Oaș - Danțu' lu' Văsâi Guțului

Описание: Danţu’ lu’ Văsâi Guţului
Vasile Solomon “Văsâi Guţului” - ceteră, voce
Trip, com. Bixad, jud. Satu Mare, august 2001
Înregistrare și fotografii: Ion Minoiu

Sonoritatea unică a ansamblului instrumental oșenesc poate fi în mare măsură atribuită proceselor radicale de transformare organologică prin care trec cetera (vioara - a se vedea fotografiile) și zongora (chitara), pentru a se adapta stilurilor și tehnicilor interpretative locale. Deși de sorginte recentă, aceste transformări permit ceterei să țină pasul cu tonul tot mai înalt al țâpuriturilor.
În Oaș, ,,danțul” nu desemnează neapărat un dans ci, mai degrabă, o categorie de motive melodice, ce pot fi prefăcute într-un Danț de jucat, sau într-un Danț de țâpurit, în funcție de context. E un obicei ca ceterașii și țâpuritorii oșeni să-și alcătuiască propriile ,,danțuri”. Cel de față, al lui Văsâi Guțului din Trip, arată cum un motiv melodic se transformă într-o piesă vocal-instrumentală, executată de un singur om.

Tune of Văsâi Guţului
Vasile Solomon “Văsâi Guţului” - fiddle, voice
Trip, Bixad village, Satu Mare county, Romania, August 2001
Recording & photographs: Ion Minoiu

The unique sound of a Village String Band from the region of Oaş is in large measure to be attributed to the process of major instrumental organological transformations that the Oaş violin has had to undergo in order to fit into the style of local playing and singing techniques. The violin of Oaş is never identical with its classical relative. Although still a standard-sized instrument its tuning has a different pitch (the tuning is raised up a fourth, a fifth, or - in the western part of the region - even a seventh higher than the standard tuning A = 440 Hz). The resulting extra tension exerted on the fragile classical violin requires the reshaping of the bridge, the shifting of the position of the modified bridge towards the fingerboard, the lengthening and replacement of the tailpiece’s attachment cord (a longer steel wire is used instead of the standard one), the elimination of any contact of the tailpiece with the soundboard by the insertion of a wedge between them and finally the exchanging of the strings from lowest to highest. One could almost call this a “prepared” instrument, taking a term used by Western avant-garde composers. Although all these radical changes made to the violin are of relatively recent origin they are motivated by musical and stylistic reasons and perfectly mastered by the local village musicians. The modifications of the violin have gradually become a general practice in the region thus allowing the “prepared” fiddle to give intonation indications to the singers of the characteristic “hollers” (ţâpurâturi) which are yelled in a head voice. Indeed, it is for the reason of matching the register of the “ţâpurâtura” that the tuning has been raised up so radically because in this singing style the voice begins its melodic line with a long and piercing high-pitched descent elaborated on a five or six note scale. The above-mentioned organological modifications of the instrument and the specific manner of hollering have a strong aural impact on listeners and create a particular impression of weird primitivism.
In Oaş the term “Dance” does not necessarily designate a dance, but a category of melodic patterns that can either be turned into dance melodies (Danţ de Jucat) or into lyrical songs (Danţ de ţâpurit) according to the context. It is customary for the players and singers of the village to compose their own tunes. The “Dance” (Tune) of Văsâi Guțului is an example of how a melodic pattern is turned into a vocal-instrumental tune.

#traditional #romania #oaș