Taraful Haiducilor
Encyclopedia
Taraf (musical band)
Taraf is a kind of Romanian and Moldovan lăutărească music band....
, i.e., a troupe of Romani-Romanian
Romanians
The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....
lăutari
Lautari
The Romanian word Lăutar denotes a class of traditional musicians. Most often, and by tradition, Lăutari are members of a professional clan of Romani musicians , also called Ţigani lăutari. The term is derived from Lăută the name of a string instrument...
from the town of Clejani
Clejani
Clejani is a commune in Giurgiu County, Romania, about 40 km south of Bucharest, in the Vlaşca region , on the Danube Plains near the Bulgarian border. It is composed of four villages: Clejani, Neajlovu, Podu Doamnei and Sterea....
, the most prominent such group in Romania in the post-Communist Era. In the Western world it it has become known by way of French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
-speaking areas, where they are known as "Taraf de Haïdouks".
History
The lăutari of Clejani were long known for their musical skills. The first recordings by ethnomusicologistEthnomusicology
Ethnomusicology is defined as "the study of social and cultural aspects of music and dance in local and global contexts."Coined by the musician Jaap Kunst from the Greek words ἔθνος ethnos and μουσική mousike , it is often considered the anthropology or ethnography of music...
s in the village were made in the interwar period. Speranţa Radulescu also made recordings in Clejani in 1983 for the archive of "The Institute for Ethnography and Folklore". The recordings were made in various configurations. During the Communist era, many lăutari from Clejani were also employed in the national ensembles that played Romanian popular music
Romanian popular music
In Romania, the syntagm popular music is used to denote a musical genre based on folklore, but distinct from it. The distinction is both in form and essence and it arises mainly from the commercial aspect of the popular music.-Origins:...
.
Early contacts in the West included Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
ethnomusicologist Laurent Aubert and Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
musicians Stéphane Karo and Michel Winter, two fans who were so taken by the band's music that they turned into managers, brought the newly named "Taraf de Haïdouks" to Western Europe and helped launch their international career.
Since the release of its first album back in 1991, Taraf de Haïdouks has been considered the epitome of Romany music's vitality. The group has toured worldwide, released acclaimed albums and a DVD (see below), and counts among its fans the late Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin, OM, KBE was a Russian Jewish American violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in the United Kingdom. He was born to Russian Jewish parents in the United States, but became a citizen of Switzerland in 1970, and of the United Kingdom in 1985...
, the Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet
Kronos Quartet is a string quartet founded by violinist David Harrington in 1973 in Seattle, Washington. Since 1978, the quartet has been based in San Francisco, California. The longest-running combination of performers had Harrington and John Sherba on violin, Hank Dutt on viola, and Joan...
(with whom it has recorded and performed), actor Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
(alongside whom the group appeared in the film The Man Who Cried
The Man Who Cried
The Man Who Cried is an 2000 Anglo-French film, written and directed by Sally Potter. The film stars Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Harry Dean Stanton, and John Turturro....
), fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto
Yohji Yamamoto
Yōji Yamamoto , is an award winning Japanese fashion designer based in Tokyo and Paris. Yohji is considered to be among the master tailors whose work is thought to be of fashion genius and he has been described by Julie Gilhart, fashion director for Barney's New York as probably the only designer...
(who invited the band to be models-cum-musicians for his Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
shows), and many more. Meanwhile, the band members seem to have been relatively unaffected by all this, maintaining their way of life (they still reside in Clejani, in the Valachian countryside).
The band's latest release is the Maskarada album, in which they reinterpret and "re-gypsify" pieces by 20th-century classical composers (such as Bartok, Khachaturian and others) who drew inspiration from national folklore and often borrowed from Roma styles.
Members
Some of the core members of the group:- Nicolae NeacşuNicolae NeacsuNicolae Neacşu was a lăutar, an important member of the Taraf de Haïdouks, a well-known Romani band from Clejani, Romania. He was considered to be one of the best Romani violinists in the world. His main disciple was Gheorghe "Caliu" Anghel, who also played in the Taraf de Haïdouks.- External...
("Culai"): violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
and vocals; died December 2002 - Dumitru Baicu ("Cacurică"): cimbalom; died September 2007
- Ilie Iorga: vocals; actually from Mârşă near Clejani
- Ion Manole ("Şaică" or "Boşorogu"): violin, vocals
- Gheorghe Anghel ("Caliu"): violin
- Gheorghe Fălcaru ("Fluierici"): flute, double bass
- Ionica Tanase: cimbalom
- Constantin Sandu ("Dinu"): cimbalom, vocals
- Florea Pârvan: double bass
- Marin Sandu ("Ţagoe"): double bass
- Paul Guiclea ("Pasalan"): voice, violin
- Marin Manole ("Marius"): accordion
- Constantin Lautaru ("Costica Boieru"): violin, voice
- Viorel Vlad: double bass
- Robert Gheorghe: violin
Albums
Commercially released- Musiques de Tziganes de Roumanie (Crammed DiscsCrammed DiscsCrammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
, 1991) - Honourable Brigands, Magic Horses and Evil Eye (Crammed DiscsCrammed DiscsCrammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
, 1994) - Dumbala Dumba (Crammed DiscsCrammed DiscsCrammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
, 1998) - Taraf de Haïdouks (compilation released on Nonesuch RecordsNonesuch RecordsNonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
, 1999) - Band of Gypsies (Crammed DiscsCrammed DiscsCrammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
,2001) - The Continuing Adventures Of Taraf de Haïdouks (CD+DVD, Crammed DiscsCrammed DiscsCrammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
, 2006) - Maškaradǎ (Crammed DiscsCrammed DiscsCrammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
, 2007)
Non-commercially released
Before the Haïdouks organized themselves as a group, many of them were recorded on an ethnomusicological album:
- Musique des Tsiganes de Valachie; les lăutari de Clejani (1988) [OCORA 3149025011190]
The following albums were produced by Fundaţia Alexandru Tzigara-Samurcas in Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
, in association with Euroart, the cultural fund of the Department for European Integration of the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs of Romania.
- The End of the Millenium [sic] in the Romanian Village / Fin de Millénaire dans le Village Roumain / Sfârşit de mileniu în satul Românesc, a collection of recordings from 1989–97, released in 2000, with liner notes in English, French, and RomanianRomanian languageRomanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...
. Only some of the musicians on these recordings are affiliated with the taraf, but several, some from other villages, have toured with them. - Outlaws of Yore / Les 'Haïdouks' d'Autrefois, two volumes (labeled "I" and "II"), recorded at the Museum of the Romanian PeasantMuseum of the Romanian PeasantThe Museum of the Romanian Peasant is a museum in Bucharest, Romania, with a collection of textiles , icons, ceramics, and other artifacts of Romanian peasant life...
, Bucharest, March 1991, released in 2001, with liner notes in English and French.
Film
Two performances of the group were in the 1993 French film Latcho DromLatcho Drom
Latcho Drom is a 1993 French documentary film directed and written by Tony Gatlif . The movie is about the Romani people's journey from north-west India to Spain, consisting primarily of music...
by Tony Gatlif
Tony Gatlif
Tony Gatlif is a French film director of Romani ethnicity who also works as a screenwriter, composer, actor, and producer.- Biography :...
.
In 2001 the Taraf appeared in Sally Potter
Sally Potter
Charlotte Sally Potter is an English film director and screenwriter.-Career:Having left school at sixteen to become a filmmaker, Potter joined the London Film-Makers' Co-op and started making experimental short films, including Jerk and Play...
's film The Man Who Cried
The Man Who Cried
The Man Who Cried is an 2000 Anglo-French film, written and directed by Sally Potter. The film stars Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp, Harry Dean Stanton, and John Turturro....
alongside friend and fan Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
, Christina Ricci
Christina Ricci
Christina Ricci is an American actress. Ricci received initial recognition and praise as a child star for her performance as Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family and Addams Family Values , and her role as Kat Harvey in Casper...
, Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
, and John Turturro
John Turturro
John Michael Turturro is an American actor, writer and director known for his roles in the films Do the Right Thing , Miller's Crossing , Barton Fink , Quiz Show , The Big Lebowski , O Brother, Where Art Thou? and the Transformers film series...
. They were one of the five Romani bands to be featured in the movie Gypsy Caravan (2007).
External links
- The Taraf's management company, Divano Production for tour dates, photos etc.
- http://crammed.be.dd5126.kasserver.com/index.php?id=34&art_id=124Taraf de Haidouks pages on the site of their record label, Crammed DiscsCrammed DiscsCrammed Discs is an independent record label whose output blends world music, rock, pop, and electronica. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Crammed was founded in 1980 by Marc Hollander of Aksak Maboul and has since released over 300 albums and 250 singles, working with artists from all over the world...
] - Review of the Barbican show 2007 Blog entry about Taraful Haiducilor on a Romanian-language blog about lăutari. Includes a photo of members of the group. http://www.lautarie.net/cacurica-si-taraf-de-haidouks/ Spontaneous video recording of Cacurica and Culaie's interpreting one of their famous love songs
- A video of Taraf de Haïdouks performing excerpts from and talking about their album Maskarada