Balkan Brass Band
| Balkan Brass Band | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Military music Folk |
| Cultural origins | 19th century Serbia |
| Typical instruments | Brass instruments |
| Mainstream popularity | Continuous worldwide from 1990s |
| Subgenres | |
| Booty Balkan | |
Balkan Brass Band or Chochek (Serbian: Труба, trumpet) is a distinctive style of music[1] originating in 19th century Serbia when trumpeters in the military transposed folk music during harsh times.[2] It is popular throughout the Balkans, especially Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria. The beats are usually fast and accompanied by kolo (dance). The performers each have their instrument of the orchestra and are called trubači (трубачи). The best known examples of acclaimed music in this style are from Goran Bregović and Boban Marković Orkestar. The Serbian film maker Emir Kusturica has, through his films (Black Cat, White Cat), made the style popular in the international community outside the Balkans.
The biggest brass band event in the world the Guča Trumpet Festival is a 5-day annual festival with 300,000 visitors, in Guča, Serbia.[3]
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[edit] History
According to many scholars Balkan Brass Bands are imitations of Mehter music of Ottoman Empire which then evolved in modern Ottoman military bands in 19th century. The eastern melancholic soul of the music is from the oriental melodies which can be seen still today in Turkish clarinet solos. The music's tradition stems from the First Serbian Uprising led by Karageorge (Serbian revolution) when Serbs rebelled against the occupying Ottoman Empire, eventually liberating Serbia after 345 years (Serbian Despotate was conquered by June 20, 1459). The trumpet was used as a military instrument to wake and gather soldiers and announce battles, the trumpet took on the role of entertainment during downtime, as soldiers used it to transpose popular folk songs. When the war ended, the soldiers returned to the rural life; the music entered civilian life and eventually became a common musical style, accompanying births, baptisms, weddings, Slavas (family patron saint day), farewell parties for those joining military service, state and church festivals, harvesting, reaping, and also departing this world. In 1831 the first official military band was formed by Prince Miloš. Roma have adopted the tradition and enhanced the music.
[edit] Instrumentation
A brass band is primarily made up of a large number of musicians playing brass instruments such as flugelhorns, trumpets, alto horns, helicons, euphoniums, tenor horns, tubas, baritone horns and sometimes trombones. Percussion is provided by snare drum and bass drums, traditionally davuls (also known as tapan or goč) carried by the performers.
The music is usually instrumental although sometimes accompanied with singing. Common song forms include the čoček and the Kolo.
[edit] Modern styles
Balkan Brass music has had a major impact on the world music scene. Introduced to western audiences through the films of Emir Kusturica featuring soundtracks by Goran Bregovic, it soon spread to European dancefloors spearheaded by DJ Robert Soko's "Balkan Beats" parties in Berlin, Germany.
Traditional bands from the Balkans like the Boban Marković Orkestar and from Romania as Fanfare Ciocărlia garnered worldwide attention while new bands like New York-based Balkan Beat Box or the Amsterdam Klezmer Band fused the Balkan sound with other genres like Klezmer or Ska. DJs and producers, most prominently Shantel from Germany, successfully mixed Balkan Brass with electronic beats.
[edit] Festivals
- Guča trumpet festival, largest trumpet festival in the world, every year for five days.[3]
- Balkan Trafik, a yearly three-day Balkan Brass festival in Brussels, Belgium.[4]
- Zlatne Uste Golden Festival, a yearly two-day festival in New York City.[5]
[edit] Balkan brass band music in the cinema
- Time of the Gypsies (Dom za vešanje), 1988, Emir Kusturica
- Underground, 1995, Emir Kusturica
- Black Cat, White Cat, 1998, Emir Kusturica
- Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, 2006
- Trumpets' Republic, 2006, Stefano Missio and Alessandro Gori
- Guca!, 2006, Dusan Milic
[edit] Notable Balkan brass bands
- Boban Marković
- Zeljko Bebek
- Goran Bregović
- Orkestar Zirkonium, Seattle
- Kocani Orkestar
- Fanfare Ciocărlia
- Zlatne Uste
- Slavic Soul Party!
- Raya Brass Band
- Fejat Sejdić
- Aistaguca (UK)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ nationalgeographic.com
- ^ http://books.google.se/books?id=eFVjMocptcYC
- ^ a b http://gucasabor.com/en/history.html
- ^ http://www.myspace.com/balkantrafikfestival
- ^ http://www.zlatneuste.org/Golden_f.htm
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