Some excerpts from the program notes by
Carol
Silverman...
..."The Gypsy Caravan" provides a rare opportunity for North
American audiences to experience the diversity and dynamism of contemporary
Rom music and dance. Despite continuous historical attempts to assimilate
or eradicate Roma (singular Rom; adjective Rom or Romani), their musical
arts are thriving. The contributions of Roma to European culture are indeed
striking...
...Musafir ("Traveler" in Farsi), from Rajasthan in northwest
India, has dazzled European audiences in recent years with its energetic
hybrid versions of Indian folk and popular music, acrobatics, and feats
of physical endurance. Musafir has performed to enthusiastic crowds at
hundreds of concerts and festivals all over Europe, such as WOMAD, Roskilde,
Paleo, Sfinks, and Ritmos. Musafir is featured on the CD "Gypsies of Rajasthan"
(Blue Flame) and some members appeared in the film Latcho Drom, a staged
documentary of Rom music. In "The Gypsy Caravan" a musical component of
Musafir portrays the symbolic and historical connection of Roma to northwest
India. The artists in Musafir are not the actual ancestors of contemporary
European Roma but rather suggest some of the occupational and artistic
niches that Roma might have occupied in Rajasthan. The term Gypsy was applied
by the British to numerous nomadic groups in India who have no proven relationship
to European Roma...
...The Kolpakov Trio, from Moscow, is the first Russian Rom ensemble
to tour North America in the postsocialist period. The striking style
of the group reflects the training of its members at the Moscow Romen Theater
which arranges traditional music and dance for polished stage performance.
Sasha (Aleksandre) Kolpakov, the group's director, was born in 1943 in
the district of Orienburg in Eastern Russia. He was raised with music among
the Servo group of Roma and began playing the seven-string guitar as a
boy. In the 1960's he moved to Moscow and has since worked with a number
of groups, including the Romen Theater. He is a composer as well
as a singer and instrumentalist. His nephew, Vadim Kolpakov, seventeen
years old, has mastered the seven-string guitar and the vocal style. Vadim
is from the Saratov region of Russia and moved to Moscow three years ago
to train with his uncle. He has been a member of the group since 1997 and
also plays with the Romen Theater. Oleksandr (Sasha) Savelev was born
in 1954 in the region of Kiev, Ukraine, and has worked with Kolpakov for
several years as a dancer and singer. He sings the characteristic harmony
parts which include thirds and "oral bassing" (short, exclamation-like
vocables sung in a syncopated manner). The Opre organization in Zurich,
Switzerland, produced the Kolpakov Trio's first CD, "Rodava Tut " (I Look
For You)...
...Taraf de Haïdouks ("Band of Brigands") hails from the
village of Clejani, near Bucharest, and represents three generations of
musicians. The older members, who play a more traditional style, interact
dynamically with the younger members, who value rapid tempi and new musical
elements sometimes from other Balkan countries. Before becoming touring
stars, Taraf de Haïdouks had never performed outside its region. The
members are la`utari (professional musicians), who play at village
events such as weddings and baptisms. In Southern Romania, practically
all la`utari are male Roma-- in Clejani alone, there are numerous la`utari
, all Roma...
...The Yuri Yunakov Ensemble showcases the haunting melodies,
dense ornamentation, complex rhythms, and stunning improvisations of Balkan
Rom music from Bulgaria and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
The geographical position of the Balkans in southeastern Europe along with
hundreds of years of Ottoman Turkish rule have created a wealth of influences
from both East and West. The ensemble performs in the style of contemporary
"wedding music," named for its ubiquitous presence at life cycle celebrations
such as weddings, baptisms, and circumcisions where dancing and music are
a requirement. Gaining popularity in the 1970's, wedding style emphasizes
improvisation, virtuosic technique, rapid tempos, daring key changes, and
eclectic musical literacy. A multiplicity of influences, such as jazz and
rock, and a wealth of sources including Turkish, Arab, and Indian musics,
are combined with Balkan rural and urban folk musics...
...Kalyi Jag was part of the Hungarian urban revival of rural
music in the 1970's, and the ensemble spurred interest in and affirmation
of Rom music, dance, and language in Hungary. To stimulate interest in
Rom folk arts, Kalyi Jag started the "Ethnic Folk Music Gala" in 1990,
and in 1991 they founded the Kalyi Jag Roma Art Association. In 1993 they
founded a high school in Budapest which helps bring Roma into the mainstream
educational system. The group's effect on the social and cultural situation
of Roma has been exemplary. The members of the group, many of whom have
grown up in Rom families, are: Gusztáv Varga (director, vocals,
guitar), József Balogh (vocals, guitar, mandolin, tambura, spoons),
József Nagy (vocals, water can), Ágnes Künstler Balogh
(vocals, dancer), and Zolt Farkas (vocals, guitar, dancer). They are all
collectors, composers, and arrangers of Rom music as well as performers...
...Antonio El Pipa and Company, from Andalucia, Spain, is one
of the most exciting, most traditional flamenco groups performing today.
Born in Jerez, flamenco dancer Antonio comes from a dynasty of Gitano (Spanish
word for Roma, meaning Egyptian) artists, among whom are his grandmother,
the legendary Tía Juana la del Pipa (now deceased), and his aunt
Juana la del Pipa, who has been singing and dancing in his group
since its inception. The dance production "Gypsy Passion" showcased
Antonio and his aunt Juana and brought accolades from critics such as Jennifer
Dunning of the New York Times, who lauded Antonio's striking presence and
energy. In 1992 the show ran for several months in New York, and also in
Paris and Seville. In 1998, his new work, Vivencias, a memorial to
his grandmother, premiered to enthusiastic audiences...