Musical instruments

The art of making traditional musical instruments is a peculiar one as the main goal of its outcome is to keep the tradition of making music alive. The instruments, in addition to their role of sustaining the non-material culture making, are also material representations of the aesthetics and technical development of the cultures they were born in (or assimilated into) and they can be regarded as the key to understanding unrecorded, archaic sounds and musical techniques. The lack of musical notation, typical of traditional forms, is sometimes substituted for by, more or less, free interpretation of the overheard musical techniques and translating them into the language of the Western 12-tone scale with many contemporary musicians craving for simplified musical forms characterised by loudness, clear-cut rhythm and danceability. It is widely assumed that such forms are typical of non-European cultures. However, it has to be stressed that many European cultures are still marked as UNFAMILIAR, they are marginalised and they function outside the European cultural mainstream. The marginalisation of traditional cultures is often rooted in politics and the ideologisation of social life and it reached its peak in the former Soviet Union (and, inevitably, in the Carpathian countries) in the form of such projects as song and dance ensambles promoting music which was national in form and socialist in content (cf. Czekanowska 2008, 163). Since the introduction of such model all the traditional performances which used old, traditional instruments were deemed unprofessional and unauthorised. Before that, similar methods were applied during the Christianisation era when the Church, while trying to do away with pagan traditions, also uprooted traditional cultures, including the destruction of traditional instruments (cf. Olędzki 1978, 6-7). In recent decades a reverse tendency could be observed. The demand for the real traditions and unspoilt instances of musical cultures brought about an unexpected renaissance of many traditional instruments. What is interesting is that this renaissance is not to be attributed to ethnomusicologists or bringing some museum collections back to life. It is the revitalising effect of some aspects of alternative culture. However, in this case it might turn out that the traditions which are considered archaic or passed down as archaic have a short history or, sometimes, they have simply been made up (cf. Habsbawm and Ranger 2008, 9). In fact, the above mentioned occurances and processes do not function in isolation and they have been identified and described as part of a phenomenon called ‘invented tradition' (cf. Habsbawm and Ranger 2008, 10). It is characteristic of ‘invented traditions' in music that elements of professional musicianship are applied to folk music, including the use of professional instruments such as double-bass, cello, violin, accordion, clarinet as the basis with traditional instruments, if used at all, are treated as ornament or sound imitation of the professional ones.

In the Carpathian Mountains there are numerous instances of traditional instruments which, replaced by new ones or deemed unnecessary, changed their character over the years. Some of them survived after being renamed and given new roles - some of them became toys or hunting accessories. The construction of instruments is closely related to their function with some of them used for repelling beasts of prey, others - as bird-calls, ritual objects and toys. A combination of other uses and meanings could be involved too. The theories concerning the origin and development of musical instruments are often subject to manipulation and unnecessarily strong opinions. The evolutionary development theory seems questionable and oversimplified and its main assumtion is that the development of instruments is a linear process characterised by a series of individual modifications. The fact that some artefacts are borrowed from one culture to another is ignored altogether while the issues concerning cultural compexities involved in instrument creation are barely signalled. The role of the genius and creativity of individual manufactures and the role of musicians who modify their equipment themselves in search of new qualities of the sound for the sheer pleasure of it is underestimated too, the latter being hardly a surprise as the aspect of pleasure in music making is usually ignored by musicologists. The issue of pleasure of dealing with sound and the physiological conditions involved are most probably closely related to the nature of formative stages of human intelligence. Speech and singing are believed to have been crutial factors in shaping it because of the way some sounds stimulate human brain. The aliquot clouds of sound, generated by some traditional instruments, are the most important of sounds and in ancient cultures they were closely related to spiritual development. It is no accident that some of the most important of the traditional Carpathian instruments are capable of emitting sounds rich in aliquot tone which stimulate both musicians‘ and listeners‘ individual moods of contemplation. It is the search for the sources of these sounds, more than the need of developing new possibilities for creating tunes, that gives rise to the practice of constructing and modifying traditional instuments. These instruments are also distinct because of the perfectness of construction, especially in respect to their effectiveness, that is the relation of the expenditure of the material, tools and energy to the effects achieved. By means of a piece of glass, some wire and a knife or sometimes even without them, it is possible to achieve musical instruments whose sond is not only most satisfying but also unique and the uniquness of sound is of great value for today's musicians. This aspect of traditional instrumentation is also worth a creative analysis. It is in the physical aspect of traditional instuments, in the instruments themselves, rather than in their descriptions and scientific interpretations that the message concerning their sound, the essence of music, the playing techniques and musical practices of ancient or marginalised cultures is encoded. That is why a new, interdisciplinary approach to the study and preservation of musical traditions is necessary. One of such interdisciplinary research techniques is applying the methods of ethnobotany in order to properly understand the origin, role and cultural meaning of individual musical instruments.

 

In the descriptions of the instruments presented on this CD we have included the information reflecting the problems and phenomena signalled in the previous sections. The instruments are played by contemporary musicians whose activities surpass the borders of their native regions. Their approach, on some occasions, could be described as rather individualistic. The descriptions are expanded upon and documented in the phonographic and photographic forms on the project author's blog. Go to: worldflagrecords.blogspot.com under Instrumenty karpackie/Carpathian Sounds & Instruments.

This project supports informal ties existing among the musicians and traditional instruments enthusiasts, thanks to whom musical traditions are preserved outside the mainstream, which contributes to the continuity and diversity of culture.

Enjoy the unique sound of the Carpathians!
Marek Styczyński, Kraków 2009 - from : The Monographs of the Traditional Carpathian Musical Instruments, Volume 1 (CD + booklet, Karpaty Offer Fest. 2009)

 

Numerous recordings of traditional instruments and imrovised music using obscure instruments can be found in the World Flag Records archives (worldflagrecords.blogspot.com) as well as on The Magic Carpathians recordings /
www.magiccarpathians.com www.myspace.com/magic_carpathians