5 research outputs found
FOLKLORE AND DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM. A CASE STUDY OF ETHNOMUSICOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN COMMUNIST ROMANIA
No full textRomanian ethnomusicology has a series of less discussed and, implicitly, less understood topics. One of them is the relatively vast literature that addresses the new folklore that appeared after the installation of the communist regime and the folk music of artistic ensembles performed on stage. Most of the texts written on these subjects display a strong political and ideological pressure. Consequently, they are either forgotten or superficially perceived as evidence of a repressive regime, adding to the general belief that the communist regime turned peasant art into an instrument of propaganda. Starting from a study signed by Ioan R. Nicola on music collected from Mărginimea Sibiului, we will try to understand the theoretical horizon and the ideological limitations that influenced the way researchers wrote about contemporary music phenomena in the second half of the twentieth century. Despite the constraints, we argue that ethnomusicologists had at hand a coherent system of analysis of the folk music, which they had to adapt to the official ideology
MUSIC TRANSFER AND CULTURAL CONTACT: ROMANIAN POPULAR SONGS IN THE REPERTOIRE OF THE SAXONS FROM THE SECAȘE VALLEY
No full textThe Secașe Valley is an ethnographic area populated by different ethnic groups, the most numerous being the Romanians, Saxons, Hungarians, and Roma. Starting from field recordings of Romanian music performed by Saxon peasants from this region, we aim to contribute to the topic of inter-ethnic musical exchange in Transylvania. The songs borrowed by the Saxons from their Romanian neighbors are diverse, ranging from ritual songs, ballads, lyric songs representative for the area, to dance songs, romances, and other modern creations. We concluded that the Saxons thoroughly absorbed the style of traditional Romanian music not only from their own villages, but also from a wider area that goes past the Secașe Valley and into the neighboring regions. This allows us to claim that, as an ethnic minority, the Saxons were involved in a process of acculturation. The cultural strategy adopted by the Saxon community was the integration within the dominant culture, but without abandoning its own musical patrimony.
REZUMAT. TRANSFER CULTURAL ȘI CONTACT MUZICAL: CÂNTECE POPULARE ROMÂNEȘTI ÎN REPERTORIUL SAȘILOR DE PE VALEA SECAȘELOR. Valea Secașelor este o regiune etnografică locuită de diverse grupuri etnice, cele mai numeroase fiind Românii, Sașii, Maghiarii și Romii. Pornind de la înregistrări de teren cu muzică românească interpretată de țărani sași din această regiune, ne propunem să contribuim la studierea relațiilor muzicale interetnice din Transilvania. Cântecele împrumutate de sași de la vecinii lor români sunt diverse, de la creații rituale, la balade, cântece propriu-zise reprezentative pentru arealul discutat, cântece de joc, romanțe sau alte producții moderne. Pornind de la analiza materialelor muzicale disponibile, concluzionăm că unii dintre reprezentanții comunității săsești și-au însușit stilul muzicii tradiționale românești atât din satele de reședință, cât și din arealul mai extins al zonelor învecinate. Acest fapt ne permite să susținem că, în perioada înregistrării cântecelor discutate aici, sașii de pe Valea Secașelor erau implicați într-un proces de aculturație. Strategia culturală adoptată de comunitatea săsească în acest proces a fost aceea de integrare în cultura dominantă, fără ca acest lucru să însemne abandonarea patrimoniului muzical propriu.
Cuvinte cheie: sași, Valea Secașelor, schimb cultural, relații interetnice, aculturație, cântece populare românești, Ardealul de sud
“It Was All that I Could Think of.” Migration, Youth, and Folkloric Entertainment in Rural Romania
No full textAbstract: A hybrid that originated in the traditional peasant music, Romanian popular music (muzică populară), as it is known from radio broadcasts, TV shows or live performances from all around the country, was developed by mixing the village music of the twentieth century with techniques and principles borrowed from the classical repertoire and other light genres. Muzica populară emerged in the interwar years, but was perfected and regulated by the communist regime, becoming one of the favorite genres of the rural and urban working class and, nowadays, it continues to have a great appeal among all age categories. Our aim was to discover the motivations that lead the village youth of Romania to involve themselves in activities dealing with muzica populară, in particular, or with folklore and traditions, in general. To accomplish this, we conducted several interviews with young people from Sălaj county, from which a few patterns emerged: the rapid familiarization with the genre due to specific TV channels; the acquired taste due to grandparents raising their grandchildren in the absence of the parents who migrated in the 2000s; the expressed devotion to the local culture and their willingness and duty to preserve and promote it. We can also explain the success of muzică populară among young people by structural factors that are at work in the whole society, namely the lack of interest of post-communist authorities in building and/or maintaining a cultural and educational infrastructure in the rural areas. Thus, this paper aims to explore contemporary rural pop culture by considering the connection between the deterioration of the cultural infrastructure in rural areas, transnational migration and the exponential development of an industry devoted to the recent muzică populară
“It was all that I could think of.” : Migration, youth, and folkloric entertainment in rural Romania
No full textA hybrid that originated in the traditional peasant music, Romanian popular music (muzică populară), as it is known from radio broadcasts, TV shows or live performances from all around the country, was developed by mixing the village music of the twentieth century with techniques and principles borrowed from the classical repertoire and other light genres. Muzica populară emerged in the interwar years, but was perfected and regulated by the communist regime, becoming one of the favorite genres of the rural and urban working class. After the fall of communism, it continues to have a great appeal among all age categories. Considering its popularity, our aim was to discover the motivations that lead the village youth of Romania to involve themselves in activities dealing with muzica populară, in particular, or with folklore and traditions, in general. To accomplish this, we conducted several interviews with young people from Sălaj county (Valcăul de Jos, Chieșd, Măeriște and Marin), from which a few patterns emerged: 1. the appearance of television channels dedicated exclusively to muzică populară created the context for their rapid familiarization with the genre; 2. because of the massive migration of the 2000s, many of them spent their childhood with their grandparents, who initiated their nephews into the consumption of muzică populară; 3. the youth motivate their involvement in activities dealing with folklore and rural traditions with arguments about their devotion to the local culture and their willingness and duty to preserve and promote it.
If we want to look beyond the explanations provided by our informers, we can explain the success of muzică populară among young people by structural factors that are at work in the whole society, namely the lack of interest of post-communist authorities in building and/or maintaining a cultural and educational infrastructure in the rural areas. Without an established framework able to introduce them to various artistic and intellectual activities, in which they could further their interests and abilities, the rural youth are left with limited options, one of the most convenient being that of muzică populară and/or folk traditions. Thus, this paper aims to explore contemporary rural pop culture by considering the connection between the deterioration of the cultural infrastructure in rural areas, transnational migration and the exponential development of an industry devoted to the recent muzică populară
The leader cult in communist Romania 1965-1989: constructing Ceaușescu's uniqueness in painting
No full textThis study focuses on Ceaușescu’s cult in painting. Its aim is to demonstrate that in spite of obvious similarities with the master cult of Stalin, the Romanian leader's cult was not a simple adaptation of Stalin's cult, but it had its own particularities which became apparent precisely in his painted representations. The cult of Ceaușescu in painting incorporated local artistic traditions and styles (precisely mediaeval art and folk art) and developed its own form from an early period. It also followed the evolution of Ceaușescu's cult, the shifts and the themes elaborated by Romanian propaganda. Chapter 1 attempts to determine the place of the visual image within Ceaușescu's cult. It investigates different forms of the Ceaușescu cult through which he tried to master time and to impose his image as an extraordinary leader, admirable continuer of the great Romanian rulers. Chapter 2 deals with the shaping of cultural policy at the beginning of Ceaușescu rule. It focuses on the tense relationship between Marxism-Leninism, nationalism and Westernisation and tries to see how the neo-Stalinist cultural policy emerged at the beginning of the seventies and further shaped Ceaușescu's cult. Chapter з analyses the mechanisms of cult production within the Romanian Artists' Union. It also tries to identify the relationships that existed between the Union's leadership, the rank-and-file members of the Union and the organisations in charge with commissioning Ceaușescu's paintings. Chapter 4 explores the coalescence of the discourse on national art by contrasting Ceaușescu's speeches and writings with the ideas circulated on this topic by art historians and art critics. The analysis demonstrates intellectuals' penchant for the discourse on national art and their contribution to its refinement. Furthermore, this chapter tries to establish the link between Ceaușescu's cult and the circulation of the discourse on national art. Chapter 5 deals with the painted representations of Ceauşescu. It attempts to establish an iconography of the Romanian leader by investigating its main themes and the relationships between them
