Lăutari

The Romanian word lăutar (; plural: ''lăutari'') denotes a class of musicians.

The term was adopted by members of a professional clan of Romani musicians in the late XVIII century. The term is derived from ''lăută'', the Romanian word for lute. ''Lăutari'' usually perform in bands, called taraf.

Terminology

''Lăutar'', according to the DEX ("Dicționarul Explicativ al Limbii Române" — "The Explanatory Dictionary of the Romanian Language"), is formed from ''lăută'' (meaning "lute") and the agent suffix ''-ar'', common for occupational names. Originally, the word was used only for the peasant romanian musicians who played the ''lăută''. A distinction should be made between the generic Romanian-language word ''lăutar'' and the Romani clan. The others were named after their instruments, too, e.g.: ''scripcar'' ( scripcă player), ''cobzar'' (cobza player), and ''naingiu'' ( nai/panflute player). From the 17th century, the word ''lăutar'' was used regardless of the instrument that was played.

History

The ''lăutari'' clan probably stems from other historical Romani clans present in Romania, such as the ursari, lovari and kalderash. Names of Romani clans in Romania are usually Romanian occupational names: Căldărar (bucket-maker, căldare=bucket; -aș replaces -ar regionally), Lingurar (spoon-makers, lingură=spoon), Florar (flower sellers, floare=flower) etc.

The first mention of ''lăutari'' is from 1558 when Mircea Ciobanul ''(appointed ruler by the Ottomans in January 1545)'', the Voivode of Wallachia, gives ''Ruste lăutarul'' (''Ruste the lăutar'') as a gift to the Vornic Dingă from Moldavia.O istorie a lautarilor (A history of the lautari)
In 1775 the first ''lăutărească'' guild (''breaslă''), was established in Wallachia.

The ''lăutari'' were both slave Roma and serfdom Romanians, but the Roma were the majority. Through time there have also been Jewish and Turkish ''lăutari''.

Before the 19th century, Romani musicians were often employed to provide entertainment in the courts of the Princes and Boyars. In the 19th century, most of these musicians settled in rural areas where they sought new employment at weddings, funerals, and other traditional Romanian celebrations. They were called ''țigani vătrași'' and have the Romanian language as their mother language, or sometimes the Hungarian language. Only a few of them, with ancestors from the ''kalderash'' or from the ''ursari'' groups, still spoke the Romani language.

The ''lăutari'' existed mainly in the Moldova, Muntenia, Oltenia and Dobruja regions of present-day Romania. In Transylvania, traditional professional musicians didn't exist until the 19th century. For this reason the ''peasant'' music of Transylvania remained more "pure". A similar situation was in Banat. Today the Romani ''lăutari'' are also predominant in Transylvania.

As performers, ''lăutari'' are usually loosely organized into a group known as a Taraf, which often consists largely of the males of an extended family. (There are female ''lăutari'', mostly vocalists, but they are far outnumbered by the men.) Each ''taraf'' is led by a ''primaș'', a primary soloist.

Traditionally, the ''lăutari'' played by ear, but today more and more ''lăutari'' have musical studies and can read notes.

The ''lăutari'' consider themselves to be the elite of the Roma. For this reason the ''lăutari'' want their children to marry only other ''lăutari''.

Lăutărească music

The music of the ''lăutari'' is called ''muzica lăutărească''. There is not a single music style of the ''lăutari'', the music style varies from region to region, the best known being that from southern Romania. The ''lăutărească'' music is complex and elaborated, with dense harmonies and refined ornamentations, and its execution requires a good technique

The ''lăutari'' drew inspiration from all the musics they had contact with: the pastoral music of Romania, the Byzantine music played in the church, as well as foreign music, such as Turkish, Russian or Western European.

Improvisation is an important part of the ''lăutărească'' music. Each time a ''lăutar'' plays a melody he re-interprets it.Official site of George Mihalache, that comes from an old lautari family)
For this reason the ''lăutărească'' music has been compared to Jazz music. A ''lăutar'' from the Damian Draghici band, who also played Jazz, said that the ''lăutărească'' music is ''a kind of Jazz''.

The music of the ''lăutari'' establishes the structure of the elaborate Romanian peasant weddings, as well as providing entertainment (not only music, but magic tricks, stories, bear training, etc.) during the less eventful parts of the ritual. The ''lăutari'' also function as guides through the wedding rituals and moderate any conflicts that may arise during what can be a long, alcohol-fuelled party. Over a period of nearly 48 hours, this can be very physically strenuous.

The repertoire of the ''lăutari'' include hora, sârba, brâul (a high tempo hora), doiul, tunes with Turkish derived rhythms ( geamparaua, breaza, rustemul, maneaua lăutărească, cadâneasca), doina, de ascultare (roughly "song for listening", it can be considered a more complex form of doina), cântecul bătranesc, călușul, ardeleana, corăgheasca, ardeleana, batuta

In southern Romania, the ''lăutărească'' music has a rural stratum and an urban one.

Following custom almost certainly dating back at least to the Middle Ages, most ''lăutari'' rapidly spend the fees from these wedding ceremonies on extended banquets for their friends and families over the days immediately following the wedding.

Instruments often played by ''lăutari''

*pan flute (called "muscal" then "nai" in Romanian) – It probably arrived with the Turks (both "muscal" and "nai" are words of Turkish origin). One of the primary instruments of old ''lăutari'', it is seldom used today.
*violin – Always popular among ''lăutari''.
* contra violin - Wider and deeper than a violin.
*double bass – Though often present in the ''taraf'', the bass didn't receive much attention from the lăutari, because it didn't allow for "mărunt" (virtuosic) playing.
*cobza/lăuta – An instrument similar with the lute, but probably not directly related. It is either a direct descendant of the oud, brought by Romani musicians, or it is derived from the Ukrainian kobza. Like the kobza, it has a short neck and is used primary for rhythmic accompaniment, but, like the oud, it has no frets. Today it is virtually extinct.
*cimbalom (called "țambal" in Romanian) – It replaced the cobza/lăuta, having more capabilities.
*accordion – Very popular in the modern ''lăutarească'' music.
*clarinet – Used especially in southern ''urban lăutarească music''.
* tárogató ("taragot" in Romanian) – Used especially in Banat, though today the saxophone has largely replaced the tárogató.
*brass instruments – An Austrian influence, used especially in Moldavia.

The ''lăutari'' rarely used the blown instruments used in the peasant music, because of their limited capabilities, but there were some lăutari who used the flute ("fluier") or the bagpipe (" cimpoi")

Today, the ''lăutari'' also used a lot of electric, electronic, and electroacoustic instruments: various keyboards (electronic accordions included), electric and electroacoustic guitars and basses, etc.

Influence on George Enescu

The lăutari and their music had a great influence on the Romanian composer George Enescu. His love for music started when, as a child, he heard a taraf of lăutari while on a trip to Bălțătești with his mother.Simpozionul International George Enescu 2003 – Selectiuni – This has been hard to accept by some Romanian musicologists who tried to induce the idea that it must have been some peasant musicians that Enescu heard on that trip. Enescu received his first musical lessons from a lăutar called Nicolae (Lae) Chioru ("Blind Nick"), whose real name was Nicolae Filip. Through his life, he befriended many lăutari from whom he learned their music. Unlike Béla Bartók, who avoided the Romani lăutari, searching only the peasant music, Enescu was not interested in this kind of nationalistic authenticity. He got his inspiration from both the peasant and the lăutarească music (both rural and urban). His first compositions, the ''Poème roumaine'' and the Romanian Rhapsodies Nos. 1 and 2, were written by directly citing passages of urban folklore music, which also gave them a strong Turkish/Middle Eastern flavor. So pregnant was this aspect in his music that a German critic wrongly thought that Enescu was Romani himself upon hearing the Romanian Rhapsody.

List of well-known musicians/bands that play lăutari music

Bands / tarafs

Most ''tarafs'' do not have a specific name but are built around a person (the ''primaș'') or a family. Most bands that have a name are commercially created. Some examples are:

*Damian and brothers – A band created by pan-flutist Damian Drăghici
*Fanfare Ciocărlia
*Mahala Rai Banda
*Taraf de Haïdouks

Musicians

* – violinist and singer
* (Vasile Barbu) – legendary cobza player from the 18–19th century
* Marcel Budală – accordionist
* Cornelia Catangă – accordionist and singer
* – violinist
* – pan flute player, grandfather of Grigoraş Dinicu and the author of the Skylark ( Ciocârlia)
* Grigoraș Dinicu – Though he played other styles of music
*Damian Drăghici – pan flute player
* – violinist
* – violinist and singer
*Toni Iordache – cimbalom player
* Fărâmiță Lambru – accordionist
* – pan flute player and Fănică Luca's nephew
*Fănică Luca – pan flute player and singer
*Gabi Luncă – singer
*Ionică Minune
* Romica Puceanu – singer
* – accordionist
* Dona Dumitru Siminică – singer
* Petrea Crețu Șolcanu – violinist, grandfather of jazzman Johnny Răducanu
*Ion Petre Stoican – violinist
* – accordionist and singer
* George Udilă – Son of Ilie Udilă
* – accordionist

Miscellaneous

* There is a full-feature movie called Lăutarii (1972, Moldova-film) by Moldavian Soviet director Emil Loteanu. The movie features the leader of the Moldovan State taraf " Flueraș" Sergiu Lunchevici ( Sergei Lunkevich).

See also

*Music of Romania
*Romani music
* Klezmorim (Jewish ''lăutari''-like musicians)

References

External links

An ongoing English blog about a quest for traditional Romani and Romanian music


of ''The Alan Lomax Collection; World Library of Folk and Primitive Music. Vol XVII'', dedicated to Romanian Romani music
* Alexandra Diaconu
Pe urmele lautarilor: Etnomuzicologul Speranta Radulescu, un cercetator printre tarafuri
("Searching for the lăutari: Ethnomusicologist Speranta Radulescu, a seeker of ''tarafs''") in ''Evenimentul Zilei'' 3 July 2005, a Romanian-language article about Speranța Rădulescu
*Garth Cartwright
Nicolae Neacsu: Romanian Gypsy violinist who conquered the west
— An obituary of famous lăutar Nicolae Neacșu, ''The Guardian'', 16 September 2002
Lăutarii Cum Mai Cântă!
— music of Lautari (on commercial site Lost Trails)
A blog about old and new lăutari
— opinions and reviews
Lautari Music Archive
— old and new lautari, with videos, lyrics and audio recordings.
Video clips of old and new Romanian Lautari musicians.

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