Szászcsávás band
Szászcsávás Band , Hungarian Szászcsávási zenekar is a traditional Hungarian gypsy band from Ceuaş (formerly Ciavaşu săsesc , Hungarian Szászcsávás , German Grubendorf ) in the Mureş district in Transylvania , Romania .
place of origin
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Sz%C3%A1szcs%C3%A1v%C3%A1s-1770.jpg/220px-Sz%C3%A1szcs%C3%A1v%C3%A1s-1770.jpg)
The band comes from the village of the same Hungarian name, located in a narrow, southern side valley of the Kleine Kokel . In 2002, 579 of the 891 residents of the village identified themselves as Hungarians, 306 as Gypsies (Roma) and 6 as Romanians. The addition of Szász to the Hungarian place name indicates that the village was once inhabited by Transylvanian Saxons .
The local musical tradition is pronounced and has a specialty. While the singing in traditional Hungarian folk music is always unanimous, Szászcsávás is one of the few places, if not the only one, to have a polyphonic singing tradition. It is assumed that these influences come from Protestant theologians who brought polyphonic chorals with them from their places of study in German-speaking Central Europe (Basel School).
The Transylvanian Gypsy Bands were and are hired as musicians for weddings and other celebrations; they adapt their repertoire flexibly to the respective party and play Hungarian, Romanian, German and / or Gypsy pieces depending on the audience. The musicians from Szászcsávás were known throughout the region for the high quality of their music.
Every year in August, an international folk music and dance festival takes place in Szászcsávás.
Instruments
Szászcsávás Band is a string band. The orchestration is typical of a Hungarian-Gypsy band. The melodies are carried by two or more violins that play in an ornamented unison. The mostly pulsating rhythm part is taken over by the usually three-stringed double bass and the contraviola or double, a three-stringed viola with a straight bridge, the strings of which are played simultaneously with a short, wide bow.
Band members
The core of the band is made up of first violinist ( prímás ) István Jámbor, nicknamed Dumnezu (God), his brother Mátyás Csányi, called Mutis, on the double bass and her brother-in-law Ferenc Mezei, called Csángáló (tramp) on the double bass. They have been playing together for over 30 years. All three learned to play with Mezei's grandfather Ferenc Mezei Horvát, known as Vén Kránci, who has since passed away.
The band also includes the younger players, Mezei's cousin Levente Mezei, called Leves (soup) as prímás, the little brother of Jámbor and Csányi, Sándor Csányi, called Cilika, as prímás, and Mezei's son Ferenc Jámbor, called Tocsila, as prímás and at the contra.
In addition to their main instruments, the musicians also play other instruments as needed. They are also excellent folk dancers. They earn their living with their music.
repertoire
The typical repertoire of the Szászcsávás Band includes traditional Hungarian and Gypsy dances, such as
- sűrű verbunk , a fast male dance, typical for the Klein-Kokeler area
- csárdás , a couple dance that takes place in different tempos
- szökõ , a faster variant of the csárdás
- lassú csárdás , a slower variant for married couples and older people
- székely verbunk , a solo male dance from the Szeklerland
- féloláhos , a local, rhythmic variant of a Szekler dance.
Discography
- Muzică populară maghiară din valea Tîrnavelor, LP, Collected and edited by Pávai István , Electrorecord EPE 03468, 1989, Romania
- Musique folklorique de Transylvanie, CD, Quintana - harmonia mundi QUI903072, 1992 France
- Szászcsávás Band - Transylvanian Folk Music, CD, Thermal Comfort Kft 2BZAPG, 1996, Budapest
- Szászcsávás Volume 3, CD, Thermal Comfort Kft. 3BZATH2, 1998, Budapest
- Amit tudok, CD, Figurás Folk Dance Ensemble, 1999, Bern, Switzerland
- Live in Chicago, CD, Thermal Comfort Kft. 4ALTHC3, 2000, Budapest
Web links
- The Szászcsávás Band (archived version of the Wayback Machine )
- Szászcsávás page
- Szászcsávási mahala - Dance in Szászcsávás (on YouTube)
- Szászcsávási cigány pontozó - Dance in Szászcsávás (on YouTube)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Árpád E. Varga, (ung. :) Maros megye településeinek etnikai (anyanyelvi / nemzetiségi) adatai 1850-2002. http://www.kia.hu/konyvtar/erdely/erd2002/msetn02.pdf
- ↑ Musique folklorique de Transylvanie. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 5, 2016 ; accessed on March 10, 2018 .
- ↑ Szászcsávás Band - Transylvanian Folk Music. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 30, 2005 ; accessed on March 10, 2018 .
- ↑ Szászcsávás Volume 3. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on March 5, 2016 ; accessed on March 10, 2018 .
- ↑ Live in Chicago. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on January 31, 2005 ; accessed on March 10, 2018 .