Music CD details

'The Late Glory of the
Musicians from Naipu'

(ETHCD010)

Musicians:
Calistrat Petre - violin, voice
Mihai Petre - violon, voice
Marin Duţă - voice
Alexandru Bârlă - accordion, voice
Nicolae Duţă - double bass, voice
Gheorghe Stan - cymbalum

Label - Ethnophonie, Romania
Released 2004

20 page booklet in Romanian and English giving details on the music and musicians.

Extract from CD notes:
'About 40 km south of the capital, on a by-way easy to overlook, lies the village of Naipu. At the small tavern with four tables in the Gypsy quarter – the abode of about one third of the population –, a few old men hang around, spinning the yarn of memories. The octogenarian dulcimer player Dulă tells his fellow musicians about his "diary", where he wrote that in the past, when their music was still in demand – that is, several decades ago, – there lived about 80 violinists, 40 dulcimer players, 20 contrabassists in Naipu… Of course, all of them were both instrumentalists and vocalists. In fact, Dulă is the only one who once met the old guitarist said to be invited to the local boyar’s mansion to play from notes at parties given for foreign guests. Today musicians have no idea about musical notation, and have a hard time understanding how the old guy learned the notes; but they also conjecture that the issue is important and worth debating around a few glasses of cheap brandy....

...The musicians of Naipu are as strong, imaginative and brilliant as their neighbors, the famous musicians of Clejani but, to their misfortune, as they happen to live in a more isolated place, no-one has discovered them to show to the world. However, for a few months now, since researchers from the Peasant Museum came to their village, fortune seems to be smiling upon them. Since then, they have performed successfully on prestigious Bucharest stages, which is a quite new thing in their lives. Besides, they have been hired for weddings by intellectual gentlemen, who have nothing in common with their regular clients: the more screamed, “unruly,” peasant-like their performances, the more enthusiast and generous they are. These gentlemen, who are already exclaiming enthusiastically Ah, the lăutari of Naipu!, tell them about upcoming concerts in Switzerland, India and other countries.

The lăutari of Naipu have thriven overnight: Who knows, they think, perhaps now, in the afternoon of their lives, glory is awaiting them – poor Gypsies who have never even dreamed of it!

The region south of Bucharest, including the former counties of Ilfov and Vlaşca, has long been famous for its top lăutari (professional popular musicians). Today’s lăutari are the descendants of the old boyar court slaves of yore. During their bondage, promising lăutari used to be sent by their masters to schools in order to learn fine-art music and the fashionable salon repertoire...'

GBP 9.97

View Cart + Check Out

'The Late Glory
of the Musicians from Naipu'

(ETHCD010)

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. Love song from Naipu (12'11")
2. Dance tunes: Naipu Sirba (2'35")
3. Epic song: Sandru’s Ilincuta (6'58")
4. Dance tune on a long shepherd’s flute: Braul (1'51")
5. Love song from Clejani: When I Have Passed Away, Dance tune: Hora (4'58")
6. Epic song: Sultana frumoasa, Dance tune: Braul (4'57")
7. Love song: Little Cuckoo (5'35")
8. Dance tune: Freaca (1'13")
9. Old song: Iancu Jianu (5'32")
10. Dance tune: Tiganeasca la patru (Gypsy dance for four) (1'44")
11. Love songs: Twenty Years Ago and Better Than A Good House (4'29")
12. Dance tune: Mituleasa (1'37")
13. Wedding song: I Went To Listen By The Waterside (2'32")
Duration (56'19")
mp3 samples are approximately 30 seconds long - click on play symbol to start + pause clip

Browse our store for CDs, books and DVDs