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Moravian folk music

Moravia within the Czech Republic
Folk musicians from Kunčice, Moravia (1890s)

Moravian traditional music or Moravian folk music represents a part of the European musical culture connected with the Moravian region of the Czech Republic. Styles of Moravian traditional music vary by location and subject, but much of it is characterized by a specific melodic and harmonic texture related to the Eastern European musical world. According to Czech musicologist Jiří Plocek, Moravia is the area where the European East musically meets the West.[1]

Moravian folk bands are mainly centered on a string section and a large cimbalom, which are often complemented by other instruments. Moravian traditional music influenced Czech classical composers, such as Antonín Dvořák, Bedřich Smetana and Leoš Janáček, who was at the forefront of the Moravian folklore movement. Towards the end of the 20th century, Moravian folk music had a noticeable influence on the Czech jazz scene, and folk songs have been adapted into rock bands' repertoires. Today, there are many festivals still held throughout Moravia with performances from traditional bands and dance ensembles.

History

Leoš Janáček collecting folksongs on 19 August 1906 in Strání

Moravia, today a part of the Czech Republic, was settled by Slavic tribes in the 6th century. Today, however, little is known about this period. Following the decline of Great Moravia in the 9th and 10th centuries, Moravia was captured by the Přemyslid dynasty and became a part of the Bohemian Kingdom. During the medieval war-invasions, exotic armies of Turks and Tatars came to the region. Echoes of these dramatic events can be found in the lyrics of Moravian folk songs.[2] Distinct styles of folk music began to emerge during the Wallachian colonization of the 16th and 17th centuries, separating Bohemian and Moravian traditional music. The "new Hungarian" style has influenced the music of the area in the past three centuries, especially in Southern Moravia.[2] This influence has left a deep imprint on the unusual melodic variegation of Moravian traditional music providing an inspirational source for subsequent Classical, Jazz and Pop music composers.[2]

The Czech National Revival in the 19th century represented an important turning point for traditional music. The "Gubernial Collecting Action" at the beginning of the 19th century was responsible for documenting folk music of the entire Austro-Hungarian Empire. Later, in 1835, the priest František Sušil (1804–1868) published Moravské národní písně (Moravian National Songs), the founding collection of Moravian folk songs.[3] The second important collector of folk songs was the dialectologist and folklorist František Bartoš (1837–1906), who published his collection Nové národní písně moravské s nápěvy do textu vřaděnými (New Moravian National Songs with Melodies Integrated to Text) in 1882.[citation needed] He closely collaborated with Czech composer Leoš Janáček who later became the leader of the Moravian folklore movement and organized the first phonograph recordings of Moravian folk music; these represent the oldest documentation of Moravian folk music.[3] Janáček's written collection of Moravian love-songs (Moravské písně milostné) was published in 1930, after his death.[4] Many other valuable regional folk-song collections were also published during this time and collecting activities continued through the second half of the 20th century. Today tens of thousands of folk songs from Moravia are archived in the Ethnographic Division of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.[3]

Main characteristics

The traditional music of Western Moravia is closely related to the music of Bohemia. It was influenced by folk music of Germany and other western regions as well as classical music, especially in the Baroque and Classical eras. The music is mainly written in major keys, and its rhythm and structure are regular and firm.[2]

Cimbalom band of the folklore ensemble Malá Rusava.

The music of Southeastern Moravia differs substantially. Its character is closely related to the musical style of Eastern Europe[2] using rather minor keys and melodic elements characteristic of eastern countries such as Ukraine, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary. Here it is also possible to find elements of gypsy scales which contain augmented intervals unusual for the traditional music of Western Europe.[2] One of the most important elements of the traditional music of Southeastern Moravia is emotional variegation and greater rhythmic leeway.[5]

Moravian folk music performances use various traditional and characteristic instruments. "Cimbalom bands" are among the most visible and iconic ensembles that perform traditional music today.[6] The "small" cimbalom characteristic of Moravian music in the 19th century, however, has been replaced by the "standard" (or Hungarian) cimbalom, a rather new instrument only gaining wide use in the 20th century.[7] The leader and "conductor" of the cimbalom band is often a violinist, called "primáš" in Czech, who plays the leading melody with ornamentation. A second violinist, "obligát", often plays the plain melody and supports the "primáš". The harmonic variety of the string instruments is often supported also by other violinists or violists. They are called "terc" as they usually play a third lower than the leading melody or "kontry", playing accompaniments.[8] Other important instruments of the Moravian cimbalom band are clarinet, ornamenting the melody, and double bass.

Moravian folk bands often perform in various line-ups as some types of songs require specific instrumental accompaniment. For example, "hudecké" songs only require a string section. The traditional line-up of hudecká muzika (string band) consists of fiddle (prim), viola (kontra) and bass.[8] Bagpipes, gajdy in Moravian dialects, are integral to the fabric of "gajdošská muzika", often accompanied by violin (prim), viola (kontra) and double bass.[8] Removing some typical violin features lead to the origin of an instrument nicknamed the squeaking fiddle in the former Bohemian-German area of the Jihlava region.[9] This type of homemade "folk fiddle" is the leading instrument of skřipkařská muzika ("squeaking fiddle band"). Other songs may require unusual instruments such as simple whistles, pipes, flutes and recorders, hurdy-gurdy and jaw harps.[7]

Moravian traditional folk songs are separated into various specific types, of which the most famous is probably the verbuňk, the specific male recruit dance of Moravian Slovakia. Koichiro Matsuura, the General-Director of UNESCO in 2005 proclaimed the Moravian verbuňk as the part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Mankind.[10][11]

Types of Moravian folk songs

Map of Moravian ethnographic regions

Moravian ethnographic regions

Moravia is ethnographically divided into approximately ten regions,[14] some of which, Dolňácko for example, are divided further into subregions.

Folklorism

Moravian traditional folk music has served as a source and inspiration to many different musical genres including classical composers such as Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Janáček, Vítězslav Novák and Bohuslav Martinů.[21] Following World War II and the Czechoslovak coup d'état of 1948, folk songs were used as a part of the communist cultural programme. Ideology-influenced folk-song propaganda was created in order to support the new régime. The movement soon vanished, however, and the principles of traditional folk music headed toward more sophisticated processing. The "off-key and creaky" music of old village musicians was often replaced by the academic and virtuosic expression of professional players,[21] typically represented by the Brněnský rozhasový orchestr lidových nástrojů (BROLN) (The Orchestra of Traditional Folk Instruments of the Brno Radio). In the second half of the 20th century, traditional folk bands were replaced with "chamber orchestras" which performed folk arrangements. Regional variability and originality was almost lost. Traditional music partially returned to its roots in the last decade of the 20th century and slowly began to restore its distinctives.[22]

The Moravian folk ensemble Hradišťan at the Břevnov Monastery in Prague

The musical structure of Moravian folk song also influenced many jazz artists. Czech jazz musicians led by Karel Velebný and Jaromír Hnilička recorded the album "Týnom, tánom" in 1970, the first attempt to arrange the folk songs into jazz compositions. Other jazz musicians who have used elements of folk music include Jiří Stivín (Inspirations by Folklore CD) and Emil Viklický (Morava, 2003 CD, together with Billy Hart, George Mraz and Zuzana Lapčíková).

The songwriter Petr Ulrych, the founder of the band Javory, was one of the first musicians to deal with traditional music in the 1980s.[23] Ulrych closely collaborated with violinist Jiří Pavlica, the leader of the cimbalom band Hradišťan. Hradišťan, a well-known traditional folk band, later turned away from folklore and focused on fusion in various world music projects (Yas-Kaz, Dizu Plaatjies and Altai Kai collaborations among others).

Widespread use of traditional folk music in the repertoire of Czech rock bands began in the 1990s. Significant representatives of this genre are Čechomor, Fleret and Vlasta Redl. Another important musician who deals with Moravian traditional music is the avant-garde singer and violinist Iva Bittová.

Traditional music festivals in Moravia

Male and female Moravian Slovak costumes worn during the Jízda králů Festival held annually in the village of Vlčnov in southeastern Moravia.

Annual festivals:[24]The following festivals are held annually unless otherwise noted.[24]

May
June
July
August
August/September
September
October

Selected recordings

Historical recordings[45]

Regional recordings[45]

Antologie moravské lidové hudby - komplet 5CD. Epic five-disc Anthology of Moravian folk music of the early 21st century (Indies Scope, 2012)

Horňácko region (Upper Moravian Slovakia)

Hradištské Dolňácko region (Uherské Hradiště Lower Moravian Slovakia)

Strážnické Dolňácko region (Strážnice Lower Moravian Slovakia)

Kyjovské Dolňácko region (Kyjov Lower Moravian Slovakia)

Región de Hanácké Slovácko (Eslovaquia Hanak de Moravia)

Región de Podluží

Región de Luhačovské Zálesí

Regiones de Uherskobrodsko y Kopanice

Región de Valašsko (Valaquia de Moravia)

Región de Lašsko (Lachia)

Región de Haná (Hanakia)

Región de Horacko

Notas

  1. ^ Plocek, pág. 39
  2. ^ abcdef Plocek, pag. 40
  3. ^ abc Plocek, pag. 41
  4. ^ "Nejstarší nahrávky moravského a slovenského zpěvu 1909-1912" (in Czech). Gnosis Brno. Archived from the original on 2007-08-26. Retrieved 2008-09-23.
  5. ^ Plocek, p. 40 ("Její hlavní bohatství není v rytmické výbušnosti a dravosti, ale v emotivní barevnosti ...")
  6. ^ Johnston, Jesse A. (2010). "The Cimbál (Cimbalom) and Folk Music in Moravian Slovakia and Vallachia". Journal of the American Musical Instrument Society. 36: 78–117. hdl:2027.42/87955.
  7. ^ a b Plocek, p. 46
  8. ^ a b c Plocek, p. 50
  9. ^ Štráfeldová, Milena (20 February 2010). "Skřipácké muziky na Jihlavsku nezanikly, dokládá folklorista Míla Brtník" (in Czech). Czech Radio. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  10. ^ "The Intangible Heritage Lists". UNESCO. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  11. ^ "Slovácko Verbuňk, Recruit Dances". UNESCO. Retrieved 7 January 2009.
  12. ^ Toncrová, Marta (2001). "O písních a tancích na Moravě". Transitions in Time. Traditional Music in Moravia in 20th century (CD). various artists. GNOSIS. pp. 30–32.
  13. ^ Byla vojna u Slavkova: moravské lidové písně z období napoleonských válek (CD). Hradišťan. Prague: Panton. 1995.{{cite AV media notes}}: Mantenimiento CS1: otros en citar medios AV (notas) ( enlace )
  14. ^ "Jsme jedné duše, ty i já" (in Czech). Kulturní magazLín. November 1997. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  15. ^ a b c d Brtník (2004). p. I-II.
  16. ^ Plocek, p. 42
  17. ^ Gregorovičová, Zuzana (8 May 2008). "O hanácké muzice, písni a muzikantech" (in Czech). FolklorWeb.cz. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
  18. ^ Plocek, Jiří; Maděrič, Jan (1996). Karel Rajmic (CD). Cimbálová muzika Jaroslava Čecha. Brno: GNOSIS.
  19. ^ Plocek, Jiří. Na Kyjovsku (CD). Varmužova cimbálová muzika. Brno: GNOSIS.
  20. ^ Plocek, p. 48
  21. ^ a b Plocek. p. 52.
  22. ^ Plocek,. p. 53
  23. ^ Plocek, p. 54
  24. ^ a b Plocek, p. 51
  25. ^ "Vlčnov - Ride of the Kings". Sports and Culture Club Vlčnov. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  26. ^ "Podluží v písni a tanci" (in Czech). Folklorní sdružení České republiky. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  27. ^ "Folklorní studio Buchlovice" (in Czech). Folklorní studio Buchlovice. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  28. ^ "MFF Frýdek-Místek" (in Czech). Folklorní sdružení České republiky. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  29. ^ "Rožnovská valaška 2008" (in Czech). Ministerstvo obrany České republiky. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  30. ^ "MFF Strážnice 2009" (in Czech). Stážnice - oficiální web města. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  31. ^ "Valašské muzeum v přírodě" (in Czech). Valašské muzeum v přírodě. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  32. ^ "49. Kopaničářské slavnosti" (in Czech). Folklorní sdružení České republiky. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  33. ^ "MFF Mistřín" (in Czech). Folklorní sdružení České republiky. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  34. ^ "Horňácké slavnosti Velká nad Veličkou" (in Czech). Folklorní sdružení České republiky. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  35. ^ "Romská píseň ve skanzenu Rožnov pod Radhoštěm" (in Czech). České výlety. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  36. ^ "NF kyjovského Dolňácka Milotice" (in Czech). Folklorní sdružení České republiky. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  37. ^ "Slovácký rok" (in Czech). Folklorní sdružení České republiky. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  38. ^ "Folklor bez Hranic" (in Czech). Folklor bez Hranic. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  39. ^ "Mezinárodní folklorní festival I. O. V. Šumperk" (in Czech). MFF Šumperk. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  40. ^ "37. Mezinárodní folklorní festival Liptálské slavnosti" (in Czech). Informační centrum Vsetín. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  41. ^ "XIX. MFF Brno" (in Czech). folklornet.cz. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  42. ^ "Prostějovské Hanácké slavnosti" (in Czech). klubduha.cz. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2009.
  43. ^ "Slovácké slavnosti vína a otevřených památek" (in Czech). Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  44. ^ "Festival hudebních nástrojů…" (in Czech). Klub Kultury Uherské Hradiště. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
  45. ^ a b "Moravská lidová hudba na konci století". Transitions in Time. Traditional Music in Moravia in 20th century (CD). various artists. GNOSIS. 2001. pp. 37–40.{{cite AV media notes}}: Mantenimiento CS1: otros en citar medios AV (notas) ( enlace )

References

Further reading

External links