Balkan Music from the Danube: exploring its magic with virtuoso violinist Gundula Stojanova Gruen

Balkan Music from the Danube: exploring its magic with virtuoso violinist Gundula Stojanova Gruen

Review by James Brewer

From the source of the Danube to the Black Sea – a new book by Gundula Stojanova Gruen takes us on a fascinating journey through the musical and cultural traditions which have flourished along the 2,850 km-long river trade route.

Gundula, originally from Bavaria, is a London-based virtuoso violinist, singer and ethnomusicologist who has travelled extensively in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, mapping and transcribing – and championing – alluring melodies she learned from Roma and folk musicians. She gives her all to their interpretation and to introducing them to Western-oriented audiences with her ensemble Tatcho Drom and her Magic Violin String Trio. 

There are two versions of her 69-page book, Balkan Music from the Danube with Ottoman influences, both of which celebrate 29 ‘soulful’ tunes from many localities in the vast region. One version is for Instruments in C (violin, flute, accordion). The second is for B♭ Instruments (trumpet, clarinet and B♭ saxophone). Both have backing tracks arranged by Gundula, and the music inside is identical, allowing the opportunity for exponents of the two ‘concert pitch’ categories to duet with each other.

Overall, this is an exceptional immersion into the music and geopolitical history of the region. The author packs in uplifting and often ebullient airs from the intersections of society resulting from centuries of conquests and political struggles. There is no ‘Blue Danube’ anthem, but there are several waltzes to carry us along, as we get to know the captivating and contrasting airs.

The Danube flows through 10 countries from an unprepossessing source, a spring in Donaueschingen, in Germany’s southern Black Forest, becoming navigable only 200km later, at the city of Ulm.

Of the manifold occupiers and colonisers of the river and its hinterland, Gundula chooses to start her narrative with the Ottomans and their legacy. Long before their era, Greeks had settled on the coast of the Black Sea, building up Olbia, a city-state into a hub of trade and culture which was strong enough to see off (aided by adverse weather that hit the enemy fleet) a siege by one of Alexander the Great’s generals. The Romans were to capitalise on the river trade, and eventually the Ottomans reached from Anatolia into Europe, overcoming states of the Bulgarian Empire. By the end of the 15th century, most of the Balkans was under Ottoman rule.

Ottoman influences were woven into the daily lives of the peoples of the Balkans, but after the failed siege of Vienna in 1683, the empire began to shrink at the start of its long decline.

For Gundula’s narrative, the musical journey begins with the Black Sea, and the several branches of the Danube: one flows through Ukraine, and two others through eastern Romania. As a result, the musical styles in her initial chapter vary greatly. With the collapse of the Ottoman occupation, both nations experienced ‘ethnic cleansing’ in their folk music, variously targeting Ottoman, Romany, and other non-Slavic influences. Ukrainian music became heavily influenced by Russian and Soviet styles, while Romanian music retained Ottoman characteristics.

Gundula ponders the fate of the sunken community Ada Kaleh, whose name means island fortress. That island, and the narrow gorge known as the Iron Gates, were coveted for their strategic location by both the Ottomans and the Habsburgs. The island was submerged in 1970 for the construction of the Iron Gates Dam and hydroelectric power station, an engineering feat which also boosted shipping throughput which had been hampered by the confines of the straits and strong currents.

The island had been home to a significant Turkish population but was relinquished after World War I by Turkey to Romania. It was described as the last European possession of the Ottoman Empire The nearby historic port city of Orșova was destroyed in the reengineering project and a new town of the same name built some 12km away.

Not only have the land vestiges of the settlement disappeared, but Gundula notes with sadness that its music appears to have been lost. As some consolation, she did, with Professor Cenk Güray from Hacettepe University in Ankara, create a performance project, presented with the Akdeniz Orkestrası in Ankara, before arranging it for her Magic Violin Trio for performance in the UK.

After the communist regime fell in Bulgaria, Romany musicians were again openly celebrated, heavily influencing contemporary music, says Gundula. Romany ‘wedding music’ was deeply influenced by Turkish Gypsy musical styles, with exuberant rhythms and modal improvisations, but Romany people continued to face severe discrimination.

This elegantly designed book perfectly conveys a sense of the invigorating musical traditions of the Eastern European and Balkan Danube regions, and Gundula’s exacting studies of the lineage lends an intriguing intimacy with their structures.

The first piece in the book is U Hayu Pry Dunayu, a beautiful, slow waltz originating from Ukraine. In the Grove by the Danube tells of a nightingale singing of a loved one and then mourning their loss. Composed in 1841 by Mykola Lysenko, it is based on a poem by Taras Shevchenko (1814 –1861), the acclaimed Ukrainian poet. “The notes with mordents in bars 6 and 20 represent the ‘chirp, chirp, chirp’ of nightingales,” writes Gundula.

The next, Dunaio, Dunaio, is a Ukrainian folk song that salutes the beauty and significance of the Danube. Dating from the early 19th century, the piece was passed down through generations and remains a beloved folk song.

Pomaško Sirto, a folk dance from the north-central Danube region is mainly performed by the Pomak community, descendants of native Orthodox Bulgarians who converted to Islam during the Ottoman era. As the name of the dance implies, it is influenced by the Greek Syrtos dance. Musical ornaments enhance a suspended quality, “resembling jazzy ghost notes or Klezmer krechts.”

A fast folk dance, a hora from Oltenia, is a reminder that the music of central Romania features a rich variety of modes, many of which are neither part of Western classical music nor found in Ottoman makam (the framework of scales in Turkish classical and folk music). The advice is “Play fast with a touch of sharpness, almost harshness.”

For another folk dance from the Oltenia region, Dunăreanca, translated as Girl of the Danube, the “melody should flow as smoothly as the waves of the Danube.”

More than just a collection, this book is a convincing educational and inspirational resource for musicians – both amateur and professional – keen to explore the alternative musical heritage of the Danube.

“It is my personal selection of musical treasures that have touched my soul – and, at times, my inner devil,” Gundula declares. You will find many of the pieces neither performed nor notated anywhere ‘here in the West’. Much of this music is now considered old-fashioned and no longer heard even at local weddings or festivities. “However, I firmly believe the world will be just a little bit better if more people perform and keep these soulful tunes alive”

Recordings of each piece accompany the book and are available as downloadable MP3s. Free video tutorials, along with other information and listening materials, are available at www.magicviolin.uk/danube-balkan-music-book

Balkan Music from the Danube with Ottoman influences is available as a physical edition or as a digital download. Details at www.magicviolin.co.uk and https://cliftonedition.com