A taste of the nomadic life from Gypsy band, Fanfare Ciocarlia
Tucked away in northeast Romania is the sleepy village of Zece Prajini. The name means ten fields, and the village is inhabited by just a few hundred people, surrounded by gentle mountains and dusty tracks. Known for its rugged seclusion, it was here that Fanfare Ciocarlia first began to make the music that would later captivate the hearts of audiences worldwide.
Back in the 1990s, the group of twelve Romany Gypsy musicians started playing their music at weddings and funerals, and before long, the sounds of Fanfare Ciocarlia echoed from the surrounding slopes of this picturesque village on a daily basis. Sometimes playing for over thirty hours on end, the band believes that there is an appropriate piece for each moment in life. From deep grief to great passion, one emotion complements the other, and there is music for them all.
When the German record producer, Henry Ernst, visited Zece Prajini and convinced the musicians to form a world touring band, there was no turning back.
A few years after the group formed, they went from playing at traditional weddings in nearby neighbourhoods to living life in the fast lane, jetting off for performances in countries as far away as Japan.
With the increasing popularity of world music today, Fanfare Ciocarlia has managed to carve its own niche in the international music scene. While Gypsy music varies from country to country, part of its charm is the way it always captures the feel of the extreme emotions associated with living a nomadic lifestyle. Sit back and listen to the music in your living room, and you’ll feel like you’ve been transported to a world as far away from everyday life as it is possible to get.
As the winners of the BBC Radio 3 World Music Award in 2006, the stars of Fanfare Ciocarlia have now toured almost every continent and arrive in Cyprus this week for two performances, one in Nicosia and the other in Limassol. On stage, Fanfare Ciocarlia displays an almost unbelievable talent for intricate rhythms and dizzy tempos. Their musical style is rooted in the traditions of Roma and Romanian folk dance music with lyrics usually in Romanian, but also include rhythms from Turkish, Bulgarian, Serbian and Macedonian musical styles.
Famous for their very fast, high energy sounds played on horns, trumpets, clarinets and timpani, they are also known for using no sheet music in their performances, sometimes randomly blasting their horns and clarinets in the middle of song, sometimes bringing old, battered, instruments to play on stage.
A wonderful symbiosis is apparent between the older and younger musicians of the group. There is a particularly respectful silence whenever the old master, Radulescu Lazar, reaches for the guitar and strikes up the wild ‘Ruseasca lui filon’ dance. And the older musicians wink tolerantly whenever the younger generation blast new sounds from their horns. Since music cannot only be about tradition, the band takes up current melodies from Bollywood and Hollywood movies, as well as adapting international radio hits in true Fanfare Ciorcarlia style.
The group has released many CDs, the latest being Queens and Kings where they share tales of love and loss along with some of Europe’s finest singers. Fanfare Ciocarlia has also appeared on the big screen. The full length film, Iag Bari-Brass on Fire, features the life of all the band members and focuses on their small gypsy village in contrast to the large venues the band performs at abroad. The acclaimed German film director, Fatih Akin, had the musicians play in the acclaimed movie Head On, which went on to win the Golden Bear at the International Film Festival in Berlin in 2004. The band even plays their own cover version of ‘Born to be Wild’ in the closing credits to the recent Borat film.
In the concerts this week, prepare for a world full of Balkan passion, a hail of wind instruments, wild improvisations and irresistible upbeat rhythms. If there’s any music in the world that will have your pulse racing with sheer delight, this gypsy musical extravaganza is bound to do the trick.
Fanfare Ciocarlia
One of the most significant gypsy brass bands of Europe in a live performance.
December 4: Rialto Theatre, Heroes Square, Limassol. Tel: 77777745
December 5: Nicosia Municipal Theatre. Tel: 77772717
8.30pm. £12/10.
