Europe

1
Europe

• Greece, Spain, Russia, Scotland, Ireland,
  Hungary, Bulgaria

2
Europe Map
3
Background Preparation

• Western or Eastern Europe
• European Union
• Language often indicates cultural background
• Jewish Romani ethnic groups

The Euro
Flag of the European Union
4
Classical vs. Folk

• Pan-European Music, i.e., Classical
• The court connection
• The church connection
• Volk
• Essence of cultural identity
• Arabic influence

5
European Music Principles

• Emphasis on polyphony
• Harmony
• Large ensembles are common
• Instruments often capable of polyphony
• Steady meter

6
Greece

• Site 1 Byzantine Chant

7
Arrival Greece

• Classical culture
• Alexander the Great(356-323 B.C.)
• Ottoman Turkish rule
• Modern Greece

8
Site 1 Byzantine Chant

• First Impressions
• Ethereal chant over drone
• Aural Analysis
• Male Voices only
• Liturgical chant
• Echoi (mode)

A Greek Orthodox church in downtown Athens
9
Cultural Considerations

• Greek Orthodox Church
• Monastic Republic of Athos
• Ancient Chant

10
Spain

• Site 2 Flamenco

11
Arrival Spain

• Andalusia Arabic influence
• Catholicism colonialism
• Old World sensibility

Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain
12
Site 2 Flamenco

• First Impressions
• Passionate vocals with vibrant guitar
• Enthusiastic onlookers energetic dancers
• Aural Analysis
• Virtuosic guitar
• Melismatic cantaoras with strained timbre
• Interlocking palmas
• Tempo variations change mood

13
Cultural Considerations

• Duende - Passion
• Cante -Andalusian origin
• Gypsy Influence
• Musical adaptation

A Flamenco dancer in Cadiz, Spain
14
Russia

• Site 3 Balalaika

15
Arrival Russia

• Worlds largest country
• Tsars and the Soviet Union
• Russian MusicClassical or Folk?
• Secular and sacred singing

The last monarch of Imperial Russia Tsar Nicholas
II (1868 - 1918)
Flag of the Soviet Union
16
Site 3 Balalaika

• First Impressions
• Chattering lutes
• Aural Analysis
• Balalaika
• Accordion
• Polka feel

Balalaika orchestra
Accordion
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Cultural Considerations

• Domra and the Tsar of 1648
• Vasily Vasilyevich Andreyev (1861-1918)
• Russian musical identity and the balalaika

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Scotland

• Site 4 Highland Pipes

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Arrival Scotland

• Country or UK?
• Devolution
• Highlands and Lowlands
• Nessie and St. Andrews

20
Site 4 Highland Pipes

• First Impressions
• Strident tones with constant drone
• Aural Analysis
• Airbag, drones, chanter
• Blowpipe - lung driven
• Pibroch

21
Cultural Considerations

• Symbol of Scottish identity
• Military music
• Often accompanied by marching drums
• The Lone Piper
• Outside of Scotland

Royal Pipers march for the British Queens
Birthday
22
Ireland

• Site 5 Union Bagpipes

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Arrival Ireland

• The Emerald Isle Celtic culture
• The Great Famine(1845-1849)
• The Republic of Ireland Northern Ireland

Celtic crosses in an Irish cemetery
Woodcarving of a familyduring the Irish Potato
Famine
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Site 5 Union Bagpipes

• First Impressions
• Mellow melody
• Chords drone
• Aural Analysis
• Uillean pipes - bellows driven
• Regulators
• Dance tunes

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Cultural Considerations

• Pubs and sessions
• Céilí bands
• Bodhrán, button boxes
• Fiddles flutes
• Bagpipes, spoons, etc.

L to R Union pipes, button box, fiddle,
woodblock, guitar (facing others)
Bodhrán
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Hungary

• Site 6 Hurdy Gurdy

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Arrival Hungary

• The Danube
• Eastern or Western Europe?
• Nazis and the Cold War

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Site 6 Hurdy Gurdy

• First Impressions
• Buzzing bagpipe
• Aural Analysis
• Cranked chordophone
• Buzz drone sounds rhythm
• Parlando-rubato

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Cultural Considerations

• Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
• The Rom (Gypsies)
• Cimbalom

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Bulgaria

• Site 7 Womens Chorus

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Arrival Bulgaria

• Crossroads of Europe and Asia
• The Ottomans
• Communist control

Sultan Mehmet II (1432-1481)
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Site 7 Womens Chorus

• First Impressions
• Unsettling harmonies
• Aural Analysis
• All-female choir
• Bellowing and Crying out
• Ring like a bell

33
Cultural Considerations

• Ottoman influence
• Peasant music
• Les Mystère des Voix Bulgares