Fancy Teamwork

Video Find of the Day

Romanian violinists showing off at a birthday celebration for one of them, by taking turns bowing each other's instruments. I am going to be very good and not explicitly draw any hidden meaning out of this behavior.

The English translation of the title of the tune is "When I Was In My Time", if the Google translation from Romanian can be trusted that far.

Nicolae Botgros - Ovidiu Bartes - Cand eram in vremea mea

Romica Puceanu

Video Finds of the Day

I'm still exploring tillydean's channel (see Romanian Gypsy Gold, below). Romica Puceanu is featured in some of his earlier posts, and the videos are fantastic.

I have an ulterior motive for posting these here. It gives me a chance to point out that tillydean has provided a link to a page that has many more recordings of Puceanu, and some biographical information. That page is part of a site presenting other Romanian music. The links:

Romica Puceanu/ Romanian Gypsy Singer

Romanian Music/ MP3 files

These pages are the work of Robert Garfias, Department of Anthropology, UCI (University of California, Irvine), who has done field work in Romania in the 70s. They're the motherload of Romanian Folk Mp3s. I've died and gone to heaven. Thank you Robert Garfias, and thank you tillydean for the link!

Romica Puceanu - As munci la plug si coasa



Romica Puceanu - Ce frumoase-s fetele

Paris of the East

Video Find of the Day

A 1934 Klezmer recording accompanied by fantastic stills of pre-war Bucharest. The description says the title translates as "Ah, those Romanian Girls!"

Henryk Gold Orchestra - Ach te Rumunki!, 1934

Romanian Gypsy Gold

Video Find of the Day

I thought I'd never find anything like this.

tillydean on YouTube: "This channel is dedicated to the romanian lautari musicians," loaded with this sort of thing and more. He calls this sort "Drops of oil for burning hearts."

Dona Dumitru Siminica

Meanwhile, in Clejani

Video Find of the Day

While we were wondering what Oprah had to say about bipolar children and whether we should cut out all trans-fats or if a little wouldn't kill us, Clejani, RO, was waking the dead.

Gypsy kids from Clejani, RO

Ciocarlia

Ciocarlia is Romanian for "skylark." It's also the name of a wildly popular Romanian folk tune associated with gypsies. In all performances the middle features instrumental bird song imitations. That accounts for much of my love for Ciocarlia.

Classical music fans know Ciocarlia as a major portion of George Enescu's Romanian Rhapsody in A Major, Opus 11, No. 1. Here's an odd cinematic version featuring a harmonica player.



Here's a version, said to be due to Grigoras Dinicu, in which the bird song is provided by violin, which is more customary. The basic melody predates Grigoras Dinicu.



But guitarists do it, too.



Electronic guitarists do it, Turkishly.



Electronic organists in restaurants do it.



Even tourism promoters do it!