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Gypsies - their story and music


method77

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gypsies.jpgI was listening to some gypsy music (Gypsy Kings) and was reading about this misunderstood minority that has spread all over the world through the ages. Found a great cd that practically explains the story of this minority (link) and here it is:

"Since their departure from India around A.D. 800 and their arrival in the 1500s, the Romany have been one of the most abused, misunderstood, and culturally influential ethnic minorities of Europe and Eastern Asia. After all, the term "Gypsy" comes from the mistaken belief that they originated from Egypt. Both blessed and cursed with a nomadic lifestyle, the Rom have appeared in virtually every part of Europe, often making livings as travelling musicians for weddings, baptisms, and other important social events. Culturally, this has lead to a strong tradition of Gypsy music as well as a lasting, uniquely Rom imprint on many European musical traditions such as the Jewish klezmer, Spanish flamenco, European jazz, et al. This CD serves well as a record of both the span and the influence that the music of the Romany has played in Europe and the Middle East.

The majority of the selections here originate from Eastern Europe, an area which is quite famous for being a mixing pot of traditions from both east and west of the Ural Mountains. The Romanian brass band Fanfare Ciocarlia comes in with the amazing tune "Doina Si Balaseanca." Beginning slowly, with a cornet laying out the basic melody, it explodes into a whirlwind of song; after some aural adjustment, the listener will realize that they're playing 32nd notes, i.e., 8 notes per beat.

From Albania, the travelling band Kurbeti features a full sound of strings, synthesizer, guitar, and flute, backed up by an ensemble of drummers in their serenade "Love Birds (San Ta Dio Poulia)." This is followed by the brisk pace of "Cind Eram La '48" by the Romanian group Taraf de Haidouks. The violin and cimbalom play sparingly, laying out a mysteriously bare outline of a melody for the lead vocalist Illie Iorga to fill out. Another Albanian band, Krusha Madhe, combines a large drum ensemble with the otherworldly sounds of the shawm, an oboe-like Balkan instrument.

The traditional sounds of the Hungarian Gypsy Orchestra of Jozsef Lacatos combine the Hungarian style of violin playing with a klezmer-like sense of rhythm in "Fast Czardas." Also in the Hungarian style is Kalman Balogh with "Cigany Szinek." As with all Balogh recordings, this song features a fast pace, complicated rhythm, and jazzy improvisation, not to mention his trademark breakneck cimbalom playing.

One of the most popular and well known styles of Gypsy music is the Spanish flamenco. Combining the instruments and vocal stylings of the Iberian peninsula with the rhythm and harmony sense of the Gypsies, the sensual sound of flamenco has long been adopted by both the Spanish and the Romany as part of their heritages. Here, flamenco is represented by the modern duet Pata Negra, with their Latin-flavored "Yo Me Quedo En Sevilla." Far more jazz-influenced is "Mundi" by the Spanish guitarist Tomatito. His more than apparent ease on the fretboard hides the wild syncopation and dynamics of this tune. For much more "old school" flamenco work, "El Sereno De Mi Calle" by flamenco veterans El Indio Gitano and Gerardo Nunez begins as a sweet guitar suite but changes moods starkly when Gitano comes with an amazing, almost yelling vocal part. This is flamenco at its most primal.

From the Mediterranean region of Europe, we get a couple of Greek Gypsy artists. Eleni Vitali sings the haunting ballad "The Song of the Gypsies (To Tragoudi Ton Gifton)," backed with an ensemble of Middle Eastern-sounding stringed instruments. The singer Kostas Pavlidis takes "Jastar Amenge Dur" from a simple, plaintive violin solo into a passionate, almost flamenco song. From the other side of the Aegean Sea, comes Gypsy Music of Constantinople, a Turkish ensemble specializing in the traditional music provided by the Gypsies for the Pashas of yore. This is the most obviously Middle Eastern music on this CD, complete with a Turkish zither, a ragged out clarinet, and a darabouka.

Three tracks in particular present good representations of the full geographical and cultural span of the Romany "Diaspora." The Hindu Gypsy group Musafir represents the origins of the Romany with "Anghuti." Traces of many of the Indian aspects of this mysterious song can easily be heard in many of the other tracks on this CD, bespeaking of a common origin. Several thousand miles away in the north, the Finnish singer Paivi Arling sings "Olen Lapsi Mina Syksyjen Illan," a beautiful song that combines Finnish, Gypsy, and a little Middle Eastern stylings. Finally, coming from the far side of Europe, there is the set of traditional English and Irish tunes played by Jasper & Levi Smith, a pair of Rom brothers born in Surrey, England around the turn of the century. Although quite different from any of the other selections, this track -- like all of the tracks on this CD -- attests to the incredible adaptability and sturdiness of the Gypsy imagination."

Buy this compilation

Gypsy artists to look for:

Ando Drom

Cifra.

Csókolom

Camarón de la Isla

Gipsy Kings

Gypsy Boys

Gypsy Hombres

Kochani Orkestar

Loyko

SSASSA

Taraf de Ha'douks

Click here for an excellent guide to Gypsy artists around the world

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