The reverence of a lyrical singer to the traditional Romanian music

Abstract

The personal journey of a lyrical singer on discovering the beauty of the Romanian folksongs collected by the Romanian composer and folklorist Tiberiu Brediceanu. Stepping with love and wonder into the deep universe of traditional music meant researching the roots and complexity of the popular song. All findings revealed the spirituality of Romanian people as anonymous authors and performers. The emotional variety of this melos and the extended geographical area of Brediceanu’s song collection caused new interpretative challenges for the lyric mezzo-soprano. Singing this repertoire required a dedicated study to finding the right nuances of vocal technique in creating the soul miniature represented by each song harmonized in a classical form as a Lied. The article includes a short description of the particularities of some of the most representative songs such as balada, doina, ardeleana. The author has developed a sense of duty to spread the infinite richness of Romanian popular melodies through performances, recordings, and through her academic career. This is her reverence for the chain of predecessors and their work in this field. Quotes from musical and artistical personalities regarding the value of Romanian folklore as well as some samples of folk songs are presented during the presentation.