TRADITIONAL ROMANIAN MUSIC AND DANCE

Romania is a European country with a multicultural music environment which includes active
ethnic music scenes. Romania also has thriving scenes in the fields of pop music, heavy
metal, hip hop, and rock and roll. During the first decade of the 21st century some pop
groups/artists achieved success abroad. Traditional Romanian folk music remains popular,
and some folk musicians have come to national (and even international) fame.

Folk music is the oldest form of Romanian musical creation, characterised by great vitality; it
is the defining source of the cultured musical creation, both religious and lay. Conservation of
Romanian folk music has been aided by a large and enduring audience, also by numerous
performers who helped propagate and further develop the folk sound. One of them, Gheorghe
Zamfir, is famous throughout the world today and helped popularize a traditional Romanian
folk instrument, the panpipes.

The religious musical creation, born under the influence of the Byzantine music adjusted to
the intonations of the local folk music, saw a period of glory between the 15th and 17th
centuries, when reputed schools of  liturgical music developed within the Romanian
monasteries. Russian and Western influences brought about the introduction of polyphony in
religious music in the 18th century, a genre developed by a series of Romanian composers in
the 19th and 20th centuries.
Traditional Romanian music reflects a confluence of sounds similar to Central European
(especially Hungarian) as well as Balkan traditional music. In Romanian folk music, emphasis
is on melody rather than percussion, with frequent use of the violin for melody and often only
the cimbalom for percussion. The melody itself and especially the melodic embellishments
are reminiscent of music from further south in the Balkans and of a distant Turkish influence.
In Banat the violin is the most common folk instrument, now played alongside
imported woodwind instruments; other instruments include the taragot (today often
the saxophone plays the “taragot” role in bands).

Bucovina is a remote province and its traditions include some of the most ancient Romanian
instruments, including the “ţilincă” and the “cobza”. Pipes (fluieraş or fluier mare) are also
played, usually with accompaniment by a cobza (more recently, the accordion). Violins
and brass instruments have been imported in modern times.

Crisana has an ancient tradition of using violins, often in duos. This format is also found in
Transylvania but is an older tradition. Also, in Roşia village are well known two local
instruments: “Hidede”, a type of violin with a trumpet, replacing the resonance box and a type
of drum called “Dobă”.

Northern Dobrogea

Dobrujan music is characterized by Balkan and Turkish rhythm and melodicism. Dobrogea
population is ethnically mixed and the music here has a
heavier Turkish, Bulgarian, Tartar and Ukrainian import than in the rest of the country. The
most popular dance from Dobrogea is the “geamparale”, which is quite different from the
other traditional dances of Romania.

Maramureş and Oaş

The typical folk ensemble from Maramures is “zongora” and “violin”, often with drums.
Taragot, saxophone and accordion have more recently been introduced.

In Oas, a violin adapted to be shriller is used, accompanied by the zongora. The singing in
this region is also unique, shrill with archaic melodic elements.

Moldavia (Moldova)

Violin and ţambal are the modern format most common in the Moldavian dance music. Prior
to the 20th century, however, the violin was usually accompanied by the cobza, which,
although very rare, is still in use today. Brass ensembles are now found in the central part of
the county. Among the most renowned violinists from this region is Ion Drăgoi. Moldavia is
also known for brass bands similar to those in Serbia.

There is a famous song written about a Moldovan girl living in Bucharest called ‘Hey Cherry
Blossom’. The song starts by introducing the main protagonist, Cherry Blossom, the male
vocals ask Cherry Blossom many questions, she replies describing life in Romania and
dreams of having blue eyes instead of brown. The song has received criticism for
exacerbating Romanian stereotypes describing women “wearing head scarves and people
farming geese”.

Transylvania

It has been historically and culturally more linked to Central European countries
than Southeastern Europe, and its music reflects those influences. The province is tied
historically to the smaller western regions of Maramures, Crisana and Banat and they are
often referred to collectively as Transylvania.
Violin, kontra and double bass, sometimes with a cimbalom, are the most integral ensemble
unit. All these instruments are used to play a wide variety of songs, including numerous kinds
of specific wedding songs.

Drum, guitar and violin make up the typical band in Maramureş and virtuoso fiddlers are also

popular in the area. In the end of the 1990s, Maramures music festival was organized to draw
attention to the indigenous music of the area.

Wallachia

Wallachia, consisting of Muntenia and Oltenia, is home to the taraf bands, which are perhaps

the best-known expression of the Romanian folk culture. Dances associated with tarafs
include “’brâu, geamparale, sârbă, and hora”. The fiddle leads the music, with
the cimbalom and double bass accompanying it. The cobza, once widespread in the region,
has been largely replaced by the cimbalom. Lyrics are often about heroes like
the haidouks. Taraf de Haïdouks is an especially famous taraf who have achieved
international attention since their 1988 debut with the label Ocora. The Haidouks first attained
visibility as lăutari, traditional entertainers at weddings and other celebratory occasions.

Oltenia

Oltenia’s folk music and dance are similar to those in Muntenia. Violins and pipes are used,
as are ţambal and guitar, replacing the cobza as the rhythmic backing for tarafs.
The cimpoi (bagpipe) is also popular in this region.

Muntenia

Muntenia has a diverse set of instrumentation. The flute (fluier in Romanian) and violin are
the traditional melodic element, but now clarinets and accordions are more often used.

Doina

The most widespread form of Romanian folk music is the “doina”, which translates as

„shepherd’s lament or longing”. There are other styles of folk music. These include
the bocet (“lament”), cântec batrânesc (traditional epic ballads; literally “song of the elders”)
and the când ciobanu şi-a pierdut oile (“when the shepherd has lost the sheep”).

Doina is poetic and often melancholic, sometimes compared to the blues for that reason.
Doinas are often played with a slow, free rhythm melody against a fast accompaniment
pattern in fixed tempo, giving an overall feeling of rhythmic tension. Melodies are sometimes
repeated in differing songs and typically follow a descending pattern.
Etno music is a popular Romanian style, which keeps most accurate the typical ethnic sound
of the Romanian traditional folk music. It is adapted to the modern sound of music, as
employs frequently synthesizers along with the typical traditional instruments. It emerged in
the early 1990s as a revival of Romanian traditional folk music and maintained a constant
popularity until nowadays. It has the largest audience through the fans of Romanian folk
music and it is popularized, along with Romanian folk music, through the medium of Etno
TV, a Romanian Television, dedicated mainly to Romanian folk music, especially the modern
side of this music.