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Re: Doinas & taksim
- From: Paul M. Gifford <PGIFFORD...>
- Subject: Re: Doinas & taksim
- Date: Mon 19 Jul 1999 19.23 (GMT)
"Peter Rushefsky" <rushefsky_p (at) healthcareplan(dot)org> wrote:
> It seems
> that the klezmer doina originated from the Romanian doina, which was a musical
> allegory of the tale of a shepherd who loses his sheep and then finds them. I
Its name obviously indicates its origin. Plus, Jewish sheet music
of doinas published around 1920 in New York City had Romanian
shepherd graphics (this was sold about 1985 by the Yiddish Book
Center), indicating that Jews at that time thought of it as Romanian,
although the recordings clearly show that the Jewish doina was
distinct from Romanian doinas.
The traditional Romanian doina was a long song, usually with mournful
lyrics. In Banat, they play them at weddings, during the meal.
Sometimes different words are sung to the same melodies. An example
is "Doina din America," recorded by George Radu of Chicago in 1928; a
transcription of this appears in Jerry Silverman's "Immigrant
Songbook" (pub. by Mel Bay---not sure of the correct title). The
singer is from Banat and the melody is familiar to Banat musicians,
but the singer made up the words.
Curious about the origins of the Jewish doina, I once played a tape
of several 78s of them for Nicolae Feraru, a Gypsy cimbalom player
from Bucharest. He recognized them all (almost immediately) as Doina
Oltului, which is an old, common standard in Bucharest and Moldavia.
It supposedly has its origins in Oltenia (western Wallachia), but at
least since 1900 it's been a standard tune in the Bucharest
repertoire. It appeared in sung versions on record in the teens, but
is no longer sung, at least in Bucharest----it's strictly an
instrumental. In the past, it was played unmetered, but in more
recent times (?1940s-1950s), its accompaniment is that of a fast hora.
The Doina Oltului is very well known and any Gypsy from southern
Romania (and probably Moldavia) would play it if requested.
Rather than coming from Romanian peasant sources, I feel quite sure
that the Jewish doina was an adaptation of the Doina Oltului played
by Gypsy professional wedding musicians, or lautari. Gypsies in
Bucharest probably popularized this Oltenian peasant doina in the
late 19th century to urban audiences, and Jewish musicians picked it
up from there, and adapted it, playing it in characteristic style.
How, when, and where it happened would be fascinating to know, and
the same for other Romanian Gypsy songs or tunes (Ce mai foc si ce mai
jale, Tuica).
Paul Gifford
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- Re: Doinas & taksim, (continued)