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Songs from Europe
I don't sing many songs from Europe, as I don't speak European languages apart from a little French. I have also included songs from South America here as they are in Spanish.
You can watch a playlist of these songs.
A very popular folk song, often considered a children's song. It is traditionally sung with the second line of each couplet becoming the first line of the next, though these days it is generally shortened by just singing each line once.
It is a sad story about a man who loses the woman he loved because he neglected to give her a bouquet of flowers.
My video of the song is here and the lyrics are here.
The origins of this popular cumulative children's song are unclear. It is generally believed to be of French Canadian origin, and it was first published in Montreal in 1879 in A Pocket Song Book for the Use of Students and Graduates of McGill College, but Canadian folklorist Marius Barbeau believed it was originally from France.
An "alouette" is a skylark, and the song is about plucking the feathers from various parts of the body to prepare it for eating. American servicemen learned it in France during WWI and took it back to America with them.
I sing it here with a little help from my grandson and wife. The lyrics are here.
A 17th century French folk song of military origins. For example, it was sung by the French as they went into action at the battle of Malplaquet in 1709, where they were beaten by the Duke of Marlborough. It was common practice to sing a special song when going into battle to decrease the chances of being killed by friendly fire in the confusion of powder fog, which rendered flags and uniforms all but invisible.
The author of the lyrics is said to be André Joubert, a man from the isle of Noirmoutier taken as a hostage by the Dutch in 1674, though the tune was around much earlier. The earliest printed version appeared in 1704.
These days it is often considered to be a children's song.
Please excuse the errors in pronunciation. I've noticed some myself and I'm sure there are many more.
Here is an excellent rendition by my friend, Jean - (nondepouk) and here is a karaoke version, presented as a children's song.
Here is my rendition and the lyrics are here.
One of Axel's favourite French songs. You can hear him sing it with me here, and he also sings his own English translation.
Here are the French lyrics.
I learned this French drinking song at school from my French teacher, many years ago.
It is best sung with a group of people - even if they only join in the "Oui, oui, oui" and "Non, non, non" - especially if everyone's had a few drinks.
In the second part of my video you can hear my English translation.
I also sang this song recently at the Victorian Folk Music Club.
The lyrics are here.
This song tells of the cycle of the production and consumption of wine - beginning with the fruit on the vine, passing from barrel to bottle to glass, and eventually back to the earth again.
I first heard this sung by Sylvia Kahn on an album called Hootenanny Tonight.
Here is my performance and the lyrics are here.
Jeanine Deckers (1933 – 1985), known in English as The Singing Nun, was a member of the Dominican Fichermont Convent in Belgium, where she was called Sister Luc Gabriel. She became internationally famous in 1963 as Soeur Sourire (Sister Smile) when she scored a big hit with this song about St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican order and patron saint of astronomers. Though it was her only hit song, I also like her song Entre les Etoiles, which I think was the B-side of Dominique, and which I have uploaded some time ago.
I remember when I was a teenager my French grandmother loved to hear me singing this song for her.
My performance can be seen here and the lyrics are here.
This is one of the songs sung by Soeur Sourire, the Singing Nun, from Belgium (Jeanine Deckers). If I remember rightly, it was the B-side of her biggest (and only) hit, Dominique.
You can hear my performance here, and here is the original song sung by Soeur Sourire. The lyrics are here.
This carol, known in English as Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella originated in the Provence region of France in the 16th century as dance music for the French nobility rather than a Christmas song. It was first published in 1553, and was eventually translated into English in the 18th century.
The song tells the story of two milkmaids, Jeanette and Isabella, who go to milk their cows in a manger in Bethlehem, only to find baby Jesus sleeping in the hay. They run to town to tell the people of the village, who bring their own torches to see for themselves, keeping their voices down so as not to wake baby Jesus. Children in Provence still dress up as shepherds and milkmaids, carrying torches and candles to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve as they sing this carol.
I sing it here in French, followed by the English translation. Here are the lyrics.
This song is a French translation of a children's song written by Canadian singer, Peter Alsop. His friend Charlotte's version became quite a hit. My three-year-old grandson, Axel, loves this one, both in English and in French.
You can see me sing this song with my four-year-old grandson, Felix. Here are the lyrics.
Also known as "Il était un petit navire" (There was a little ship), this traditional French song is generally considered to be a children's song, despite the fact that it deals with cannibalism.
It tells the story of a young shipwrecked sailor who has drawn the short straw and is to be eaten by the rest of the crew. While they are discussing the best way to cook him and what sauce to use, he escapes up the mast and prays to the Virgin Mary, who intervenes with a miracle, by causing thousands of small fish to jump into the boat.
Here is my rendition of the song and here are the lyrics.
The melody of this song was composed in 1780 by Johann Schwartzendorf (1741-1816), also known as “Jean Paul Egide Martini”. The original French lyrics are from a poem by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (1755-1794), in his romance Célestine. An orchestral version was composed by Hector Berlioz (1803-1869).
The song is often sung in English with the title, The Joys of Love, usually with some of the original French lyrics included.
The song has been recorded by Joan Baez (singing here with Nana Mouskouri), Karen Allyson, Judith Durham and Charlotte Church.
Here is my rendition and the lyrics are here.
This song dates back to the 15th century. The bridge is actually Pont St. Bénézet but it is better known as the Pont d’Avignon. The original version of the song was actually Sous le Pont d'Avignon (Under the Bridge of Avignon), because in medieval times there were popular cafés with dancing and other pleasure activities on the Ile de la Barthelasse, under the arches of the bridge. Nobody would have been allowed to dance on the bridge.
I sang this song with my four-year-old grandson, Axel. Here are the lyrics.
This Oscar-nominated song is one of the highlights of the 2004 French movie, Les Choristes, a remake of the 1945 classic La Cage aux Rossingnols (A Cage of Nightingales).
The title may be translated as Look to Your Path. My performance is here and the lyrics are here.
A German song in which the singer compares his heart to a beehive. All the girls in his heart are the bees buzzing around.
You can watch me singing this, and the lyrics are here.
It has been claimed that this song goes back to the Bundshuh rebellion of 1525 when the peasants rebelled against their oppression by the Swabian princes. The revolt was a failure and serfdom continued for another three hundred years in Germany. There is little evidence for this bit of folklore however and it is more likely to have its origins in the 18th century, when it was published as a broadside. The concept of freedom of thought has nearly always been considered dangerous and the song was banned for many years before the 1848 revolution, especially as it was seen to associated with the ideals of the French Revolution. It was widely sung in pre-Hitler Germany and brought to the USA by German immigrants fleeing Nazi Germany. It is also said to have been sung in German concentration camps between 1933 and 1945.
The best known English translation is by Arthur Kevess (1950). His version was recorded by The Limeliters, and also by Pete Seeger. Here is an excellent rendition by YouTube friend garibelon.
Here is my rendition and here are the lyrics.
In 1915, Hans Leip, supposedly on guard duty at the time wrote a farewell poem for two girl friends, Lili and Marleen. The original title was Das Mädchen unter der Laterne. Shortly before WWII, in 1938, it was set to music by Norbert Schultze. It became the most popular song of WWII, the unofficial anthem of the foot soldiers of both sides in the war. It is said to have been translated into 48 languages.
This is a literal translation of the German words:
Before the barracks, before the big gate stood a lantern, and it stands there today! It stands there and cannot understand what is, once more, happening to us - as did once Lili Marleen!
Does it have to do with pride, or only power? What is it that has brought us out of our senses? Whichever way we twist or turn we will finally stand before the judge - some day, Lili Marleen!
Who buries the dead, gone for ever in the desert sand? Who counts the victims on the oil-soaked beach? Tell me, how much pain must we still suffer, until we see the stupidity, the uselessness of it all? Oh God, Lili Marleen!
From the quiet rooms, from the earth, there rises before me as in a dream your deathly pale mouth. Before the swirling mists clear, let war and hate come to an end - now, today, Lili Marleen!
The original song, then, is a plea for sanity in the turmoil of World War One and bears little resemblance to either the later German version or the popular British version, which was commissioned by the British government in order to "de-Teutonize" the song, which troops in the North African campaign had picked up from German broadcasts and captured POWs.
Recorded just before the war by Lale Andersen, the song sold only 700 copies, until German Forces Radio in occupied Belgrade began broadcasting it to the Africa Korps in 1941. Itwas immediately banned in Germany, which, of course, made it even more popular.
When the Allies heard it, the song became the favourite tune of soldiers on both sides, regardless of language.
The story goes that a British song publisher named J. J. Phillips reprimanded a group of British soldiers for singing a German song. One of them replied angrily, "Why don't you write us some English words?" Phillips collaborated with Tommie Connor, a British songwriter, to produce an English version in 1944. Ann Shelton's recording was a hit in the Allied countries, and Vera Lynn sang it over the BBC to the Allied troops.
Apart from Ann Shelton's initial hit, the best known recordings of the song were made by Marlene Dietrich (both in German and English) in the late 1940s and early 1950s. It has been recorded by many artists, including Perry Como (1944), Hank Snow (1960s) and Al Martino (1968).
Here is my rendition, in German and also in English. You will find both sets of lyrics here.
The gist of this German folksong is that a man has to leave his girlfriend as he has business elsewhere, but he promises he will resist the temptations of other women and eventually return to her. It has been recorded by Marlene Dietrich, among others.
Wooden Heart, with English words set to this tune, and incorporating some of the German words, was a big hit for Elvis Presley in 1964, though he first sang it in his 1960 movie, G.I. Blues.
Here is my attempt at singing this song. And here are the words.
The Peat Bog Soldiers (Die Moorsoldaten) (Langhoff und Esser)
Die Moorsoldaten is one of the best known songs of the political resistance movement against National Socialism.It was written in the Moor concentration camps, a chain of fifteen camps opened in Nazi Germany in 1933, and known collectively as the Emslandlager. The prisoners were not Jews, but communists, labor leaders, and left wing Christians sent to the camps early in the Nazi period because of their resistance or suspected resistance to the Nazi government.
The song was composed in the summer of 1933 at the Börgermoor concentration camp, close to the town of Papenburg, in response to brutality by camp guards. The lyrics were written by Wolfgang Langhoff and Johann Esser, who were left-wing actors, and the music composed by Rudi Goguel, later adapted by Hanns Eisler and Ernst Busch, all of them active in the German Communist party. The camp commandant prohibited prisoners from singing it because of its last line. Nevertheless, the song spread rapidly through all the Emsland camps, where it continued to be sung until 1939.
Hanns Einsler took the song with him when he went to the USA as a refugee, and it was recorded by various artists, mainly left-wing, such as Paul Robeson, who recorded it in January 30, 1942, on his album, Songs of Free Men (Columbia). It has also been recorded by Theodore Bikel, Pete Seeger, Ryan's Fancy and The Dubliners. There are some videos of the song in German on YouTube. Here is a typical version and here is one performed by a pop group.
Here is my rendition of the original German version, and here is my friend, Dave Ellis, singing it in English. Both the German words and the English translation can be found here.
I am honoured that gdgest has put this video on his website of Folk Songs from Newfoundland and Labrador.
The words of this song, known in English as Silent Night, were written just before Christmas in 1818, by Joseph Mohr, 26-year old assistant to the priest at St. Nicholas' Church at Oberndorf, a village 11 miles down the Salzach River from Salzburg. He asked his friend, 31-year-old Franz X. Gruber, a school teacher in the neighboring village of Arnsdorf and organist at St. Nicholas', to set it to music so that they could sing it together at the midnight Christmas service, using guitar accompaniment as the church organ had broken down.
This song was to become best known of all carols, translated into every language, yet before that it was almost lost. After its initial performance it was forgotten for seven years, until Carl Mauracher was commissioned to rebuild the organ at St. Nicholas' in 1825, and found a handwritten copy of the words and music in the organ loft. He took it back to his Tyrolian home where choral groups took the song with them wherever they sang. It became known as "the Tyrolian folk carol."
When it became the favourite carol of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, the director of the Royal Court Choir of Berlin researched its origins, in 1854, and traced it back to Salzburg and its composers, Joseph Mohr and Franz X. Gruber.
I learned it many years ago at school in German lessons, though I’ve probably forgotten a lot of the pronunciation, but here is my attempt at singing it.
The most popular English version of Silent Night is a translation by the Episcopal priest Reverend John Freeman Young, who enjoyed translating European hymns and carols into English. His 1863 text of Silent Night is the version found in most modern English hymn books and Christmas carol collections.
Here is my video of the English translation. And here are the lyrics.
I know very little about this song. It appears to be in a kind of pseudo-Dutch language. It is from the songbook Songs For Singing by Frank Lynn, also known as James F. Leisy. If anyone can shed some light on its origin please let me know.
The story is quite simple. The girl agrees with the father that she should marry, but finds fault with all his choices except the last. In some ways it is very similar to the Italian song I have put up some time ago - Cara Mama Io Sono Malata.
Here is my rendition and here are the lyrics.
This popular Italian song, apparently based on an earlier folk song of rice weeders in the Po Valley, was sung during the second world war by the anti-fascist resistance movement in Italy.
In 1943 Southern Italy surrendered to allied troops in Sicily, ending the fascist regime and WWII for the South, but the Centre and North were under the control of Italian fascists and German nazis. The partisans who started the resistance in the mountains of Central and Northern Italy, were not just a collection of anarchists, communists and socialists, but ordinary men and women who put themselves and their families at great risk to free their country from the fascist reign of terror. Many were tortured and executed, and, if a German soldier was killed, German SS troops would kill up to 100 civilians in revenge.
The song has been recorded many times. Here is an excellent interpretation by YouTube folksinger, Marco Acca. And here is Marco again singing it with me.
The following is a rough translation:
One morning when I awakened
I found invaders all around.
Oh partisan, come take me with you
Because I feel I am going to die.
If I die fighting as a partisan
You must come and bury me.
Bury me there, up in the mountains.
Shade my grave with a lovely flower.
So all the people who pass that way
Will say, "What a lovely flower!"
"Ah, that's the flower of the partisan fighter
Who died for freedom's sake!"
This song is about a girl who complains to her mother that she is sick and asks her to bring something from the garden to cure her. The mother offers to pick her a lettuce, but her daughter tells her not to be stupid; a lettuce will not cure her. The mother then suggests potatoes and then tomatoes, but is again told she is stupid. Finally, the mother offers to bring her the gardener, and the daughter agrees that this is just what she needs to cure her malady. She is now full of praise for her wonderful mother who is able to diagnose her illness.
You can see my performance and one I did with Marco Acca in Rome in September 2011. Thanks to Marco, my Italian is rather more accurate in this second video.
The lyrics are here.
Ole Borneman Bull (1810 – 1880), a great Norwegian violinist, is considered Norway's first international star. In 1853, on one of many successful tours to the United States, he obtained a large tract of land in Pennsylvania and founded a colony, which was called New Norway. The land consisted of four communities: New Bergen (now Carter Camp), Oleana (from his own name), New Norway and Valhalla, where his unfinished Nordjenskald castle is located. The venture was a failure and Bull went back to giving concerts.
The original song, which makes fun of Ole's Utopian dream, was written in 1853 by Ditmar Meidell, a Norwegian newspaper editor. Theodore C. Blegen included the song in his 1936 book Norwegian Emigrant Songs and Ballads, together with a literal translation by Martin B. Rudd. Though Blegen himself wrote a singable translation (22 verses long) the version generally known today is Pete Seeger's adaptation of Rudd's translation.
Seeger recorded the song in 1955 for Folk Songs of Four Continents and again in 1956 for With Voices Together We Sing, both on Folkways records.
Theodore Bikel and Alan Lomax both published versions of Oleanna in 1960 based on Seeger's version, and Ditmar Meidell's original song.
Recordings include Theodore Bikel on his 1959 album Folk Songs From Just About Everywhere (Elektra) and The Kingston Trio on their hit album Here We Go Again (1959), though their version had new lyrics unrelated to the original song.
You can hear a great recording of Pete Seeger and Lillebjørn Nilsen singing the song at Tønder Festival in Denmark 1990.
You can see my rendition of the song here. Here are the lyrics.
Spain and Spanish-speaking Countries
The first verse of this popular Mexican Ranchera song comes from a song in the early 1600s, when armed bandits lived in the Sierra Morena mountains of Spain. It later became romanticed as "Your face is the Sierra Morena. Your eyes are thieves who live there." Mendoza adapted it in 1882, adding a chorus and more verses and composing the tune we know today. It is often played by mariachi bands and has been recorded by many artists, including Pedro Infante, The Mills Brothers, Nana Mouskouri, Deanna Durbin and Pavarotti.
Here is my rendition and here are the lyrics.
This song is for my wife, who is learning Spanish.
This popular children's song from Puerto Rico is about a very small frog that is native to that country. During the night it makes the characteristic sound, "coqui, coqui, coqui", hence its name. For a folk tale about the origin of the coqui, click here.
Here is my rendition of the song and here are the lyrics.
Manuel Fernández Caballero (1835 - 1906) was one of the greatest composers of the zarzuela (operetta) tradition.
Gigantes y Cabezuedos is a zarzuela in three scenes, written by Miguel Echegaray y Eizaguirre. It premiered at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid in 1898, where it met with great success. A patriotic rallying cry after the Spanish defeat in Cuba, it is still immensely popular.
One of the highlights is this song about a letter written to someone who can not read! It is performed here by soprano, Jocelyne Lucas, accompanied by Gérard Verba on classical guitar.
This performance was part of a series of concerts performed at the Cloitre medieval des Billettes in Paris in August 2012, under the title La Nuit des jardins d'Espagne, which my wife and I had the pleasure of attending.
This is probably the best known song from Cuba and means "the girl from Guantánamo".
This song is usually credited to José Fernández Diaz (known as Joseíto Fernández), who claimed to have written it in about 1929. Some American researchers claim it was at least partly written by Herminio "El Diablo" García Wilson, whose heirs took the matter to court decades later but lost the case.
It was supposedly written in response to a woman ho rejected his advances, but Diaz himself changed his story a number of times. He also changed the words of the song at different times. In fact he used it on his radio show to comment on daily events by adapting them to fit the song. Others took his lead and the song became a popular vehicle for romantic, patriotic, humorous, or social commentary lyrics, in Cuba and other Spanish-speaking countries.
The best known version of the song uses a poem by Cuban nationalist poet and independence hero, José Martí, adapted by Julián Orbón. Because of Martí's hero status this raised the song to the level of an unofficial anthem.
Here is my rendition, dedicated to my wife, who is learning Spanish, and here are the lyrics.
A song from from Chile.
I first heard this song sung by The Weavers. It was also recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary, and The Belafonte Singers. Patricia Cummings, who also recorded the song, translated the first verse as follows:
My horse is as white as the sunrise.
Together we always go,
He is my most faithful friend.
My horse, my horse, galloping goes,
My horse, my horse, goes and goes.
Here is my performance of the song. And here are the lyrics.
Federico Moreno Torroba (1891– 1982) was a Spanish composer, born in Madrid. He is noted mostly for his contributions to the classical guitar repertoire, but he also wrote for other instruments, including many zarzuelas (Spanish operettas) and operas.
This song is from the zarzuela, La Marchenera. Torroba wrote the music to lyrics by F. Luque and Ricardo Gonzalez de Toro.
It is performed here by soprano, Jocelyne Lucas, accompanied by Gérard Verba on classical guitar.
This performance was part of a series of concerts performed at the Cloitre medieval des Billettes in Paris in August 2012, under the title La Nuit des jardins d'Espagne, which my wife and I had the pleasure of attending.
Here are the lyrics:
Tres horas antes del día la lunita buscaba al sol, va de lucero en lucero, ¡ay! buscando su resplandor. Tengo un querer forastero que por los ojos entró; voy de suspiro en suspiro, ¡ay!, buscando su corazón. La primera rosa, la más primorosa, que den mis rosales, al entregársela, diré ... Tómala. Tómala, que es tempranera, y tu corazón y el mío dentro van uníos en un solo ser. Tómala; tenla dentro de tu pecho debajo e siete llaves, pa que ya en la vía, se salga de él ... Tómala, mi querer te la da. Pregonero, pregonero, ve y publícame este pregón: ¿De quien es este cariño que he encontrado en mi corazón? Toíta la gente lo sabe y el bien de mi vida, no. Pregonero, pregonero, ve y publícame este pregón.
Although this song is in Spanish, it is actually an American song. You will find it listed in that section.
Gerónimo Giménez (1854-1923) was a Spanish conductor and composer, who dedicated his career to writing zarzuelas (operettas), such as La Tempranica and La Boda de Luis Alonso. He had a noticeable influence on later Spanish composers such as Joaquín Turina and Manuel de Falla.
This song is from Giménez' 1900 zarzuela, La Tempranica, which is considered to be his best work. It is performed here by soprano, Jocelyne Lucas, accompanied by Gérard Verba on classical guitar.
This performance was part of a series of concerts performed at the Cloitre medieval des Billettes in Paris in August 2012, under the title "La Nuit des jardins d'Espagne", which my wife and I had the pleasure of attending.
Here are the lyrics:
La tarántula é un bicho mú malo
No se mata con piera ni palo;
Que juye y se mete por tós los rincones
Y son mú malinas sus picazones.
¡Ay mare!, no zé que tengo
Que ayé pazé por la era
Y ha principiaito a entrarme
Er má de la temblaera.
Zerá q'a mí me ha picáo
La tarántula dañina
Y estoy toitico enfermáo.
Por su sangre tan endina.
¡Te coman los mengues
Mardita la araña
Que tié en la barriga
Pintá una guitarra!
Bailando se cura tan jondo doló.
¡Ay! ¡Mal haya la araña que a mí me picó!
No le temo á los rayos ni balas
Ni le temo á otra cosa más mala
Que me hizo mi pare;
Más guapo que er gayo
Pero á ese bichito lo parta un rayo.
¡Ay mare! yo estoy malito.
Me está entrando unos suores
Que me han dejaito seco
Y comío de picores.
Zerá que á mí me ha picáo
La tarántula dañina,
Y por eso me he quedao
Más dergao que una sardina.
¡Te coman los mengues,
Mardita la araña
Que tié la barriga
Pintá una guitarra!
Bailando se cura tan jondo doló.
¡Ay! ¡Mal haya la araña que a mí me picó!
Here are three songs from Bosnia-Herzegovina, performed by the choir, Sevdalinka, at the 2012 Flavours Festival at Grattan Gardens in Prahran.
If anyone has any information about these songs, please let me know.
This song, an example of modern Romanian folk, could be translated as Appeal or Call to Action.
I recorded Alexandra singing this at a folk concert in which she appeared as one of the support acts for alternative folk duo, Tapinarii, at the opening of Biblioteca Centrala Janis in Cluj-Napoca. (The "Janis" is a reference to Janis Joplin.) It is very dark so you can't see much, but you can get some idea of the environment. The lyrics are here, with a very rough English translation.
One of four Romanian folks songs I recorded from Codruta Maria Fat, who we met in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. You can see her singing it here.
Here are the lyrics.
One of four Romanian folks songs I recorded from Codruta Maria Fat, who we met in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. You can see her singing it here. It is also one of the songs I recorded at a concert of popular Romanian songs in Bucharest.
You can see the lyrics here, with a rough English translation.
One of four Romanian folks songs I recorded from Codruta Maria Fat, who we met in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. You can see her singing it here.
I have not yet found the lyrics of this song.
Another of the support acts for for alternative folk duo, Tapinarii, at the opening of Biblioteca Centrala Janis in Cluj-Napoca, was Claudiu Aftimescu. I filmed him singing this Romanian folk song.
You can see the lyrics here, including a rough English translation.
One of four Romanian folks songs I recorded from Codruta Maria Fat, who we met in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. You can see her singing it here.
Here are the lyrics.
When we visited the outdoor Village Museum (Muzeul National al Satului) in Bucharest on Sunday 26th June we saw part of a three-day festival of traditional music.
One of the shows we saw consisted of five popular Romanian singers doing a number of songs each. This video shows one song from each singer except for Stefania Rares, who does the first and last.
The performers, as far as I can work out are, in order of appearance:
Stefania Rares
Maria Butaciu
Ion Dragan
Măriuca Verdeş
Elena Merisoreanu
Stefania Rares (again)
Rodica Anghelescu was also listed on the program but I don't think she is here.
I hope someone more familiar with Romanian music will be able to confirm the above names and, if possible, tell me the names of these songs.
Another part of the festival at the Village Museum in Bucharest. Local choral group, Corul Sound, directed by Voicu Popescu, performed a number of songs, two of which can be heard on this video.
I just caught the tail-end of this final night of a folk festival at Cismigiu Park in Bucharest. At first I was too far back to record much, but I managed to get up to the front for the encores as people stared leaving.
I recorded Moldavian folk singer, Claudiu Aftimescu, singing this song with Ovidici Bradatan, as one of the support acts for alternative folk duo, Tapinarii, at the opening of Biblioteca Centrala Janis in Cluj-Napoca. (The "Janis" is a reference to Janis Joplin.) It is very dark so you can't see much, but you can get some idea of the environment. This is the last of the videos I have from that enjoyable evening.
We saw this popular alternative folk duo at the opening of Biblioteca Centrala Janis in Cluj-Napoca. They were the headline act, supported by several well-known singers of modern Romanian folk songs. I had to split this video into two parts.
The songs I recorded are as follows.
Part 1:
1. Suturi (A Kick in the Ass)
2. Idei preconcepute (Preconceived Ideas)
3. Un ungur mic (A Little Hungarian)
Part 2:
4. Inger Nebun (Crazy Angel)
5. N-are lumea bani (The People Have No Money)
You can see the lyrics, with a very rough English translation, by clicking on the titles. The first three songs are here. The other two are here.
These songs were sung at the European Championship of Folklore which we saw in Nessebar, Bulgaria. I know nothing about the songs or the artists. Please let me know if you can identify them.
One has now been identified as Naspa li se lube, le and I have put the details below.
Here is one by a solo vocalist.
And here is a video of three more songs from this show.
We saw this dance at the European Championship of Folklore in Nessebar, Bulgaria.
This is one of the songs we saw at the European Championship of Folklore which we saw in Nessebar, Bulgaria.
It has been identified by TheBlondeyBoy. It is sung here by a choral group.
Russia and Ukraine
This semi-professional dance troupe is based in Edmonton, Canada. To us they were the highlight of the European Championship of Folklore which we saw in Nessebar, Bulgaria. They were the only North American group taking part in the competition, which took place in Burgas and Sunny Beach as well as Nessebar. All three sites are popular resorts along the Black Sea.
The Cheremosh company is named after a river in western Ukraine. It was formed by Chester and Luba Kuc in 1969. In 2007, Cheremosh toured China with the native American troupe Blackfoot Medicine Speaks. Their current artistic director is Mykola Kanevets, who has worked with Cheremosh since 1991.
Here they are performing Bukovyns'kyi Svyatkovyi, a Bukovynian Celebration Dance, and here are some more examples of the performances they did at the amphitheatre in Nessebar on 15th July.
Ensemble Nostalgia is a group of women from Russian, Jewish and Muslim backgrounds. We saw them perform with a male singer at the Will Sampson centre as part of the Stonnington Seniors festival in October 2012.
Each of these two videos presents three of their songs. Here is Part 1 and here is Part 2. If anyone can identify these songs, please let me know.
Probably the best-known Russian song of all time, Kalinka is often thought to be a traditional folk song. However, it was actually written in 1860 by composer and folklorist Ivan Petrovich Larionov. It was first performed in Saratov and soon was added to the repertory of a folk choral group.
The song is about a snowball tree, but is pretty much untranslatable, being full of double meanings that would not make sense in other languages. It is often performed in a frenzied style by singers and dancers.
Since Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea Football Club in 2003, the song has been associated with this club and is often played before or after important matches.
It is performed here by the Nadezhda Russian Choir at the Flavours Festival in Prahran. You can also see this choir performing popular Jewish folk songs. See under Israel, in Songs from Africa and the Middle East.
The lyrics are here.
Stenka Razin (Dmitri Volnitsa)
Stepan (Sten'ka) Timofeyevich Razin was a Cossack leader who began as a bandit but later fought for the poor against the wealthy lords under the rule of the Tsar in South Russia. In 1670 he led a rebellion against the government, capturing Astrakhan and establishing a Cossack republic along the Volga River, before advancing towards Moscow. In 1671 he was captured and taken to Moscow, where he was tortured and quartered alive in the Red Square. Prince Ivan Miloslavsky restored full government control in November, 1671.
Dmitri Sadovnikov wrote the lyrics of this popular Russian song about Stenka Razin in 1883. It is also known as Ponizovaya Volnitsa and Volga, Volga Mat' Rodnaya. He used a traditional Russian tune, which was later used by Tom Springfield for his song The Carnival is Over, a big hit for The Seekers in 1965.
One of the very first Russian films was based on this song, Vladimir Romashkov's 1908 10 minute movie, Stenka Razin.
You can hear my rendition both in Russian and English and you can see the lyrics here.
On our first night in Bursa we were invited into a local musical gathering, where we met Ahmed, a retired school principal who likes to meet foreign tourists and show them around. He suggested we accompany him and some tourists he had met to a dance school where a different group of students performed a sufi dance every evening. We enjoyed it so much that we found our way there again the next night to see it again.
Sufi is a kind of worship through dance which originated in the 12th century. Sufi fraternities were first organized with a master (sheikh) and disciples (dervishes, from Persian "darwish") as a way of following Islamic beliefs. Sufism is attributed to a series of revered saints, beginning with the prophet Muhammad himself. The dance consists of whirling around, with the left foot as the axis while the right foot makes a 360 degree rotation. The dancer becomes entranced through the repetitious movement. The beautiful accompanying music begins with a hymn honouring the Prophet and ending with passionate songs of praise and a final amen, which the audience joins in with.
This video, taken by my wife, shows about five minutes out of around twenty minutes of dance, so it is a bit disjointed. Hopefully it will give some impression of the beauty of this highly spiritual form of dance and the accompanying deeply religious music.
This video shows some of the songs from a concert we saw on the city square in Amasya, Turkey. It shows the four finalists in a Turkish Art Music Contest presenting their own compositions. I believe the artists are Ayse Mustafa Yolaşan'ın Stone, Tuğçe P, Seda Gökkadar and Nusret Yilmaz Arslan. Each of the four contestants sang two songs. While the judges were consulting, a guest artist came on and gave a brilliant performance. Unfortunately our camera had run out of memory by this time.
We chanced upon a wedding in Tokat and were invited to join the feast. The resulting video is divided into three parts. The first shows a young man singing and playing a Turkish stringed instrument. The second shows wedding music played on a wind instrument and drum, and in the third part the music continues as we enjoy a delicious Turkish meal.
These are three European folk songs from the Eurofolk Competition at Nessebar in Bulgaria, filmed on 14th and 15th July 2011.
I have no information about these songs or artists. If anyone can help, please let me know.
You can watch a playlist of these songs.
France
A la Claire Fontaine
A very popular folk song, often considered a children's song. It is traditionally sung with the second line of each couplet becoming the first line of the next, though these days it is generally shortened by just singing each line once.
It is a sad story about a man who loses the woman he loved because he neglected to give her a bouquet of flowers.
My video of the song is here and the lyrics are here.
Alouette
The origins of this popular cumulative children's song are unclear. It is generally believed to be of French Canadian origin, and it was first published in Montreal in 1879 in A Pocket Song Book for the Use of Students and Graduates of McGill College, but Canadian folklorist Marius Barbeau believed it was originally from France.
An "alouette" is a skylark, and the song is about plucking the feathers from various parts of the body to prepare it for eating. American servicemen learned it in France during WWI and took it back to America with them.
I sing it here with a little help from my grandson and wife. The lyrics are here.
Aupres de ma Blonde
A 17th century French folk song of military origins. For example, it was sung by the French as they went into action at the battle of Malplaquet in 1709, where they were beaten by the Duke of Marlborough. It was common practice to sing a special song when going into battle to decrease the chances of being killed by friendly fire in the confusion of powder fog, which rendered flags and uniforms all but invisible.
The author of the lyrics is said to be André Joubert, a man from the isle of Noirmoutier taken as a hostage by the Dutch in 1674, though the tune was around much earlier. The earliest printed version appeared in 1704.
These days it is often considered to be a children's song.
Please excuse the errors in pronunciation. I've noticed some myself and I'm sure there are many more.
Here is an excellent rendition by my friend, Jean - (nondepouk) and here is a karaoke version, presented as a children's song.
Here is my rendition and the lyrics are here.
C'est l'Halloween (Matt Maxwell)
One of Axel's favourite French songs. You can hear him sing it with me here, and he also sings his own English translation.
Here are the French lyrics.
Chevaliers de la Table Ronde
I learned this French drinking song at school from my French teacher, many years ago.
It is best sung with a group of people - even if they only join in the "Oui, oui, oui" and "Non, non, non" - especially if everyone's had a few drinks.
In the second part of my video you can hear my English translation.
I also sang this song recently at the Victorian Folk Music Club.
The lyrics are here.
Cycle du Vin
This song tells of the cycle of the production and consumption of wine - beginning with the fruit on the vine, passing from barrel to bottle to glass, and eventually back to the earth again.
I first heard this sung by Sylvia Kahn on an album called Hootenanny Tonight.
Here is my performance and the lyrics are here.
Dominique (Jeanine Deckers)
Jeanine Deckers (1933 – 1985), known in English as The Singing Nun, was a member of the Dominican Fichermont Convent in Belgium, where she was called Sister Luc Gabriel. She became internationally famous in 1963 as Soeur Sourire (Sister Smile) when she scored a big hit with this song about St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican order and patron saint of astronomers. Though it was her only hit song, I also like her song Entre les Etoiles, which I think was the B-side of Dominique, and which I have uploaded some time ago.
I remember when I was a teenager my French grandmother loved to hear me singing this song for her.
My performance can be seen here and the lyrics are here.
Entre les Etoiles (Jeanine Deckers)
This is one of the songs sung by Soeur Sourire, the Singing Nun, from Belgium (Jeanine Deckers). If I remember rightly, it was the B-side of her biggest (and only) hit, Dominique.
You can hear my performance here, and here is the original song sung by Soeur Sourire. The lyrics are here.
Flambeau La, Jeanette, Isabelle (Traditional French Carol)
This carol, known in English as Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella originated in the Provence region of France in the 16th century as dance music for the French nobility rather than a Christmas song. It was first published in 1553, and was eventually translated into English in the 18th century.
The song tells the story of two milkmaids, Jeanette and Isabella, who go to milk their cows in a manger in Bethlehem, only to find baby Jesus sleeping in the hay. They run to town to tell the people of the village, who bring their own torches to see for themselves, keeping their voices down so as not to wake baby Jesus. Children in Provence still dress up as shepherds and milkmaids, carrying torches and candles to midnight Mass on Christmas Eve as they sing this carol.
I sing it here in French, followed by the English translation. Here are the lyrics.
Je Suis Une Pizza (Peter Alsop, translated by Charlotte Diamond)
This song is a French translation of a children's song written by Canadian singer, Peter Alsop. His friend Charlotte's version became quite a hit. My three-year-old grandson, Axel, loves this one, both in English and in French.
You can see me sing this song with my four-year-old grandson, Felix. Here are the lyrics.
Le Petit Navire
Also known as "Il était un petit navire" (There was a little ship), this traditional French song is generally considered to be a children's song, despite the fact that it deals with cannibalism.
It tells the story of a young shipwrecked sailor who has drawn the short straw and is to be eaten by the rest of the crew. While they are discussing the best way to cook him and what sauce to use, he escapes up the mast and prays to the Virgin Mary, who intervenes with a miracle, by causing thousands of small fish to jump into the boat.
Here is my rendition of the song and here are the lyrics.
Plaisir D'Amour
The melody of this song was composed in 1780 by Johann Schwartzendorf (1741-1816), also known as “Jean Paul Egide Martini”. The original French lyrics are from a poem by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (1755-1794), in his romance Célestine. An orchestral version was composed by Hector Berlioz (1803-1869).
The song is often sung in English with the title, The Joys of Love, usually with some of the original French lyrics included.
The song has been recorded by Joan Baez (singing here with Nana Mouskouri), Karen Allyson, Judith Durham and Charlotte Church.
Here is my rendition and the lyrics are here.
Sur le Pont d'Avignon
This song dates back to the 15th century. The bridge is actually Pont St. Bénézet but it is better known as the Pont d’Avignon. The original version of the song was actually Sous le Pont d'Avignon (Under the Bridge of Avignon), because in medieval times there were popular cafés with dancing and other pleasure activities on the Ile de la Barthelasse, under the arches of the bridge. Nobody would have been allowed to dance on the bridge.
I sang this song with my four-year-old grandson, Axel. Here are the lyrics.
Vois Sur Ton Chemin
This Oscar-nominated song is one of the highlights of the 2004 French movie, Les Choristes, a remake of the 1945 classic La Cage aux Rossingnols (A Cage of Nightingales).
The title may be translated as Look to Your Path. My performance is here and the lyrics are here.
Germany
Das Bienenhaus
A German song in which the singer compares his heart to a beehive. All the girls in his heart are the bees buzzing around.
You can watch me singing this, and the lyrics are here.
Die Gedanken Sind Frei (Thoughts Are Free)
It has been claimed that this song goes back to the Bundshuh rebellion of 1525 when the peasants rebelled against their oppression by the Swabian princes. The revolt was a failure and serfdom continued for another three hundred years in Germany. There is little evidence for this bit of folklore however and it is more likely to have its origins in the 18th century, when it was published as a broadside. The concept of freedom of thought has nearly always been considered dangerous and the song was banned for many years before the 1848 revolution, especially as it was seen to associated with the ideals of the French Revolution. It was widely sung in pre-Hitler Germany and brought to the USA by German immigrants fleeing Nazi Germany. It is also said to have been sung in German concentration camps between 1933 and 1945.
The best known English translation is by Arthur Kevess (1950). His version was recorded by The Limeliters, and also by Pete Seeger. Here is an excellent rendition by YouTube friend garibelon.
Here is my rendition and here are the lyrics.
Lili Marlene (Hans Leip, Norbert Schultze)
In 1915, Hans Leip, supposedly on guard duty at the time wrote a farewell poem for two girl friends, Lili and Marleen. The original title was Das Mädchen unter der Laterne. Shortly before WWII, in 1938, it was set to music by Norbert Schultze. It became the most popular song of WWII, the unofficial anthem of the foot soldiers of both sides in the war. It is said to have been translated into 48 languages.
This is a literal translation of the German words:
Before the barracks, before the big gate stood a lantern, and it stands there today! It stands there and cannot understand what is, once more, happening to us - as did once Lili Marleen!
Does it have to do with pride, or only power? What is it that has brought us out of our senses? Whichever way we twist or turn we will finally stand before the judge - some day, Lili Marleen!
Who buries the dead, gone for ever in the desert sand? Who counts the victims on the oil-soaked beach? Tell me, how much pain must we still suffer, until we see the stupidity, the uselessness of it all? Oh God, Lili Marleen!
From the quiet rooms, from the earth, there rises before me as in a dream your deathly pale mouth. Before the swirling mists clear, let war and hate come to an end - now, today, Lili Marleen!
The original song, then, is a plea for sanity in the turmoil of World War One and bears little resemblance to either the later German version or the popular British version, which was commissioned by the British government in order to "de-Teutonize" the song, which troops in the North African campaign had picked up from German broadcasts and captured POWs.
Recorded just before the war by Lale Andersen, the song sold only 700 copies, until German Forces Radio in occupied Belgrade began broadcasting it to the Africa Korps in 1941. Itwas immediately banned in Germany, which, of course, made it even more popular.
When the Allies heard it, the song became the favourite tune of soldiers on both sides, regardless of language.
The story goes that a British song publisher named J. J. Phillips reprimanded a group of British soldiers for singing a German song. One of them replied angrily, "Why don't you write us some English words?" Phillips collaborated with Tommie Connor, a British songwriter, to produce an English version in 1944. Ann Shelton's recording was a hit in the Allied countries, and Vera Lynn sang it over the BBC to the Allied troops.
Apart from Ann Shelton's initial hit, the best known recordings of the song were made by Marlene Dietrich (both in German and English) in the late 1940s and early 1950s. It has been recorded by many artists, including Perry Como (1944), Hank Snow (1960s) and Al Martino (1968).
Here is my rendition, in German and also in English. You will find both sets of lyrics here.
Muss Ich Denn
The gist of this German folksong is that a man has to leave his girlfriend as he has business elsewhere, but he promises he will resist the temptations of other women and eventually return to her. It has been recorded by Marlene Dietrich, among others.
Wooden Heart, with English words set to this tune, and incorporating some of the German words, was a big hit for Elvis Presley in 1964, though he first sang it in his 1960 movie, G.I. Blues.
Here is my attempt at singing this song. And here are the words.
The Peat Bog Soldiers (Die Moorsoldaten) (Langhoff und Esser)
Die Moorsoldaten is one of the best known songs of the political resistance movement against National Socialism.It was written in the Moor concentration camps, a chain of fifteen camps opened in Nazi Germany in 1933, and known collectively as the Emslandlager. The prisoners were not Jews, but communists, labor leaders, and left wing Christians sent to the camps early in the Nazi period because of their resistance or suspected resistance to the Nazi government.
The song was composed in the summer of 1933 at the Börgermoor concentration camp, close to the town of Papenburg, in response to brutality by camp guards. The lyrics were written by Wolfgang Langhoff and Johann Esser, who were left-wing actors, and the music composed by Rudi Goguel, later adapted by Hanns Eisler and Ernst Busch, all of them active in the German Communist party. The camp commandant prohibited prisoners from singing it because of its last line. Nevertheless, the song spread rapidly through all the Emsland camps, where it continued to be sung until 1939.
Hanns Einsler took the song with him when he went to the USA as a refugee, and it was recorded by various artists, mainly left-wing, such as Paul Robeson, who recorded it in January 30, 1942, on his album, Songs of Free Men (Columbia). It has also been recorded by Theodore Bikel, Pete Seeger, Ryan's Fancy and The Dubliners. There are some videos of the song in German on YouTube. Here is a typical version and here is one performed by a pop group.
Here is my rendition of the original German version, and here is my friend, Dave Ellis, singing it in English. Both the German words and the English translation can be found here.
I am honoured that gdgest has put this video on his website of Folk Songs from Newfoundland and Labrador.
Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht (Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber)
The words of this song, known in English as Silent Night, were written just before Christmas in 1818, by Joseph Mohr, 26-year old assistant to the priest at St. Nicholas' Church at Oberndorf, a village 11 miles down the Salzach River from Salzburg. He asked his friend, 31-year-old Franz X. Gruber, a school teacher in the neighboring village of Arnsdorf and organist at St. Nicholas', to set it to music so that they could sing it together at the midnight Christmas service, using guitar accompaniment as the church organ had broken down.
This song was to become best known of all carols, translated into every language, yet before that it was almost lost. After its initial performance it was forgotten for seven years, until Carl Mauracher was commissioned to rebuild the organ at St. Nicholas' in 1825, and found a handwritten copy of the words and music in the organ loft. He took it back to his Tyrolian home where choral groups took the song with them wherever they sang. It became known as "the Tyrolian folk carol."
When it became the favourite carol of King Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia, the director of the Royal Court Choir of Berlin researched its origins, in 1854, and traced it back to Salzburg and its composers, Joseph Mohr and Franz X. Gruber.
I learned it many years ago at school in German lessons, though I’ve probably forgotten a lot of the pronunciation, but here is my attempt at singing it.
The most popular English version of Silent Night is a translation by the Episcopal priest Reverend John Freeman Young, who enjoyed translating European hymns and carols into English. His 1863 text of Silent Night is the version found in most modern English hymn books and Christmas carol collections.
Here is my video of the English translation. And here are the lyrics.
Netherlands (? Probably Not!)
Madely Wilsh Du Heira
I know very little about this song. It appears to be in a kind of pseudo-Dutch language. It is from the songbook Songs For Singing by Frank Lynn, also known as James F. Leisy. If anyone can shed some light on its origin please let me know.
The story is quite simple. The girl agrees with the father that she should marry, but finds fault with all his choices except the last. In some ways it is very similar to the Italian song I have put up some time ago - Cara Mama Io Sono Malata.
Here is my rendition and here are the lyrics.
Italy
Bella Ciao
This popular Italian song, apparently based on an earlier folk song of rice weeders in the Po Valley, was sung during the second world war by the anti-fascist resistance movement in Italy.
In 1943 Southern Italy surrendered to allied troops in Sicily, ending the fascist regime and WWII for the South, but the Centre and North were under the control of Italian fascists and German nazis. The partisans who started the resistance in the mountains of Central and Northern Italy, were not just a collection of anarchists, communists and socialists, but ordinary men and women who put themselves and their families at great risk to free their country from the fascist reign of terror. Many were tortured and executed, and, if a German soldier was killed, German SS troops would kill up to 100 civilians in revenge.
The song has been recorded many times. Here is an excellent interpretation by YouTube folksinger, Marco Acca. And here is Marco again singing it with me.
The following is a rough translation:
One morning when I awakened
I found invaders all around.
Oh partisan, come take me with you
Because I feel I am going to die.
If I die fighting as a partisan
You must come and bury me.
Bury me there, up in the mountains.
Shade my grave with a lovely flower.
So all the people who pass that way
Will say, "What a lovely flower!"
"Ah, that's the flower of the partisan fighter
Who died for freedom's sake!"
Cara Mama Io Sono Malata
This song is about a girl who complains to her mother that she is sick and asks her to bring something from the garden to cure her. The mother offers to pick her a lettuce, but her daughter tells her not to be stupid; a lettuce will not cure her. The mother then suggests potatoes and then tomatoes, but is again told she is stupid. Finally, the mother offers to bring her the gardener, and the daughter agrees that this is just what she needs to cure her malady. She is now full of praise for her wonderful mother who is able to diagnose her illness.
You can see my performance and one I did with Marco Acca in Rome in September 2011. Thanks to Marco, my Italian is rather more accurate in this second video.
The lyrics are here.
Norway
Oleanna
Ole Borneman Bull (1810 – 1880), a great Norwegian violinist, is considered Norway's first international star. In 1853, on one of many successful tours to the United States, he obtained a large tract of land in Pennsylvania and founded a colony, which was called New Norway. The land consisted of four communities: New Bergen (now Carter Camp), Oleana (from his own name), New Norway and Valhalla, where his unfinished Nordjenskald castle is located. The venture was a failure and Bull went back to giving concerts.
The original song, which makes fun of Ole's Utopian dream, was written in 1853 by Ditmar Meidell, a Norwegian newspaper editor. Theodore C. Blegen included the song in his 1936 book Norwegian Emigrant Songs and Ballads, together with a literal translation by Martin B. Rudd. Though Blegen himself wrote a singable translation (22 verses long) the version generally known today is Pete Seeger's adaptation of Rudd's translation.
Seeger recorded the song in 1955 for Folk Songs of Four Continents and again in 1956 for With Voices Together We Sing, both on Folkways records.
Theodore Bikel and Alan Lomax both published versions of Oleanna in 1960 based on Seeger's version, and Ditmar Meidell's original song.
Recordings include Theodore Bikel on his 1959 album Folk Songs From Just About Everywhere (Elektra) and The Kingston Trio on their hit album Here We Go Again (1959), though their version had new lyrics unrelated to the original song.
You can hear a great recording of Pete Seeger and Lillebjørn Nilsen singing the song at Tønder Festival in Denmark 1990.
You can see my rendition of the song here. Here are the lyrics.
Spain and Spanish-speaking Countries
Cielito Lindo (Quirino Mendoza y Cortés)
The first verse of this popular Mexican Ranchera song comes from a song in the early 1600s, when armed bandits lived in the Sierra Morena mountains of Spain. It later became romanticed as "Your face is the Sierra Morena. Your eyes are thieves who live there." Mendoza adapted it in 1882, adding a chorus and more verses and composing the tune we know today. It is often played by mariachi bands and has been recorded by many artists, including Pedro Infante, The Mills Brothers, Nana Mouskouri, Deanna Durbin and Pavarotti.
Here is my rendition and here are the lyrics.
This song is for my wife, who is learning Spanish.
El Coqui
This popular children's song from Puerto Rico is about a very small frog that is native to that country. During the night it makes the characteristic sound, "coqui, coqui, coqui", hence its name. For a folk tale about the origin of the coqui, click here.
Here is my rendition of the song and here are the lyrics.
Esta es su carta (M. F. Caballero)
Manuel Fernández Caballero (1835 - 1906) was one of the greatest composers of the zarzuela (operetta) tradition.
Gigantes y Cabezuedos is a zarzuela in three scenes, written by Miguel Echegaray y Eizaguirre. It premiered at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid in 1898, where it met with great success. A patriotic rallying cry after the Spanish defeat in Cuba, it is still immensely popular.
One of the highlights is this song about a letter written to someone who can not read! It is performed here by soprano, Jocelyne Lucas, accompanied by Gérard Verba on classical guitar.
This performance was part of a series of concerts performed at the Cloitre medieval des Billettes in Paris in August 2012, under the title La Nuit des jardins d'Espagne, which my wife and I had the pleasure of attending.
Guantanamera
This is probably the best known song from Cuba and means "the girl from Guantánamo".
This song is usually credited to José Fernández Diaz (known as Joseíto Fernández), who claimed to have written it in about 1929. Some American researchers claim it was at least partly written by Herminio "El Diablo" García Wilson, whose heirs took the matter to court decades later but lost the case.
It was supposedly written in response to a woman ho rejected his advances, but Diaz himself changed his story a number of times. He also changed the words of the song at different times. In fact he used it on his radio show to comment on daily events by adapting them to fit the song. Others took his lead and the song became a popular vehicle for romantic, patriotic, humorous, or social commentary lyrics, in Cuba and other Spanish-speaking countries.
The best known version of the song uses a poem by Cuban nationalist poet and independence hero, José Martí, adapted by Julián Orbón. Because of Martí's hero status this raised the song to the level of an unofficial anthem.
Here is my rendition, dedicated to my wife, who is learning Spanish, and here are the lyrics.
Mi Caballo Blanco (Francisco Flores del Campo)
A song from from Chile.
I first heard this song sung by The Weavers. It was also recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary, and The Belafonte Singers. Patricia Cummings, who also recorded the song, translated the first verse as follows:
My horse is as white as the sunrise.
Together we always go,
He is my most faithful friend.
My horse, my horse, galloping goes,
My horse, my horse, goes and goes.
Here is my performance of the song. And here are the lyrics.
La Petenera de Valentina (Federico Moreno Torroba)
Federico Moreno Torroba (1891– 1982) was a Spanish composer, born in Madrid. He is noted mostly for his contributions to the classical guitar repertoire, but he also wrote for other instruments, including many zarzuelas (Spanish operettas) and operas.
This song is from the zarzuela, La Marchenera. Torroba wrote the music to lyrics by F. Luque and Ricardo Gonzalez de Toro.
It is performed here by soprano, Jocelyne Lucas, accompanied by Gérard Verba on classical guitar.
This performance was part of a series of concerts performed at the Cloitre medieval des Billettes in Paris in August 2012, under the title La Nuit des jardins d'Espagne, which my wife and I had the pleasure of attending.
Here are the lyrics:
Tres horas antes del día la lunita buscaba al sol, va de lucero en lucero, ¡ay! buscando su resplandor. Tengo un querer forastero que por los ojos entró; voy de suspiro en suspiro, ¡ay!, buscando su corazón. La primera rosa, la más primorosa, que den mis rosales, al entregársela, diré ... Tómala. Tómala, que es tempranera, y tu corazón y el mío dentro van uníos en un solo ser. Tómala; tenla dentro de tu pecho debajo e siete llaves, pa que ya en la vía, se salga de él ... Tómala, mi querer te la da. Pregonero, pregonero, ve y publícame este pregón: ¿De quien es este cariño que he encontrado en mi corazón? Toíta la gente lo sabe y el bien de mi vida, no. Pregonero, pregonero, ve y publícame este pregón.
Preserven el Parque Elysian (Mike Kellin)
Although this song is in Spanish, it is actually an American song. You will find it listed in that section.
Zapateado - La tarántula é un bicho mú malo (Geronimo Giménez)
Gerónimo Giménez (1854-1923) was a Spanish conductor and composer, who dedicated his career to writing zarzuelas (operettas), such as La Tempranica and La Boda de Luis Alonso. He had a noticeable influence on later Spanish composers such as Joaquín Turina and Manuel de Falla.
This song is from Giménez' 1900 zarzuela, La Tempranica, which is considered to be his best work. It is performed here by soprano, Jocelyne Lucas, accompanied by Gérard Verba on classical guitar.
This performance was part of a series of concerts performed at the Cloitre medieval des Billettes in Paris in August 2012, under the title "La Nuit des jardins d'Espagne", which my wife and I had the pleasure of attending.
Here are the lyrics:
La tarántula é un bicho mú malo
No se mata con piera ni palo;
Que juye y se mete por tós los rincones
Y son mú malinas sus picazones.
¡Ay mare!, no zé que tengo
Que ayé pazé por la era
Y ha principiaito a entrarme
Er má de la temblaera.
Zerá q'a mí me ha picáo
La tarántula dañina
Y estoy toitico enfermáo.
Por su sangre tan endina.
¡Te coman los mengues
Mardita la araña
Que tié en la barriga
Pintá una guitarra!
Bailando se cura tan jondo doló.
¡Ay! ¡Mal haya la araña que a mí me picó!
No le temo á los rayos ni balas
Ni le temo á otra cosa más mala
Que me hizo mi pare;
Más guapo que er gayo
Pero á ese bichito lo parta un rayo.
¡Ay mare! yo estoy malito.
Me está entrando unos suores
Que me han dejaito seco
Y comío de picores.
Zerá que á mí me ha picáo
La tarántula dañina,
Y por eso me he quedao
Más dergao que una sardina.
¡Te coman los mengues,
Mardita la araña
Que tié la barriga
Pintá una guitarra!
Bailando se cura tan jondo doló.
¡Ay! ¡Mal haya la araña que a mí me picó!
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Three Bosnian-Herzegovinian Songs
Here are three songs from Bosnia-Herzegovina, performed by the choir, Sevdalinka, at the 2012 Flavours Festival at Grattan Gardens in Prahran.
If anyone has any information about these songs, please let me know.
Romania
Appel (Alexandra Sidor)
This song, an example of modern Romanian folk, could be translated as Appeal or Call to Action.
I recorded Alexandra singing this at a folk concert in which she appeared as one of the support acts for alternative folk duo, Tapinarii, at the opening of Biblioteca Centrala Janis in Cluj-Napoca. (The "Janis" is a reference to Janis Joplin.) It is very dark so you can't see much, but you can get some idea of the environment. The lyrics are here, with a very rough English translation.
Asa beau oamenii buni (Thus Drink Good Men)
One of four Romanian folks songs I recorded from Codruta Maria Fat, who we met in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. You can see her singing it here.
Here are the lyrics.
Bade palarie noua (My lover has a new hat)
One of four Romanian folks songs I recorded from Codruta Maria Fat, who we met in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. You can see her singing it here. It is also one of the songs I recorded at a concert of popular Romanian songs in Bucharest.
You can see the lyrics here, with a rough English translation.
Bate-o doamne pe nana (God Will Punish My Sweetheart)
One of four Romanian folks songs I recorded from Codruta Maria Fat, who we met in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. You can see her singing it here.
I have not yet found the lyrics of this song.
fostele iubiri (Lost Loves)
Another of the support acts for for alternative folk duo, Tapinarii, at the opening of Biblioteca Centrala Janis in Cluj-Napoca, was Claudiu Aftimescu. I filmed him singing this Romanian folk song.
You can see the lyrics here, including a rough English translation.
Inflorit-o ruguta (The Trees are in Blossom)
One of four Romanian folks songs I recorded from Codruta Maria Fat, who we met in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. You can see her singing it here.
Here are the lyrics.
Popular Romanian Songs Concert
When we visited the outdoor Village Museum (Muzeul National al Satului) in Bucharest on Sunday 26th June we saw part of a three-day festival of traditional music.
One of the shows we saw consisted of five popular Romanian singers doing a number of songs each. This video shows one song from each singer except for Stefania Rares, who does the first and last.
The performers, as far as I can work out are, in order of appearance:
Stefania Rares
Maria Butaciu
Ion Dragan
Măriuca Verdeş
Elena Merisoreanu
Stefania Rares (again)
Rodica Anghelescu was also listed on the program but I don't think she is here.
I hope someone more familiar with Romanian music will be able to confirm the above names and, if possible, tell me the names of these songs.
Romanian Choral Songs - Corul SOUND
Another part of the festival at the Village Museum in Bucharest. Local choral group, Corul Sound, directed by Voicu Popescu, performed a number of songs, two of which can be heard on this video.
Romanian Folk Music and Dance Concert
I just caught the tail-end of this final night of a folk festival at Cismigiu Park in Bucharest. At first I was too far back to record much, but I managed to get up to the front for the encores as people stared leaving.
The Strangers
I recorded Moldavian folk singer, Claudiu Aftimescu, singing this song with Ovidici Bradatan, as one of the support acts for alternative folk duo, Tapinarii, at the opening of Biblioteca Centrala Janis in Cluj-Napoca. (The "Janis" is a reference to Janis Joplin.) It is very dark so you can't see much, but you can get some idea of the environment. This is the last of the videos I have from that enjoyable evening.
Tapinarii - alternative folk duo
We saw this popular alternative folk duo at the opening of Biblioteca Centrala Janis in Cluj-Napoca. They were the headline act, supported by several well-known singers of modern Romanian folk songs. I had to split this video into two parts.
The songs I recorded are as follows.
Part 1:
1. Suturi (A Kick in the Ass)
2. Idei preconcepute (Preconceived Ideas)
3. Un ungur mic (A Little Hungarian)
Part 2:
4. Inger Nebun (Crazy Angel)
5. N-are lumea bani (The People Have No Money)
You can see the lyrics, with a very rough English translation, by clicking on the titles. The first three songs are here. The other two are here.
Bulgaria
Bulgarian Folk Song
These songs were sung at the European Championship of Folklore which we saw in Nessebar, Bulgaria. I know nothing about the songs or the artists. Please let me know if you can identify them.
One has now been identified as Naspa li se lube, le and I have put the details below.
Here is one by a solo vocalist.
And here is a video of three more songs from this show.
Bulgarian Folk Dances
We saw this dance at the European Championship of Folklore in Nessebar, Bulgaria.
Naspa li se lube, le (Наспа ли се любе, ле)
This is one of the songs we saw at the European Championship of Folklore which we saw in Nessebar, Bulgaria.
It has been identified by TheBlondeyBoy. It is sung here by a choral group.
Russia and Ukraine
Cheremosh Ukrainian Dance Company
This semi-professional dance troupe is based in Edmonton, Canada. To us they were the highlight of the European Championship of Folklore which we saw in Nessebar, Bulgaria. They were the only North American group taking part in the competition, which took place in Burgas and Sunny Beach as well as Nessebar. All three sites are popular resorts along the Black Sea.
The Cheremosh company is named after a river in western Ukraine. It was formed by Chester and Luba Kuc in 1969. In 2007, Cheremosh toured China with the native American troupe Blackfoot Medicine Speaks. Their current artistic director is Mykola Kanevets, who has worked with Cheremosh since 1991.
Here they are performing Bukovyns'kyi Svyatkovyi, a Bukovynian Celebration Dance, and here are some more examples of the performances they did at the amphitheatre in Nessebar on 15th July.
Ensemble Nostalgia - Russian, Yiddish and Ukrainian Songs
Ensemble Nostalgia is a group of women from Russian, Jewish and Muslim backgrounds. We saw them perform with a male singer at the Will Sampson centre as part of the Stonnington Seniors festival in October 2012.
Each of these two videos presents three of their songs. Here is Part 1 and here is Part 2. If anyone can identify these songs, please let me know.
Kalinka (Ivan Petrovich Larionov)
Probably the best-known Russian song of all time, Kalinka is often thought to be a traditional folk song. However, it was actually written in 1860 by composer and folklorist Ivan Petrovich Larionov. It was first performed in Saratov and soon was added to the repertory of a folk choral group.
The song is about a snowball tree, but is pretty much untranslatable, being full of double meanings that would not make sense in other languages. It is often performed in a frenzied style by singers and dancers.
Since Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea Football Club in 2003, the song has been associated with this club and is often played before or after important matches.
It is performed here by the Nadezhda Russian Choir at the Flavours Festival in Prahran. You can also see this choir performing popular Jewish folk songs. See under Israel, in Songs from Africa and the Middle East.
The lyrics are here.
Stenka Razin (Dmitri Volnitsa)
Stepan (Sten'ka) Timofeyevich Razin was a Cossack leader who began as a bandit but later fought for the poor against the wealthy lords under the rule of the Tsar in South Russia. In 1670 he led a rebellion against the government, capturing Astrakhan and establishing a Cossack republic along the Volga River, before advancing towards Moscow. In 1671 he was captured and taken to Moscow, where he was tortured and quartered alive in the Red Square. Prince Ivan Miloslavsky restored full government control in November, 1671.
Dmitri Sadovnikov wrote the lyrics of this popular Russian song about Stenka Razin in 1883. It is also known as Ponizovaya Volnitsa and Volga, Volga Mat' Rodnaya. He used a traditional Russian tune, which was later used by Tom Springfield for his song The Carnival is Over, a big hit for The Seekers in 1965.
One of the very first Russian films was based on this song, Vladimir Romashkov's 1908 10 minute movie, Stenka Razin.
You can hear my rendition both in Russian and English and you can see the lyrics here.
Turkey
I Come and Stand at Every Door (Nazim Hikmet)
This song is a loose translation, by Jeanette Turner, of the anti-war poem Kız Çocuğu (The Little Girl) by Turkey's most important modern poet, Nazim Hikmet (1901-63), who was persecuted and imprisoned for his outspoken Marxist views.
The story is told by the ghost of a seven-year-old girl, who died when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima ten years earlier.
It was recorded by Pete Seeger in 1962, using the tune of The Great Silkie, and this is the version used in later recordings.
Probably the best-known performance is by The Byrds on their album Fifth Dimension (1966). It has also been recorded by This Mortal Coil on their album Blood (1991) and recently by Bruce Springsteen.
The story is told by the ghost of a seven-year-old girl, who died when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima ten years earlier.
It was recorded by Pete Seeger in 1962, using the tune of The Great Silkie, and this is the version used in later recordings.
Probably the best-known performance is by The Byrds on their album Fifth Dimension (1966). It has also been recorded by This Mortal Coil on their album Blood (1991) and recently by Bruce Springsteen.
Music in Bursa, Turkey - Sufi Dancing
On our first night in Bursa we were invited into a local musical gathering, where we met Ahmed, a retired school principal who likes to meet foreign tourists and show them around. He suggested we accompany him and some tourists he had met to a dance school where a different group of students performed a sufi dance every evening. We enjoyed it so much that we found our way there again the next night to see it again.
Sufi is a kind of worship through dance which originated in the 12th century. Sufi fraternities were first organized with a master (sheikh) and disciples (dervishes, from Persian "darwish") as a way of following Islamic beliefs. Sufism is attributed to a series of revered saints, beginning with the prophet Muhammad himself. The dance consists of whirling around, with the left foot as the axis while the right foot makes a 360 degree rotation. The dancer becomes entranced through the repetitious movement. The beautiful accompanying music begins with a hymn honouring the Prophet and ending with passionate songs of praise and a final amen, which the audience joins in with.
This video, taken by my wife, shows about five minutes out of around twenty minutes of dance, so it is a bit disjointed. Hopefully it will give some impression of the beauty of this highly spiritual form of dance and the accompanying deeply religious music.
Turkish Songs Contest in Amasya - 7. Altın Elma Türk Sanat Müziği Beste Yarışması 2011
This video shows some of the songs from a concert we saw on the city square in Amasya, Turkey. It shows the four finalists in a Turkish Art Music Contest presenting their own compositions. I believe the artists are Ayse Mustafa Yolaşan'ın Stone, Tuğçe P, Seda Gökkadar and Nusret Yilmaz Arslan. Each of the four contestants sang two songs. While the judges were consulting, a guest artist came on and gave a brilliant performance. Unfortunately our camera had run out of memory by this time.
Turkish Wedding Music in Tokat
We chanced upon a wedding in Tokat and were invited to join the feast. The resulting video is divided into three parts. The first shows a young man singing and playing a Turkish stringed instrument. The second shows wedding music played on a wind instrument and drum, and in the third part the music continues as we enjoy a delicious Turkish meal.
Europe
These are three European folk songs from the Eurofolk Competition at Nessebar in Bulgaria, filmed on 14th and 15th July 2011.
I have no information about these songs or artists. If anyone can help, please let me know.
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