their vibrant musical cultures, famous examples being
hajnali songs and
legényes A legényes (in Hungarian) or feciorească (in Romanian) is a men's solo dance done by Transylvanian people (in Hungarian ethnic) living in the Kalotaszeg/Țara Călatei, Szilágyság/Sălaj and Mezőség/Câmpia Transilvaniei regions of Transylv ...
(young men's dance). In fact, Transylvania was an important center for Hungarian music in the 16th century because at that time it was the only independent Hungarian province not occupied by the
Ottoman Empire.
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a she ...
,
guitar, and
violin make up the typical band in
Maramureș, and virtuoso
fiddle
A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, th ...
rs are also popular in the area. At the end of the 1990s, the
Maramusical music festival
A music festival is a community event with performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock, blues, folk, jazz, classical music), nationality, locality of musicians, or h ...
was organized in
Botiza
Botiza ( hu, Batiza, yi, בוטיזה) is a commune in Maramureș County, Maramureș, Romania. The commune is well known for its handmade wool carpets. It is composed of a single village, Botiza, also including Poienile Izei
Poienile Izei ( hu, ...
to draw attention to the Romanian music of the area.
See also
*
Music of Romania
*
Music of Hungary
*
Palatka Gypsy Band
* ''
Kontra''
References
External links
BBC Radio 3 Audio (60 minutes): Gypsy musicians of Transylvania.Accessed November 25, 2010.
Transylvania
Hungarian music
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