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Maria Lataretu
with the Orchestras of Nicu Stanescu, Victor Predescu, Ionel Budisteanu, Florea Cioaca, Constantin Busuioc

'Va las cantecele mele -
I leave you my songs'

(EDC163)

Label - Electrecord, Romania

'Va las cantecele male - I leave you
my songs '
I leave you the song, my heart and my soul.
I leave you my songs for enjoying your life...'


Extract from sleeve notes:
' "Maritsa, a country singer, a sonorous jewel from Gorj' wrote Constantin Brailoiu (1939) about Maria Lataretu. She was by far the most outstanding folksong interpreter from the counties of Oltenia and Gorl. The wonderful timbre of her extremely melodious and expressive, crystal-clear voice was her trademark: an inestimable, noble and authentic treasure of regional folk-tunes, constantly renewed in a continuous process of creation. Her charming performing style renewed the ancient forms by means of a vigorous artistic personality, carving each melodic turn, each word with profound understanding and feeling, delicately and scrupulously.

Maria Laiaretu was born on 7th November 1911 in Balcesti, a village in the north of the county of Gorj, in the Gilort valley. She first learned to sing from her mother, who came from Novad. She was just sixteen when she became the principal singer in the folk-music band of her husband husband Tica Lataretu, a fiddler and singer from Lelesti, a village not far from Targu Jiu.

She then continued her musical journey, reaching Izverna Mehedintiului, on the border of the county of Banat. Maria Lataretu was now well-known in all of sub-Carpathian Oltenia. Young women singers from Gorj at the outset of their careers came to her for singing lessons. In 1937 Constantin Brailoiu brought her to Bucharest, where she made recordings for the Folklore Archive of the Romanian Composers Society.

Her musical repertoire's freshness and beauty, and the profound mastery of her interpretation are captivating. She made records and sang regularly on the radio, becoming famous throughout Romania and abroad.

Maria Lataretu became the solo singer of the first Romanian State Orchestra of folk-music, founded in 1949 at the Folklore Institute-then 'Barbu Lautaru' Orchestra. Like the great folk bards, Maria Lataretu was also a gifted creator. She constantly implanted her thoughts and feelings in the rich soil of the Romanian popular song. Each verse in her memory encouraged her to imagine new ones, a fragment of a song or a repeated turn guided her to conceive a new song. Her songs entered national folklore, enriching the national heritage of folksongs. It is enough to name several of her songs, original creations (lyrics and music) or arrangements (of older melodies, with new original lyrics), nowadays sung by everyone.

Maria Lataretu died on 28th September 1972 from a stroke (cerebral congestion), just as she was leaving the stage. Her heart stopped before the applauses and cheers of a public that was fascinated and profoundly moved by her musical will.'
Tiberiu Alexandru

GBP 8.97

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Maria Lataretu
with the Orchestras of Nicu Stanescu, Victor Predescu,
Ionel Budisteanu, Florea Cioaca, Constantin Busuioc

'Va las cantecele mele -
I leave you my songs'

(EDC163)

This symbol  indicates an mp3 sound clip for that track. Click on the symbol and wait for the clip to start. For more information click here. Tracks

1. Dor de mama (4'00") 2. Cand o-i zice-odata, hai! (2'03") 3. Sanie cu zurgalai (2'16") 4. Ia mai canta din viioara (3'15") 5. Radu maii, Radule (3'23") 6. Deasupra capului meu (2'49") 7. Voinic calator (3'27") 8. Mai treci, neica, si tu dealul (2'58") 9. Trei in lume nu se poate (3'32") 10. Joaca hora-n poenita (2'08") 11. Cine trece campul mare (2'50") 12. Ciresule, frunza rara (3'05") 13. Plange frunza si iarba (4'33") 14. Bistrita apa zblobie (2'57") 15. Fir-ai tu sa fii de fata (4'34") 16. Viorea, viorea (2'33") 17. Murgule coama frumoasa (3'17") 18. De ce nu te-n sori Gheorghita (2'23") 19. Pe drumul de la Cepari (3'15") 20. Se cearta bradul cu plopul (4'16") 21. Lie, ciocarlie (3'30") 22. Drag imi e sa cante cucul (3'30") 23. Dunare cu valuri line (3'52") 24. Va las cantecele mele (3'46")

Duration (78'12")

Our mp3 samples are approximately 30 seconds long and of low(ish) quality for a fast download (file size app 300KB)

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