Lăutari

The Romanian word Lăutar denotes a class of traditional music singers. The term is derived from Lăută the name of a string instrument. Lăutari usually sing in bands, called taraf. Most often, and by tradition, Lăutari are members of a professional clan of Roma musicians, also called Ţigani lăutari.

The Lăutari clan probably stems from other historical Roma clans present in Romania, such as the ursari, lovari and kalderash. Names of Roma clans in Romania are usually Romanian occupational names: Căldărar (bucket-maker, căldare=bucket; -aş replaces -ar regionally), Lingurar (spoon-makers, lingură=spoon), Florar (flower sellers, floare=flower) etc.

As performers, "lăutari" are usually loosely organized into a group known as a taraf, which often consists largely of the males of an extended family. (There are female "lăutari", mostly vocalists, but they are far outnumbered by the men.) Each "taraf" is led by a "primaş", a primary soloist.

Origins of the lăutari

A distinction should be made between the generic Romanian-language word "lăutar" and the Roma clan. "Lăutar," according to the DEx ("Dictionarul Explicativ al limbii romane", the most authoritative source on the Romanian language), is formed from "lăută" (meaning "lute") and the suffix "-ar", very common in forming occupational names (for example, "morar"="miller", from "moară"="mill" + "ar"). Generally speaking, the "-ar" suffix originates in the Latin -arius, and expresses a relationship, mainly occupational, as per [http://dexonline.ro/search.php?cuv=-ar dexonline] : last definition (translation: "referring to...", "one who exercises a profession", "one who is qualified").

Before the nineteenth century, Roma musicians were often employed to provide entertainment in the courts of the Princes and Boyars. In the nineteenth century, most of these musicians settled in the rural areas where they sought new employment at weddings, funerals, and other traditional Romanian celebrations. Since the early nineteenth century, and especially in the days before sound recording, Roma musicians kept alive various genres of Romanian music and Jewish klezmer music that might otherwise have been lost.

Music of the lăutari

The music of the lăutari establishes the structure of the elaborate Romanian peasant weddings, as well as providing entertainment (not only music, but magic tricks, stories, bear training, etc.) during the less eventful parts of the ritual. The "lăutari" also function as guides through the wedding rituals and moderate any conflicts that may arise during what can be a long, alcohol-fuelled party. Over a period of nearly 48 hours, this can be very physically strenuous. During celebrations they play popular dances such as hora, sirba, geampara, briu. Other dances include Rustem, căluşari, breaza, ardeleana, cadanesca.

Following custom almost certainly dating back at least to the Middle Ages, most "lăutari" rapidly spend the fees from these wedding ceremonies on extended banquets for their friends and families over the days immediately following the wedding.

Instruments often played by "lăutari"

*panflute (called "nai" in Romanian)
*recorder ("fluier")
*cimpoi
*caval
*violin
*Stroh violin
*contra violin
*upright bass
*cobza (A lute/ud-like instrument)
*taragot, or later the clarinet
*ţambaland a little later in history,
*brass instruments (an Austrian influence)
*the accordion

They also use other traditional Romanian instruments and pseudo-instruments. Some examples of pseudo-instruments used in Romania are leaves from pear or other kind of trees, birch bark and fish scales. Ion Laceanu can be heard playing a scale of a carp on Marcel Cellier's "Les Flûtes Roumaines"

List of well known Musicians/Bands that play lăutari music

Bands

*Fanfare Ciocărlia
*Taraf Cristian Geacu-Cataroiu
*Taraf de Haidouks
*Mahala Rai Banda

Musicians

*Ion Drăgoi
*Marcel Budala
*Fărâmiţă Lambru
*Ion Albeşteanu
*Ion Lăceanu
*Toni Iordache
*Florea Cioacă
*Gheorghe Zamfir (though he also performs a lot of other music)
*Romica Puceanu
*Gabi Luncă
*Lăutarii
*George Udilă
*Fănică Luca
*Efta Botoca
*Petrică Paşca
*Vasile Pandelescu
*Ion Petre Stoican
*Ilie Udilă
*Dona Dumitru Siminică
*Cornelia Catanga
*Constantin Eftimiu
*Lică Militaru
*Ionică Tudorache
*Nelu Ploieşteanu

Miscellaneous

* There is a full-feature movie called "Lăutari" (1972, Moldova-film) by a well-known Moldavian Soviet director Emil Loteanu. The movie features the leader of the Moldovan State taraf "Flueraş" Sergiu Lunchevici (Sergei Lunkevich).

Notes

References

* Speranţa Rădulescu and Adrian Solomon's liner notes for the album "Outlaws of Yore" by Taraful Haiducilor.
* Sir Richard F. Burton, " [http://www.jrbooksonline.com/HTML-docs/JG&EI_The_Gypsy_3.htm A review of M. Paul Bataillard's Reviews] " in "The Gypsy", collected in "The Jew, the Gypsy and El Islam", Herbert S. Stone & Co. (Chicago and New York, 1898). [http://www.jrbooksonline.com/jgei.htm Available on line] , on the white nationalist web site JRBooksOnline.

ee also

*Music of Romania
*Roma music
*Klezmorim (Jewish "lăutari"-like musicians)

External links

* [http://www.pixton.org/TomsRomaniaGypsyPage.html Tom Pixton's site about Romanian and Gypsy music]

* An interview in English with Speranţa Rădulescu, the ethnomusicologist who "discovered" many famous contemporary lăutari: - [http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:4YuydHbJjd4J:www.passiondiscs.co.uk/articles/s_radulescu_part_1.htm+%22Speranta+Radulescu%22&hl=en&gl=ro&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a Part 1] and [http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:-lna5TjDqgcJ:www.passiondiscs.co.uk/articles/s_radulescu_part_2.htm+radulescu+site:passiondiscs.co.uk&hl=en&gl=ro&ct=clnk&cd=3&client=firefox-a Part 2]

* [http://www.unc.edu/~fiore/html/music/eastern_european.html A page on the University of North Carolina's site] , with some valuable links

* [http://sgibons.blogspot.com/ An ongoing English blog about a quest for traditional Gypsy music]

* [http://www.mustrad.org.uk/reviews/romania.htm A British review] of "The Alan Lomax Collection; World Library of Folk and Primitive Music. Vol XVII", dedicated to Romanian ??Gypsy?? music

* Alexandra Diaconu, [http://groups.google.com/group/muzica_rroma/browse_thread/thread/89a650d565c73484/15b44b4cd7dd354c#15b44b4cd7dd354c Pe urmele lautarilor: Etnomuzicologul Speranta Radulescu, un cercetator printre tarafuri] ("Last of the lăutari: Ethnomusicologist Speranta Radulescu, a seeker of "tarafs") in "Evenimentul Zilei" 3 July 2005, a Romanian-language article about Speranţa Rădulescu

*Garth Cartwright, [http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,3604,792719,00.html Nicolae Neacsu: Romanian Gypsy violinist who conquered the west] - An obituary of famous lăutar Nicolae Neacşu, "The Guardian", 16 September 2002

* [http://www.losttrails.com/pages/Music/Naipu.html Lăutarii Cum Mai Cântă!] - music of Lautari (on commercial site Lost Trails)
* [http://www.lautari.ro/ A blog about old and new lăutari] - opinions and reviews

* [http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=tillydean Videoclips of old an new Romanian Lautari musicians.]