Here I am finally with a little free time and a computer at my disposal, after idling around the Constanta and Techirghiol areas for the usual thermal spa treatments, and after a quick trip to Turin to enjoy my beloved son's graduation.
Dana and I were walking here between Sinaia and Buşteni, among these splendid Bucegi mountains, when the house of the great George Enescu, where he used to spend much of his time playing, came to mind.
And so, I said to myself, why not give a little gift to my beloved wife and my friends, the ivory key players, by talking a little about this nation and its music?
A first problem is that I am about to propose to you compositions that do not feature the piano as an instrument but, being music lovers, this is a minor obstacle.
The real hurdle is that one should be concise, and therefore I must necessarily make several different posts. Therefore, in this one I speak only of history; the second I dedicate to a proto-classical 'singer-songwriter', the third and fourth to two classical composers, and the fifth to dances and folk music.
You will hear music different from what we are used to, yet the emotions are those we usually feel: yet another confirmation of the universal power of music.
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The vastness of the territories inhabited by Romanians justifies the character of extreme historical relevance held by their music, characterized by a very high variability due to the impressive number of influences coming from neighboring cultures or those that have affected their territory. This phenomenon is still found today in the vast majority of Romanian folk music and dance, which is strongly differentiated at a regional level.
The possibility of fully examining the music of the Dacians and proto-Romanians is very limited due to the little documentation available. However, starting from the Middle Ages, the position at the confluence between East and West leads to a differentiation between the musics practiced in the first Romanian states: those located in the West benefit from Western influences, while the states in the East begin to use elements of Byzantine, Slavic and, later, Turkish music. These influences act both on folk music and on art music and religious music (for example: Gregorian in the West and Byzantine in the East).
The beginning of art music in Romania can be traced back to the Caioni Code or, with Hungarian spelling, Codex Kájoni, which is a collection of musical pieces compiled in the 17th century by the Romanian-origin Franciscan, organ maker and organist Joan Caianu (also known as János Kájoni). An example of this music, halfway between folk and classical music, is represented, for instance, by Barbu Lautaru, the very famous `Cobzar` about whom I will speak to you in the next post.
Within the Romanian territory, Western-style art music practice only manifests starting from the second half of the 19th century, when a Romanian school of music was founded. As a consequence of the renewal of the political situation, Western-style sacred music was imported, while Eastern influences were disavowed. Under the influence of Romantic trends and the phenomenon called 'National Schools', two activities began: synchronization with Western art music and the use of national folklore as a source of inspiration. To this day, the orientation of Romanian music, in general, presents itself as the result of these two directions.
As predictable, on these foundations of "form without substance" it is difficult to grow, and this causes the failure of Romanian art music in its first decades.
Light music makes its appearance around 1850 with operettas, fanfares, waltzes, and ballads inspired by Hungarian or Austrian composers of the time; the best creator of such music in that period is Joseph Ivanovic. Only at the end of the century does a Romanian school of interpretation appreciated abroad develop: subsequently, Romanian singers, pianists, and violinists will impose themselves.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the composer George Enescu, the first Romanian composer to create an organic and profound synthesis between Romanian folk music and the trends of art music of his time (we are in the late-Romantic era). He uses a modern musical language and experiments with modal and microtonal forms, and is today considered the greatest Romanian musician of all time.
The results obtained come to a halt immediately after the second world war, frustrated by the establishment of the socialist regime in the country. This, for example, uses the figure of Ciprian Porumbescu - nationalist composer and violinist who died very young of tuberculosis after hard political imprisonment and author of the music for one of the Romanian anthems: 'Trei culori' (Three colors) - as a forerunner of the socialist musical revolt, while he had completely different political passions. Furthermore, Enescu himself also emigrates into voluntary exile in Paris. (I will tell you more about these two composers later in greater detail).
After decades in which synchronism with Western European musical centers was prevented for political reasons, upon the fall of the socialist regime, an attempt is made to resume the synchronization that stopped after the second world war: however, the gap is still visible today, both in terms of creation and interpretation. This, on one hand, leaves us perplexed, but on the other, it offers us the opportunity to take a journey into the past and rediscover sounds and rhythms lost in time.
Bye and see you in the next post.