Mr. Ciobanu was born in Romania, and currently lives in Canada. He studied music in Romania and Canada and recently obtained a masters degree in music from the University of Toronto in Canada. Having an extensive background in classical music, he also has experience studying and performing traditional Romanian music. I was able to sit down with Mr. Ciobanu via video conference, where he provided some insights on Romanian folklore music. The interview introduces many important components involved in the music including performance, style, text, learning, instrumentation, etc. The upcoming series of posts will provide a more in-depth look at these elements. (This interview is paraphrased)
What kind of occasions would merit dance music?
Any sort of celebration or festival. Weddings in particular are a very joyous occasion. As such, there is lots of music and dancing. Typically after the ceremony, the guests proceed outside of the church and partake in a dance called the "hora" which is led by the newlyweds and their godparents. Then, the newlyweds and guests continue the celebration by dancing until the early morning. Similar occasions of celebration include baptisms or anniversaries.
You mentioned the "hora". Can you elaborate on that?
The "hora" is a dance where group of people dance together, usually forming a circle. Many cultures have a version of this. Even in Romania, the "hora" differs from region to region. There may be variations in the tempo of the music or the steps involved in the dance.
The "hora" is one type of dance. What other types of dances are there?
One of the favourites is the "pas de doi" which translates to "dance for two". As the name suggests, this is danced in a couple, involving various combinations of footwork and turns. A sub-set of this is called the "invirtita" which roughly translates to "the spinning dance". This involves the male partner rapidly turning the female partner to the music. In this type of dance, the music typically has a 10:16 time signature and a very quick tempo. Typically, guests at a celebration would partake in this type of dancing, however as the culture modernizes, the traditional dancing isn't as much of a commonplace. As such, there are amateur and professional cultural groups that learn different types of dances in order to preserve the tradition. These are performed at various festivals, and may also be commissioned as entertainment for different celebrations.
You talked about the time signature of the "invirtita" dance. What about the other types of dances? Can you discuss the technical elements of of music from Banat?
Traditionally, the folklore music was not written down as sheet music you'd see today. However, typically, most of the music would fall under the 4:4 or 6:8 time signature. You'd very rarely find 3:4 time. The key signature for most dance pieces is D major. This is done to achieve a lively, energetic, and grand sound. Some pieces are also played in the Mixolydian mode.
What would you say the most prominent instruments are in traditional Romanian music, specifically Banat?
The instruments that will most often be found leading the melody are saxophone, trumpet, and taragot (to be discussed in separate post). These create the distinctive sound of the traditional music. Other instruments that may also be found are violin and flute. However historically, instruments that produce a fuller and louder sound (e.g. trumpet) were favoured for live performances such as weddings as their sound would naturally be more amplified. Percussion isn't often found in traditional music. Typically an accordion or organ will accompany the melody to provide harmony and are also used to keep the rhythm.
You discussed the instruments that lead the melody of a piece, but can you discuss the role of singers?
Some pieces are just instrumentals, and others are led by a vocalist. Typically, instrumental pieces are more common for couples dance, as the tempo is quite fast and the focus is on the complex dance moves. Vocalists, both male and female, can be heard during a "hora" because although people are dancing, the steps repeat themselves, and the dancers can focus more on the singer. The vocalist won't just sing one song. They will usually keep the music going and switch to different songs that can be requested by the guests (a donation to the musicians is customary).
What subjects are typical in the texts of the songs?
The topics can vary. There are songs about love, loss, family, country, etc.
The region of Banat has been subject to influences from many different areas over the years. How has this impacted the music?
The region of Banat has had Serbian influences. The Serbian version of the "hora" is called the "kolo" which the people of Banat have also adopted in their repertoire over the years. This has led to the creation of another type of couples' dance called the "Serbian dance", which isn't of Serbian creation, but is has notable similarities to Serbian music. Additionally, there may be some Turkish influences found in some pieces by way of the harmonic minor found in traditional Turkish music.
As mentioned above, this interview is meant as an introduction to topics that I will be discussing in more depth within the next few posts.
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