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Lăutari

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Lăutari is both a generic romanian word for musician and a professional clan of Roma musicians probably stemming 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, they 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 lautari

we should make a difference between the generic term "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 (e.g. morar=miller, from moară=mill + ar). Generally speaking, the -ar suffix originates in the Latin -arius, and expresses a relationship, mainly occupational: last definition (translation: "referring to...", "one who exercises a profession", "one who is qualified".

According to Sir Richard Francis Burton,"the popular Romani word for musician, Lautar (plural Lautari), may either be the Persian Lútí , or more probably a deformed offspring of the Arabic El ’Aúd, which gave rise to our 'lute.' Our critic holds that the Gypsy’s music, like his tales and poetry, is his own; whilst the matter of the songs and ballads is borrowed from Hungarians, Rumans , and even the unimaginative Turk: he also points out that many of the legends are cosmopolitan."

During the centuries of Ottoman rule in Romania, Roma musicians where often employed to provide entertainment in the courts of the Turkish rulers. After the Turks left Romania, 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 lautari

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-fueled 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, calus, 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

and a little later in history,

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

Notes

  1. Burton 1898, p. 176.

References

See also

External links

  • An interview in English with Speranţa Rădulescu, the ethnomusicologist who "discovered" many famous contemporary lăutari: - Part 1 and Part 2
  • A British review of The Alan Lomax Collection; World Library of Folk and Primitive Music. Vol XVII, dedicated to Romanian Gypsy music
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