CITYFOLK MONTHLY - June 2007

The world of “world music” can be a confusing place at times. Take the word tamburitza, for instance. Derived from a Turkish word, tamburitza is the name of a small stringed musical instrument, often called the national folk instrument of Croatia. It’s also the name for a family of stringed instruments ranging from the tiny mandolin-like prim to a huge bass. It’s also the name for an ensemble of musicians playing these instruments. Finally, it’s also the name given to the music played by such an ensemble. Context is crucial.

The tamburitza (the instrument) is thought to have first appeared in the Balkans during the 14th century, probably in Bosnia, brought by the Turks. It’s related to the mandolin, balalaika and the Ukrainian bandura and is probably ultimately rooted in the long-necked lutes of Persia. The instrument, technically the tamburitza prim (pronounced 'preem' and pictured here), was originally a solo instrument, used to accompany both dancing and singing.

Tamburitza ensembles first became popular in Croatia in the 1840s, and within a couple of decades, they were widespread throughout Bosnia and Croatia, as well as in Slovenia, Austria and Czechoslovakia. The first known tamburitza ensemble in the U.S. was the Hoffer Family Tamburitza Orchestra, active in Steelton, Pennsylvania, by the 1890s. San Francisco was a tamburitza hotbed in the early 1900s, but by the 1920s, the music had spread from coast to coast within the urban Slavic immigrant communities, created by heavy immigration between 1870 and 1910.

It’s an irony of sorts that many Croatian and Serbian immigrants to the U.S., particularly those from isolated rural areas, first heard tamburitza music in this country. This music, and the groups that played it, maintained an important cultural and social link to their homeland for those who lived outside Croatia and provided a potent symbol of nationalism for those who stayed at home.

Present-day Croatia was part of the Austrian Empire from 1804 through 1866 and then the Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1867 until that alliance was dissolved at the end of World War I. In 1918, the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was formed; after 1929, it was renamed Yugoslavia, an independent state until the end of World War II.

Yugoslavia was under Soviet domination for almost 50 years beginning in the mid-1940s. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, but it took several years of bitter fighting to fully secure that independence. The Republic of Croatia today has a population of roughly 4.5 million people, 90% of whom are ethnic Croatians.

Tamburitza ensembles have traditionally included just five musical instruments—the prim, brac, c'elo (similar to a cello), bugarija (pictured here) and berda (fretted bass). Like the mandolin and violin, the prim belongs to a “family” of stringed instruments in which the pitch of the instrument lowers as its size increases. The exception to this mandolin-violin schematic is the bugarija, which most resembles a guitar.

Tamburitza virtuoso Jerry Grcevich (pictured here), a native of southwestern Pennsylvania who will appear at the Cityfolk Festival with his Orchestra, is widely regarded as the world’s finest player of the tamburitza prim. A master of all five instruments used in tamburitza ensembles, Grcevich can, through multi-track recording, flawlessly recreate the music of the large ensembles that flourished throughout the Slavic world in the 19th century, as on his critically acclaimed 1992 album, New Traditions. The youngest musician ever inducted into the Tamburitza Hall of Fame, Grcevich is also a renowned composer whose works have entered the repertoires of many modern tamburitza ensembles in Croatia and other parts of the former Yugoslavia. He was named a National Heritage Fellow by the National Endowment for the Arts in 2005.

Frances Babic, the recipient of this year’s Ohio Heritage Fellowship for Community Leadership, has a long personal involvement with tamburitza music as well. She was a member during her college years of the Tamburitzans, a renowned student performing ensemble at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. Since 1937, this group of full-time students has toured the country and the world, performing as many as 80 times a year and doing an incalculable amount to keep Slavic music and culture alive.

Tamburitza recordings, particularly reissues of historic material, are relatively easy to find. Tamburitza: Hot String Band Music is a good two-CD set collecting recordings made by U.S. ensembles between 1910 and 1950. Esoteric Sound has a large selection of recordings containing historic and contemporary tamburitza ensembles from both Europe and the U.S.

In 1978 Doug Roysdon and his wife Christy established the Mock Turtle Marionette Theater, which has operated an independent puppet theater since 1996. The company is dedicated to the creation of enduring childhood experiences through performances and workshops that uphold the integrity of the arts and the dignity of human beings.

Currently, the theater offers a year-round program of field trips, puppet shows and community events to the children (of all ages) in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The theater has several productions it can take on the road, including Punchinello Steps Out which travels the history of puppetry from prehistoric times to the video age. Roysdon and collaborator Emily Abrazzi will perform this show and conduct puppetry workshops on Saturday and Sunday of the 2007 Cityfolk Festival.

RECORDINGS I'M LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: Il Combatimento di Tancredi e Clorinda (Monteverdi) and Tra le fiamme (Handel) for a Baroque Opera/Puppet production next year

LAST THREE BOOKS I'VE READ: Mornings on Horseback, a bio of Teddy Roosevelt by David McCullough, Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers, and The Coffee Trader by David Liss

FAVORITE LIVE MUSIC EXPERIENCE: Watching Canned Heat at Woodstock

FAVORITE COMFORT FOOD: Pecan Pie...no, Apple Dumplings...no, Chocolate Cake....

FAVORITE PASSTIMES: Watching baseball and playing guitar

DREAM VACATION: Egypt with an inside track on the monuments and the local people

MATERIAL CULTURE KEY INGREDIENTS: "Our Ohio" on PBS

Ohio has a rich history of food traditions throughout the state. There is much to see, learn and taste. You can sample many regional offerings at the “Key Ingredients” exhibit at this year’s Cityfolk Festival. Talk to farmers and maple syrup makers, watch chefs from area restaurants and ethnic clubs making delicious foods you can try at home, and smell the amazing aroma of roasting coffee beans.

Your enjoyment of traditional foodways doesn’t need to stop at the end of the Festival however. You can learn more through the Emmy-nominated series “Our Ohio” on PBS. New host Gail Hogan says, “Sometimes we don’t know about the wonderful people and places in our own backyard. That’s why Our Ohio is so special. It’s a video tour of our state, highlighting hidden tourist treasures, wonderful home grown products, and the people who make Ohio a great place to live.”

Ohio’s home-grown brands will be highlighted this year, with visits to Velvet Ice Cream in Utica and Campbell’s Soup in Napoleon. Viewers will learn how these and many other Ohio-based companies are using Ohio products in the global market. The series’ regular segments will also return for season two. Viewers will learn better gardening techniques; discover more ways to stay healthy; join Chef Pierre for interesting cooking tips and new recipes; and much more.

PROFILE BEHIND THE SCENES: Larry LeMieux

Producing a festival the size of the Cityfolk Festival takes a lot of work, and a lot of volunteers to run smoothly. One volunteer who came to our attention early on is Larry LeMieux. His dedication, hard work ethic and enthusiasm for traditional music are obvious. He has ably handled every job we have asked of him, and has risen to become our Director of Operations.

Larry has loved folk music since he discovered it at coffee houses in Seattle in the late 1950s. He feels privileged to have flown a unique mission in Vietnam and became one of the first members of the Society of Wild Weasels. Because of his experience with the Cityfolk Festival, Larry has become a festival junkie. You’ll find him behind the scenes at the Dayton Celtic Festival, the Dublin Irish Festival, and the Cincinnati Celtic Festival. During the rest of the year, Larry works on radar analysis at Syracuse Research Corporation at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, tends his 7 horses, is the historian for the Society of Wild Weasels and coordinates an exhibit about the Society at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.

RECORDINGS I'M LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: Se by Lunasa, The Farthest Wave by Cathie Ryan and Waiting for an Echo by Solas

LAST FEW BOOKS I'VE READ: First In, Last Out: Stories by The Wild Weasels edited by Edward Rock; books about living in Ireland by Niall Williams and Christine Breen, including O Come Ye Back to Ireland and The Luck of the Irish: Our Life in County Clare

FAVORITE LIVE MUSIC EXPERIENCE: The Festival and Celtic concerts

FAVORITE CITYFOLK FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE: Working behind the scenes and seeing it all come together

FAVORITE COMFORT FOOD: Cookies and cake

FAVORITE PASSTIMES: Taking care of the horses, flying, and listening to Celtic music

DREAM VACATION: Visiting Ireland and Scotland

My first traditional music love was Celtic, kindled by Capercaillie's Sidewaulk. Not long after, the good folks of Rhythm in Shoes introduced me to Celtic music's American cousin: old-timey music. The cousins have a lot in common: most of the repertoire is lively and energetic with percussive dancing to match, there are similar instruments at their core (fiddle, guitar and banjo) and their roots are very social (think of the Irish seisiún in the corner of the neighborhood pub). The best old-timey jam sessions I've heard were made up of friends around a late-night campfire.

Many groups perform old-timey music on stage, but in my opinion few capture the wild energy of the campfire jam. One young band who succeeds is the Foghorn Stringband from Portland, Oregon. The quintet crowds around a couple microphones at center stage as if they were a campfire and dive right into the tunes. They play with such intensity that I wouldn't be suprised if they break strings left and right, and their joy at sharing this music spreads to the audience until everyone is grinning and tapping their foot. Their studio recordings don't capture the same energy they have on stage but are good reminders of a fabulous live experience.

The Wilders bring a different spin to old-time music, dipping their toes into the country side of things. They also play tunes with a kind of fiery abandon that makes you wonder how many strings they'll go through before their set is over. The Wilders' playlist is peppered with original country, bluegrass, hillbilly songs, and fiddle tunes, and also includes many of the classic country favorites heard in the early days of the Grand Ol' Opry radio show. 'Electric' doesn't begin to touch the energy this band puts out! (Photo by Michael Kanemoto)

But don't just take my word for it: get out and see these bands, and feel the electricity for yourself! Tide yourself by with live soundclips the links below.

From time to time, stories on NPR, in the New York Times and in other places catch the eye (or ear) of the Cityfolk staff. These are stories about traditional music, handicrafts, ways of life...stories that deepen our understanding and appreciation for the folkways of the world. We will keep bringing as much of this to Dayton as we can; in the meantime, take a listen to this:

If you find a story that you'd like to share with other Cityfolk ENews readers, please send us the link and we'll put it the hopper for possible inclusion.

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