Regional music from southeastern Europe
Balkan music
is a type of music found in the
Balkan
region of southeastern
Europe
. The music is characterised by complex rhythm. Famous bands in Balkan music include
Taraf de Haidouks
,
Fanfare Cioc?rlia
, and
No Smoking Orchestra
.
Historical musical influences
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Byzantine medieval music
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Byzantine music
(Greek: Βυζαντιν? Μουσικ?) is associated with the medieval sacred chant of Christian Churches following the Constantinopolitan rite. Its modal system is based on the ancient Greek models. The development of large scale hymnographic forms begins in the fifth century with the rise of the kontakion, a long and elaborate metrical sermon, which finds its acme in the work of
Romanos the Melodist
(sixth century). Heirmoi in syllabic style are gathered in the
Irmologion
, a bulky volume which first appeared in the middle of the tenth century and contains over a thousand model troparia arranged into an
octoechos
(the eight-mode musical system) and the whole system of Byzantine music which is closely related to the
music of ancient Greece
.
Greek music
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Greek folk music
includes Demotika,
Cretan
and
Nisiotika
,
Pontian
,
Laiko
and
Rebetiko
. Greek music developed around the Balkans as a synthesis of elements of the music of the various areas of the Greek mainland and the Greek islands, with Greek Orthodox ecclesiastical chant, and a reference to
music of Crete
and Byzantine music. The music of the Aegean Islands, are known for
Nisiotika
songs; Greek characteristics vary widely. Crete has a well known
folk dance tradition
; it includes swift dances like
pentozalis
. Most of the Greek folk songs are accompanied by
Greek musical instruments
like:
lira
,
clarinet
,
guitar
,
violin
and sometimes
mandolin
. Greek folk dances include
Kalamatianos
,
Syrtos
and
Sousta
.
Ottoman music
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Dimitrie Cantemir
was a composer of
Ottoman music
.
Many musical instruments were introduced to the Balkans during the time of Ottoman control, but many Ottoman instruments were borrowed by the locals.
"Balkan" is a Turkish word which means sharp mountains. As this the influence of
Mehter
and Turkish rhythms and melodies can be seen in Balkan Music. In the 19th century in imitation of the Turkish military bands which replaced the
mehterhane
formations of Janissary Turks beginning in 1828. Apparently, as in Turkey, they dethroned the ancient traditional oboe (zurna, zurla, or mizmar) and double-membraned drum ensembles.
Pre-modern Balkan music
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Traditional Bulgarian music
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Traditional folk instruments in
Bulgarian music
include various kinds of
bagpipes
(
gaida
and
kaba gaida
);
drums
(
tapan
);
tarambuka
;
bells
;
daire
;
clapper
;
zilmasha
;
praportsi
.
Woodwind
diple
:
zurla
;
kaval
;
duduk
;
dvoyanka
;
ocarina
;
accordion
.
String instruments
:
gadulka
;
tambura
;
fiddle
;
mandolin
;
guitar
and
gusle
.
Traditional Serbian music
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During the Nemanjic dynasty, musicians played an important role in the royal court, and were known as
sviralnici
,
glumci
and
praskavnici
. Other rulers known for the musical patronage included
Stefan Du?an
,
Stefan Lazarevi?
, and
đurađ Brankovi?
. Medieval musical instruments included
horns
,
trumpets
,
lutes
,
psalteries
and
cymbals
.
Derivatives and world music
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Romanian and Romani brass band
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]
Fanfare Cioc?rlia got many fans in Europe with their powerful brass sound appealing to
rock
and
rave
fans as well as the
world music
audience. In 1997 Ernst and Neumann took Fanfare Cioc?rlia into
Bucharest
's Studio
Electrecord
to record their debut album. The album,
Radio Pascani
, was released on the
Berlin
record label Piranha Musik in 1998 and proved an instant success. Another popular band in Romania was
Taraf de Haidouks
.
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Progressive Balkan folk
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Progressive Balkan folk has seen rise in many western countries, particularly the United States. It has had its greatest success with progressive communities across the country. Younger American generations are discovering the possibilities of this genre and are bringing it to small clubs and festivals across the US.
The upbeat, dramatic tone of the music has also attracted a following in the Tribal Fusion bellydance community. Tribal Fusion does not claim to emulate traditional dances, costume or music styles strictly, but it does draw inspiration from Balkan traditions.
Balkan soul and funk
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Bay Area, CA band Inspector Gadje plays mainly traditional and contemporary balkan dance tunes, but because of the varied background of its musicians, elements of jazz and experimental music can be heard.
Brooklyn-based
Slavic Soul Party!
is a virtuoso ensemble of brass musicians that infuse traditional balkan rhythms and beats with jazz, soul, funk and the energy of dance pop.
British based band
Sam and the Womp
have rooted their music in the Balkan funk style to create a modern feel along with catchy and energetic rhythm.
Oakland, CA based artist
Balkan Bump
mixes Eastern European diasporic music with Electronic Music and Hip Hop.
Flamenco Balkan crossover
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Another popular exploration has been between Balkan music and other styles around the Mediterran like
Flamenco
,
Jazz
and
Middle-Eastern music
. Vancouver based act
Ivan Tucakov and Tambura Rasa
explores this style and beyond.
Balkan beats
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Traditional Balkan music mixed with modern, electronic beats: this genre first appeared in the Berlin underground scene in the mid-1990s. The term was coined by Berlin DJ Robert Soko, whose BalkanBeats monthly parties still continue nowadays. It then spread to the European and world scene, to become an established genre nowadays.
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Music per country and ethnicity
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Notable artists
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Musical groups elsewhere
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See also
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References
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Further reading
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- Mhlongo, Zinaida. ≪'Hopa!': exploring Balkanology in South African popular culture≫. Diss. 2014.
- Lauseviac, Mirjana.
A Different Village: international folk dance and Balkan music and dance in the United States. UMI, 1999.
- Markovi?, Aleksandra. "Goran Bregovi?, the Balkan Music Composer."
Ethnologia Balkanica
; 12 (2008): 9?23.
- Dawe, Kevin.
Regional Voices in a National Soundscape: Balkan music and dance in Greece
. (2007): 175?192.
- Buchanan, Donna A., ed.
Balkan Popular Culture and the Ottoman Ecumene: Music, Image, and Regional Political Discourse
. Scarecrow Press, 2007.
- Kremenliev, Boris. "Social and Cultural Changes in Balkan Music."
Western Folklore
; 34.2 (1975): 117?136.
- Samson, Jim. "Borders and bridges: Preliminary thoughts on Balkan music."
Musicology
(497)(5) (2005): 37?55.
- Rice, Timothy. "Bulgaria or Chalgaria: the attenuation of Bulgarian nationalism in a mass-mediated popular music."
Yearbook for Traditional Music
; 34 (2002): 25?46.
- Samson, Jim.
Music in the Balkans
. Brill, 2013.
- Kurkela, Vesa. "Music media in the Eastern Balkans: Privatised, deregulated, and neo?traditional."
International Journal of Cultural Policy
; 3.2 (1997): 177?205.
- Archer, Rory. "Assessing turbofolk controversies: Popular music between the nation and the Balkans."
Southeastern Europe
; 36.2 (2012): 178?207.
- Pennanen, Risto Pekka. "Lost in scales: Balkan folk music research and the Ottoman legacy."
Muzikologija
; 8 (2008): 127?147.
- Kova?i?, Mojca. "The Music of the Other or the Music of Ours: Balkan Music among Slovenians." First Symposium of ICTM Study Group for Music and Dance in Southeastern Europe. 2008.
- Jakovljevi?, R. "The Fearless Vernacular: Reassessment of the Balkan Music Between Tradition and Dissolution."
Muzi?ke prakse Balkana: etnomuzikolo?ke perspektive : zbornik radova sa nau?nog skupa odr?anog od 23. do 25. novembra 2011 : primljeno na X skupu Odeljenja likovne i muzi?ke umetnosti od 14.12.2-12, na osnovu referata akademika Dejana Despi?a i Aleksandra Lome = Musical practices in the Balkans : ethnomusicological perspectives : proceedings of the International Conference held November 23 to 25, 2011 : accepted at the X meeting of the Department of Fine Arts and Music of 14.12. 2012., on the basis of the review presented by Academicians Dejan Despi? and Aleksandar Loma
; eds.: Dejan Despi?, Jelena Jovanovi?, Danka Laji?-Mihajlovi?. Beograd: Muzikolo?ki institut SANU,2012.
- Pennanen, Risto Pekka. "Balkan Music Between East and West?Some Problems in Analysis." Research paper, University of Tampere (1994).
- Shehan, Patricia K. "Balkan women as preservers of traditional music and culture." Women and Music in Cross-Cultural Perspective (1987): 45?53.
- Blom, Jan-Petter. "Principles of rhythmic structures in Balkan folk music." Antropologiska Studier 25.26 (1978): 2?11.
- Volcic, Zala, and Karmen Erjavec. "Constructing transnational divas: Gendered production of Balkan Turbo-folk music." (2011): 35?52.
- Mur?i?, Rajko. The Balkans and Ambivalence of its Perception in Slovenia: the Horror of “Balkanism” and Enthusiasm for its Music. na, 2007.
- Pettan, Svanibor. "Balkan Popular Music? No, Thanks: The View from Croatia." Balkan Popular Music. 1996.
- Baker, Catherine. "The politics of performance: Transnationalism and its limits in former Yugoslav popular music, 1999?2004." Ethnopolitics 5.3 (2006): 275?293.
- Friedman, Victor A. "Codeswitching in Balkan Urban Music." Urban Music in the Balkans: Drop-out Ethnic Identities or a Historical Case of Tolerance and Global Thinking (2006): 40?54.
- Kolar, Walter W. An Introduction to Meter and Rhythm in Balkan Folk Music. Duquesne University Tamburitzans Institute of Folk Arts, 1974.
- Irwin, Frances Mary. A comparison of two methods for teaching irregular meter to elementary school students using Balkan folk music. Diss. Washington University, 1984.
- Burton, Kim. "Balkan beats: Music and nationalism in the former Yugoslavia." World music: The rough guide (1994): 83?94.
- Archer, R. "Western, eastern and modern: Balkan pop-folk music and (trans) nationalism." C. Leccardi et al.(eds.) (1989): 187?204.
- Petrovic, Ankica. "The Eastern Roots of Ancient Yugoslav Music." Music\= Cultures in Contact: Convergences and Collisions (2014): 13.
- Rasmussen, Ljerka Vidi?. Bosnian and Serbian popular music in the 1990s: Divergent paths, conflicting meanings, and shared sentiments. na, 2007.
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Sovereign states
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States with limited
recognition
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Dependencies and
other entities
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By style
|
- Arabesque
(
Turkish
)
- Arabic
(
al-jeel
,
Bedouin
,
khaliji
,
samri
,
sawt
)
- Coptic
- Folk
(
Assyrian
,
Iranian
,
Turkish
)
- Hip hop
(
Arabic
,
Egyptian
,
Iranian
,
Israeli
(
Jewish
)
,
Lebanese
,
Palestinian
,
Turkish
)
- Iranian classical
- Jewish
- Ottoman classical
- Pop
(
Arabic
,
Iranian
,
Turkish
)
- Luri music
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By region
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Related topics
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By style
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By country
and ethnicity
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Folk dances
| Circle dances
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Other
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By country
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Notable musicians
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