The Two Centuries of the Gypsy Vengerka
Pedagogy, Performance Strategies and Cultural Memory of Russian-Romani Guitarists
- Par Oleg Timofevev
Pages 174 à 195
Citer cet article
- TIMOFEVEV, Oleg,
- Timofevev, Oleg.
- Timofevev, O.
Citer cet article
- Timofevev, O.
- Timofevev, Oleg.
- TIMOFEVEV, Oleg,
Notes
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[1]
In this paper and elsewhere, I use the word “Romani” as applied to human beings, and reluctantly use the word “Gypsy” to music, genres, ensembles, entertainment and other entities where the word can be a marker of a certain style rather than ethnicity.
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[2]
“A Tribute to Stesha, the Russian-Gypsy Diva” (Naxos World, 76065-2, 2005), “The Rough Guide to the Music of Russian Gypsies: Kolpakov Duo,” (Rough Guide, 2010).
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[3]
M. Smirnova–Seslavinskaia, “Migration of Romani Groups and the Formation of Romani Population of Russian Empire in 17th-early-20th Centuries,” 85.
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[4]
Travin, Leonty. Zapiski (Memoirs), Pskov: Robin, 1998, 51. This reference was kindly provided to me by I. Makhotina (Tver, Russia).
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[5]
Translated from L’vov, vi–vii.
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[6]
In his play The Living Corpse that will be discussed below, there is a musician-character who is trying to write the Romani music down and complains about complicated rhythm.
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[7]
He related this to me in a private conversation at his dacha, back in 2004.
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[8]
Trans. from Tcherbakova, 58.
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[9]
My own translation from Scherbakova, 18.
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[10]
George Borrow, The Zincali: An Account of the Gypsies of Spain, 5-6.
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[11]
See, e.g., N. Kruchinin, Starinnye russkie narodnye pesni, sokhranionnye traditsiei tysgan (“Early Russian Folk Songs, Preserved within the Romani Tradition”), Moscow: Muztorg, 1929.
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[12]
V. Sollogub, The Tarantas: Impressions of a Journey (Russia in 1840s). Ann Arbor: Ardis (1989) 51.
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[13]
My translation from Tolstoy, Vol. 11, 284. The available English translation curiously misses the sentence about “the 10th century,” probably because it would not make sense to an English reader.
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[14]
Translated from: Vospominania, 411.
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[15]
Translated from Ibid., 331.
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[16]
Translated from Ibid.
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[17]
Tsyganskaya Vengerka, Gramplasttrest: GRK 201 (1940). This and many other gramophone recordings of this song can be viewed and listened to at www.russian-records.com
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[18]
If this principle did not change from the times of Apollon Grigoriev, he must be slightly imprecise referring to vengerka’s tune, since the speaker of his poem would rather recognize a familiar chord sequence.
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[19]
My translation from: Lev Tolstoy, Collected Works in 22 Volumes (Moscow: Khudozhestvennaia Literatura, 1978), Vol. 1, 386.
- [20]
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[21]
Kondenko, Fedor and O. Timofeyev, The Art of Russian Gypsy Guitar, Anaheim Hills: Centerstream, 2018.
Back in 2003, I brought a group of Russian-Romani musicians to Iowa for the first time. I had grand expectations for the recordings we were about to make together. In addition to a crossover project—a historical reconstruction of a repertoire of the Russian-Romani singer Stepanida Soldatova (“Stesha”, 1787-1822)—I had plans to record the charismatic uncle-and-nephew duo of Alexander and Vadim Kolpakov alone, featuring Alexander’s original compositions. At the time, it seemed quite unfair how much attention in the West was given to genres such as the so-called Gypsy jazz (à la Django Reinhardt), flamenco, Balkan brass, Romanian lautari bands, and how little attention was directed to the Russian-Romani tradition. Highly admired by Pushkin and Tolstoy, Liszt and Rachmaninoff, Russian-Romani music was still immensely popular in Russia when I was growing up in Moscow in the 1970’s. Soon after Iowa recording sessions, both albums were released on prestigious labels. And yet, the music of the Russian Roma remains underrepresented on the World-Music market. Nor is there any scholarly study of this tradition available in English or any other language.
The present article is designed to respond to the current need for scholarly literature on Russian-Romani music. In addition, it deals with the Russian seven–string guitar, the instrument strongly associated with Russian–Romani music in general and the genre of vengerka in particular, that has practically disappeared from Romani ensembles on the post-Soviet territories…
Date de mise en ligne : 08/02/2023
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